Leadership in wartime is a testing business, whether you are a battlefield officer fighting in close quarter combat, or a general plotting and scheming to the best effect. A complex challenge, which involves psychology, tactical and strategic knowledge, and the ability to know how to make sacrifices, only certain kinds of personality can handle war command. This article will outline some of the characteristics and abilities which make for good war command.
Leadership in a situation of conflict needs to have a clear idea of what it is hoping to achieve, of what its aims are. A leader needs to inspire a group of people, often very dissimilar in their temperaments and motivations, to cooperate in hope of achieving a specific task. A leader is there to provide the glue and the inspiration which bonds a team together; without a leader, a team is merely a crowd.
A sharp intellect is one essential characteristic that a good military leader must possess. Without the fundamentals of a sharp mind and good reasoning ability being in place, making the right decisions will be very difficult. Not being clever enough will also have other consequences, especially when it comes to planning operations.
Human understanding and empathy are also vital qualities which every commander should possess. Being able to understand how people are likely to react to certain situations is not only useful for commanding your own troops, it is also useful in assessing how an enemy may react. Empathetic qualities, and the ability to put yourself in the shoes of other people, help commanders to make the right decisions, by enabling them to envisage how different situations might pan out when different people are thrown into the mix.
Perhaps the one quality which no military commander should ever possess is indecision. The ability to make decisions quickly and effectively is rightly highly prized in military circles. There simply is not the time in combat situations to prevaricate and try to weigh things up slowly; decisions which affect lives have to be taken as quickly as possible when lives are at stake.
Calmness under pressure is another quality which is invaluable for any kind of military leader. The pressures of combat situations are unlike any other kind of pressures, with every second likely to bring another range of difficult issues to deal with. Good officers will remain calm even when it is mayhem, and be able to analyse and make considered decisions in the heat of the battle.
A good officer should also have a deep wellspring of military knowledge from which to draw. Studying the battles of the past is one way of achieving this, but so is constant study and revision. A leader must keep his or herself abreast of the latest developments in theory and knowledge, as military situations continually change, with battlefield technology, enemy tactics and methods of treating casualties in a state of constant adaptation and improvement.
War command is a weighty and burdensome responsibility which only certain kinds of people can handle. Successful commanders often display a mix of abilities, traits and emotions which are used to make sure that they get the job done. In the end, a leader has to bind disparate elements together in a common search for success.
Leadership in a situation of conflict needs to have a clear idea of what it is hoping to achieve, of what its aims are. A leader needs to inspire a group of people, often very dissimilar in their temperaments and motivations, to cooperate in hope of achieving a specific task. A leader is there to provide the glue and the inspiration which bonds a team together; without a leader, a team is merely a crowd.
A sharp intellect is one essential characteristic that a good military leader must possess. Without the fundamentals of a sharp mind and good reasoning ability being in place, making the right decisions will be very difficult. Not being clever enough will also have other consequences, especially when it comes to planning operations.
Human understanding and empathy are also vital qualities which every commander should possess. Being able to understand how people are likely to react to certain situations is not only useful for commanding your own troops, it is also useful in assessing how an enemy may react. Empathetic qualities, and the ability to put yourself in the shoes of other people, help commanders to make the right decisions, by enabling them to envisage how different situations might pan out when different people are thrown into the mix.
Perhaps the one quality which no military commander should ever possess is indecision. The ability to make decisions quickly and effectively is rightly highly prized in military circles. There simply is not the time in combat situations to prevaricate and try to weigh things up slowly; decisions which affect lives have to be taken as quickly as possible when lives are at stake.
Calmness under pressure is another quality which is invaluable for any kind of military leader. The pressures of combat situations are unlike any other kind of pressures, with every second likely to bring another range of difficult issues to deal with. Good officers will remain calm even when it is mayhem, and be able to analyse and make considered decisions in the heat of the battle.
A good officer should also have a deep wellspring of military knowledge from which to draw. Studying the battles of the past is one way of achieving this, but so is constant study and revision. A leader must keep his or herself abreast of the latest developments in theory and knowledge, as military situations continually change, with battlefield technology, enemy tactics and methods of treating casualties in a state of constant adaptation and improvement.
War command is a weighty and burdensome responsibility which only certain kinds of people can handle. Successful commanders often display a mix of abilities, traits and emotions which are used to make sure that they get the job done. In the end, a leader has to bind disparate elements together in a common search for success.
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