Hindsight Serving Foresight: The Role of History in Strategic Leadership.

Abstract

The following paper explores the uses of retrospective analyses in the professional development of strategic leaders. Heretofore, the Army and other military services have stressed the employment of historical analysis to gain operational and tactical lessons learned. Even though the Army has a long tradition of drawing upon the past to gain perspectives on current issues, the process has yet to reveal guidelines and theories with respect to strategic thinking. Undoubtedly, history empowers analysis, but most publications of leadership development focus on behavior rather than the cognitive processes of the human mind. New theoretical and practical approaches to the uses of the past are needed to sharpen the decisions of strategic leaders.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 15, 1998
Accession Number
ADA344884

Entities

People

  • Michael C. Robinson

Organizations

  • United States Army War College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Human Systems
  • Materials and Manufacturing Processes

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Cognition
  • Department Of Defense
  • Doctrine
  • Education
  • Governments
  • Lessons Learned
  • Military History
  • Military Science
  • New York
  • Psychology
  • Social Sciences
  • Students
  • Thinking
  • Training
  • United States
  • War Colleges
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Military History / Militaries and War Studies
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.
  • Theoretical Analysis.