![]() What leaders do – They develop themselves and others. What leaders know – They are professionally competent, they know how to communicate and make decisions effectively. They set an example, are responsible and influential. What leaders are – They are the champions of values and standards for the organisation. With all the above in mind, we can divide the approach to leadership into three logical chunks: Strive for team goals – Challenging the team to accept and strive for shared goals will create shared purpose, bind them together and foster esprit de corps. Recognise individual strengths and weaknesses – Leaders must identify their own strengths and development areas and address them accordingly through coaching and other techniques. Likewise using discipline is crucial to correct and provide useful development opportunities.ĭemand high performance – Leaders must set a high-performance expectation while leading the team to this level.Įncourage confidence in the team – Leaders achieve this through demonstrating confidence in their own abilities, celebrating team success and constantly reinforcing the importance of teamwork. ‘Thinking outside the box’, finding an innovative solution to problems is a fine quality in a team member and must be encouraged.Īpply reward and discipline – Leaders must apply a full range of rewards, from formal recognition to timely and regular verbal praise. Lead by example – All leaders are role models seeking to actively demonstrate espoused values in everything they do.Įncourage thinking – Leaders must encourage those they lead to think by giving them problems that stretch them. These behaviours have been drawn together from what is known to work over centuries, conflated with sound academic theory and research: The code then describes seven vital leadership behaviours that are rigorously developed and assessed through the mnemonic LEADERS.Īll leaders are role models seeking to actively demonstrate espoused values in everything they do Set alongside these are clear standards of behaviour to be adhered to around appropriate, lawful conduct that is founded on absolute professionalism. Loyalty – Loyalty binds all ranks of the Army together, creating cohesive teams that can achieve far more than the sum of their parts. Integrity – Integrity means being truthful and honest, which develops trust among individuals. Respect for others – Teams that embrace diversity, and value each individual for their contribution and viewpoint are always stronger for it. ![]() Selfless commitment – Soldiers must be prepared to serve where and when required and always give their best.ĭiscipline – Used to instil self-confidence and self-control means soldiers will do the right thing even under the most difficult of circumstances. ![]() Values are key to good leadership as they are deeply help beliefs about what is and is not important.Ī “leadership code” breaks down the notion of leadership into: what leaders are, what leaders do and what leaders knowĪ clear understanding of these helps drive consistent decision making and can help form the basis of trust between the leader and the follower when they are declared and consistently observed.Ĭourage – Not just physical courage but also moral courage, the strength and confidence to do what is right, even when it may be unpopular. Recognising that its leaders, at every level, are now required to operate in the most complex and challenging of operating environments, the Army launched its Leadership Code in 2016.Īt the core of the army doctrine are the values and standards. This issue of defining and therefore developing a solid method of approach is something that the British military has held as vital, definable and, to a certain degree, measurable. This article seeks to cut through the confusion of literature and thinking that surrounds the term leadership. ![]() In this exchange, Willard queries Kurtz’s leadership of the guerrillas as “unsound” and that he appears to have no real rational, methodical avenue to achieving his goals through his team.Īnyone looking to be ratified as a leader by their team would do well to reflect on Kurtz’s haphazard approach, and perhaps consider a method of developing leaders through a “leadership code” that breaks down the notion of leadership into: what leaders are, what leaders do and what leaders know. It follows a special forces Captain Willard sent on a dangerous mission to assassinate a renegade Green Beret Colonel Kurtz who has set himself up as head of a band of brutal guerrillas in the jungles of Cambodia. This quote is taken from the 1979 war film Apocalypse Now. Willard: They told me that you had gone totally insane, and that your methods were unsound. Ed Chacksfield breaks down the leadership code. ![]()
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