Introduction
Successful organizations are dependent on the form of leadership endowed in them. Leaders control schemes and subordinates to meet the organizational goals and objectives. For instance, In the Afghanistan war, the battalion’s leadership after the 4rth Armored Brigade Combat lost focus and strayed from the significant ventures they were supposed to run. Some sergeants do not return for training early enough, and there is an increase of non-deployable ones due to personal medical issues. In addition, fewer truck drivers than expected resumed training. The critical management problem facing 4th ABCT is poor leadership from the senior officers, which I intend to transform to create a favorable environment for all brigadiers to operate freely. In the following report, I highlight the worrying issues I have observed within the last few weeks about the sources of failure in the battalion. I also recommend the possible strategies that we will put in place to improve ABCT and achieve our mission.
Critical Leadership Problems Facing the 4th ABCT
The critical leadership problem facing the 4th ABCT is the lack of sober leadership that is wise in decision-making processes. For instance, COL Kaczynski had declined to provide his advice to junior officers. He responded to both of his subordinates by telling them to figure out their problems independently. Conversely, Major Reynold does not have control over his staff. Though he is well-organized, he does not have the leadership quality of pushing his team to work together to achieve a common goal, and the team lacks a sense of direction.
Additionally, the leaders are idealess about team building, and each does what pleases them. They make personal efforts to attract attention, failing to recognize that leaders need to create teamwork and good relationships between subordinates. A good leader understands that working in a group is effective because there is a sense of healthy relationships. COL Kaczynski directs his subordinates to go and find solutions by themselves. He claims that soldiers should have time to see their families but overworks them, denying them the opportunity for family time. Major Michael also protests because of excessive work and lacking the freedom to make decisions to save them from getting into trouble independently. Additionally, he complains about the shortening of his leave and being denied the time to reacquaint with his family. The sergeants need more time to spend at homey and relax, which they lack after returning from Afghanistan.
Regrettably, in ABCT, brigades encounter harsh working conditions since there are unknown ERI mission requirements. Some protest that they are not allowed to spend time with their families as recommended. A grievance in a recent survey says Major Peter Reynolds takes ladies to his office and makes them uncomfortable by the level of attention he grants them. In addition, a sergeant claims he is tired of being reprimanded by the leaders, and lastly, one argues there are no specific timelines for completing tasks. Major Andy Brandi is stressing over the death of the brigade commander, CSM John Walters, and the battalion commander, COL Arthur Williams. According to Santiago, Maj Andy Brandy overworks to compensate for their departure because he feels responsible for their deaths. LTC (P) Santiago says Andy Brandy should move on instead of offering him support and counseling.
There is a need to call all troops back for training and offer medical services to those with medical problems from within until they are fit enough to return for deployment. We will also ensure that every brigade officer will complete their training session to make them at par with each other. Complete training sessions at the national training center improve focus and morale since every member is aware of their roles in assuring the success of the upcoming events. After recalling them, those fit for training will undergo training as projected. Later, after non-deployable sergeants have recovered, they will receive counseling and training on the importance of working together as militants. This way, we will restore the zeal to work together as a unit by improving the employee morale within the organization.
Additionally, all truck drivers should resume training since we will increase the supply of class 9 vehicles. Moreover, by increasing the number of cars, we will upgrade vehicle-borne improvised explosive device-protected cars and guarantee the protection of the battalion from attacks through the use of explosives. Addressing the shortage of soldiers will create room for exchanging duties and allow others to visit their families, and restore the order of taking duty leaves. From the information I retrieved from the Center for Army Lessons Learned, we need to change to better communication systems and equip soldiers with the appropriate equipment, knowledge, and skills. The skills will help them effectively control the battalion’s tactical responses even when the operation captains leave for hiding.
The Vision and its Achievement
As the new brigade commander, I will work tirelessly to rejuvenate teamwork and trust within the battalion. The vision is to have the troops ready for the mission within a limited time. We must join hands as a team to ensure that we restore the energy of the ABCT before deployment to Afghanistan. This way, we will mitigate the adversity of the attacks and meet the mission of winning the wars. We should also be cautioned about the red cycles and take preventive actions.
Leadership involves making followers stick to the organizational and personal goals. For this reason, I comprehend the use of the eight-stage process to create instant changes that will impact the battalion’s success in the long run. The first four steps will involve forming better strategies to understand and focus on the vision. The first step will be establishing a sense of urgency where everyone knows they are needed for total success. The second step will be creating a guiding coalition that consists of practical guidelines on how we will achieve the vision and mission. We will then team up to develop a vision and strategy to achieve it. The last stage in achieving short-term goals will be communicating the change of plans to all members to prepare them physically and mentally for accurate delivery.
Long-term success will involve empowering broad-based action to give way to the sixth step of generating short-term success. Later we will consolidate changes and evaluate them to create more wins. Last will be anchoring the new cultural approaches to make a long-term plan for success to avoid finding ourselves in the same trap of failure in leadership. This eight-stage model of change was invented by John Kooter and focused on seeing both short-term and long-term achievement of the vision and mission.
Conclusion
Leadership involves activities like team-building and motivating followers. My goal as the new commander is to restore the battalion’s effectiveness by bringing back the excellent reputation, all measurements excelling, focus, and morale in the team. I will assign duties accordingly and preserve a strong work ethic to prevent unplanned employee fallout and enhance fast response to the problems.
References
Hadian Nasab, Ali, and Leila Afshari. “Authentic Leadership and Employee Performance: ediating Role of Organizational Commitment”. Leadership & Organization Development Journal 40, no. 5 (2019): 548-560.
Oganyan, Karina. “Characterizing the Impact of Organizational Culture on the Manager Leadership Qualities”. Wisdom 12, no. 1 (2019): 26-37.
Savage, Mairi, Marie H Stockholm, Pamela Mazzocato, and Carl Savage. “Effective Physician Leaders: An Appreciative Inquiry Into Their Qualities, Capabilities and Learning Approaches”. BMJ Leader 2, no. 3 (2022): 95-102.