General Lucius D. Clay: A Case Study of Strategic Leadership and Vision
Abstract
This project is a study of strategic leadership and vision focused on the superb career of General Lucius D. Clay, a leader whose capabilities and contributions have been overlooked in the Army's current examination of strategic leadership. Turning to Clay's example is timely, as the true impact of his leadership and strategic vision as the first military governor of Germany and the first CINCEUR are finally being realized today with the German reunification and the end of the Cold War. General Clay has a unique career, and the path he took would be considered completely non-standard by today's measures. He had no advanced civil or military education and had virtually no time with or command of tactical units: two major discriminators for advancement in the officer corps of the 1990s. Fortunately, General Clay served in a series of extremely demanding and developmental positions that prepared him to create and implement a strategic vision and to lead the effort to establish post-war Germany. Like General Clay, future strategic leaders must have the potential for such intellectual activity and have that potential developed through a series of demanding and stretching experiences. This study suggests that the Army needs to revise and publish a coherent framework for its leadership doctrine and review its policies which impact on the development of strategic leaders.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Apr 05, 1991
- Accession Number
- ADA237686
Entities
People
- Robert J. St. Onge Jr
Organizations
- United States Army War College