Why Brilliant Military Leaders Fail: Learning from Their Mistakes
Abstract
In the first decade of the 21st Century, the military observed the firing or resignation of the Chief of Staff from Air Force, the Secretaries of Army and Air Force, plus several General Officers to include the Commander of Central Command. Naturally, the question is why did these smart and otherwise extremely successful senior leaders lose their jobs? We can learn from their experience and improve ourselves as leaders. Success in modern war requires a keen ability to lead large, complex military organizations to tackle complex and often wicked problems. The commander will not be able to solve each and every problem, but to achieve victory, he must instill in his personnel an attitude and ability to learn and adapt to an ever-changing environment. Since the future will be volatile and uncertain, the leader must encourage a culture of adaptation coupled with an insatiable drive to win?a culture of innovation. Failure to achieve mission success as a result of organizational failure was a necessary, but not sufficient condition for leaders to be removed from their position.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Mar 24, 2009
- Accession Number
- ADA498022
Entities
People
- Donald R. Drechsler
Organizations
- United States Army War College