UNITED STATES ARMY WAR COLLEGE

DEVELOPING STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP

COL (Ret) Chuck Allen

Professor of Cultural Sciences CharlesD.Allen@us.army.mil
October 9, 2009 717 245-3460
 SCHOOLS at the BARRACKS
CARLISLE BARRACKS, PENNSYLVANIA

Gov’t of Armed
Indian Occupied Forces Military U.S. Army
Artillery Industrial Areas Information Police War College
1778 1879 1946 1946 1947 Army 1951
Adjutant Security
Established Cavalry Medical General Chaplain Agency The
1757 1838 1920 1946 1947 1949 Future
 GUIDING PRINCIPLE
UNITED STATES ARMY WAR COLLEGE

“Not to promote war but to preserve peace

by intelligent and adequate preparation to repel aggression...
To study and confer on the great problems of national
defense, military science, and responsible command”
Elihu Root, 1903
 MISSION
UNITED STATES ARMY WAR COLLEGE

USAWC prepares selected military, civilian, and international leaders for the
responsibilities of strategic leadership In a joint, interagency,
intergovernmental, and multinational environment.

- Educates current and future leaders on the development and

employment of landpower
- Supports the operational and institutional force
- Conducts research, and publishes to inform thought on
national security and military strategy
- Supports the Army’s strategic communication efforts
 THE COLLEGE
UNITED STATES ARMY WAR COLLEGE

• A unique institution that focuses on strategic

issues for the Army, Joint, Interagency,
Intergovernmental, and Multinational
communities:
– Strategic Leadership
– National Policy
– National Strategy
– National Security Strategy
– National Military Strategy
– Theater Strategy
– Joint, Interagency, Intergovernmental, and
Multinational operations
• Engages key national and international strategic
actors
 CONCEPT FOR EDUCATION
UNITED STATES ARMY WAR COLLEGE

Levels of War Focus School

National
Strategic Security 18-21 years USAWC
Issues

Joint and Intermediate

Operational Combined 10-13 years Level
Operations Education
Captains’
Military Force 1-4 years Course
Tactical
Employment Lieutenants’
Course
 USAWC CONTRIBUTION
CONTINUOUS EDUCATION

Life-Long Leader Learning

Defense Senior
Strategy Service
Course College

Resident
Basic Combined - Joint
Program
Strategist Component
Commander Courses
Distance Education
Reserve Program
Reserve
Component
National Security Senior Service Component
Issues Course Courses
College Fellows
 Growing Army Leaders in the 21st Century

Multi-skilled Leader Leader Attributes

– Strategic & creative thinker
– Builder of leaders and
teams
– Competent full spectrum
warfighter or accomplished
professional who supports
the Soldier
– Effective in managing, aspects, from war fighting
leading & changing
large organizations business management…
– Skilled in governance,
statesmanship, and
diplomacy
– Understands cultural
context, and works
effectively across it
– Sets the standard for
integrity and character
– Confident and competent
decision-maker in
uncertain situations:
Personifies the – Prudent risk taker
Warrior Ethos in all
– Innovative
to statesmanship to – Adaptive
– Accountable
It’s a way of life – Empathetic & always
positive
– Professionally educated
and dedicated to life-long
learning 8
– Effective communicator
 Security Environment: 4 Challenges
Irregular
 Unconventional methods
adopted and employed by non-
state and state actors to counter our
stronger state opponents. (erode our
power)
VULNERABILITY
(e.g., terrorism, insurgency, civil war, and
emerging concepts like “unrestricted warfare”)
LOWER
Traditional
 States employing legacy and
advanced military capabilities and
recognizable military forces, in long-
established, well-known forms of
military competition and conflict.
(challenge our power)
(e.g., conventional air, sea, land forces, and
nuclear forces of established nuclear
powers)
LIKELIHOOD
HIGHER
Catastrophic
 Acquisition, possession, and
possible employment of WMD or
methods of producing WMD-like effects
against vulnerable, high-profile targets
by terrorists and rogue states. (paralyze
our power)
(e.g., homeland missile attack, proliferation from a state
to a non-state actor, devastating WMD attack on ally)
HIGHER
Disruptive
 International competitors developing
and possessing breakthrough
technological capabilities intended to
supplant U.S. advantages in particular
operational domains (marginalize our
power)
(e.g., sensors, information bio or cyber, ultra
miniaturation, space, directed energy, etc.)
LOWER
 Shift in Focus
Irregular Catastrophic
Defeat
Terrorist Counter
Extremism WMD
Defend
Homeland

“Shifting Our Weight”

Shape
Choices

Today's
Capability
Portfolio

Traditional Disruptive
Continuing
Continuing the
the reorientation
reorientation of
of military
military capabilities
capabilities and
and implementing
implementing enterprise-wide
enterprise-wide
10
reforms
reforms to
to ensure
ensure structures
structures and
and process
process support
support the
the President
President and
and the
the warfighter
warfighter
Operational Reality
HOW WE GROW LEADERS

12
 Transforming a
Professional Who Has...
•HAD RELATIVELY LIMITED AND WELL-DEFINED RESPONSIBILITIES.

•WORKED IN A STRUCTURED ENVIRONMENT OF TASKS, CONDITIONS &

STANDARDS.

•DEALT PRIMARILY WITH PROBLEMS FOR WHICH THERE WAS USUALLY

ONE BEST SOLUTION. (SCIENCE)

•BEEN AN EXECUTOR OF POLICY.

•SUCCEEDED BASED ON CAPACITY TO COMPETE AND APPLY SKILLS.

•FOCUSED PRIMARILY ON THE PRESENT AND NEAR TERM.

•SET A STRONG PERSONAL EXAMPLE.

•HAD PRIMARILY A SINGLE-SERVICE AND UNILATERAL ORIENTATION.

•COMMUNICATED BOTH VERBALLY AND IN WRITING IN A CONCISE

AND DIRECT MANNER.

•BEEN PHYSICALLY, INTELLECTUALLY AND MORALLY FIT.

 Into a Leader Who Will…
•HOLD POSITIONS OF BROAD SCOPE AND GREAT RESPONSIBILITY.

•WORK IN HIGHLY COMPLEX, AMBIGUOUS ENVIRONMENTS.

•DEAL WITH PROBLEMS WHICH HAVE NO CLEAR-CUT SOLUTIONS. (ART)

•BE AN EXECUTIVE CHARGED WITH INNOVATING AND INITIATING POLICY.

•SUCCEED BASED ON SPIRIT OF COOPERATION AND CAPACITY TO

CONCEPTUALIZE.

•ASSESS THE FUTURE AND ENVISION FOR THE LONG TERM WHILE
EXECUTING THE PRESENT.

•SET AN ETHICAL CLIMATE.

•BE INVOLVED IN JOINT AND COMBINED ORGANIZATIONS AND ISSUES

•COMMUNICATE COMPLEX CONCEPTS EFFECTIVELY AND PERSUASIVELY,

BOTH VERBALLY AND IN WRITING.

•CONTINUE TO BE PHYSICALLY, INTELLECTUALLY AND MORALLY FIT.

 The Challenge for
Leader Development is:

Physical Strength Educate for

Uncertainty/Complexity

• Physical Courage
-
• Doing
Uncertainty
• Reacting Train for Certainty
• Touching Identity
Mental agility
Direct Leadership
• Climate Cross cultural savvy
Intellectual Strength
• Policies Moral Courage
Interpersonal maturity
• Direction
Thinking/Planning World-class warrior
Anticipating-Thinking in Time Professionally astute
Influencing
???

PLT CO BN BDE DIV CORPS

Tactical Operational Strategic
Frontline Managers Regional Managers Ex VP – CEO
Principals Superintendents Gen Superintendent
 RESIDENT PROGRAM
USAWC AY10

CORE CURRICULUM S N
O T A
R R. T’L
I
E W D S S
N I E P E
T N C. R C
A T I U
T E M N R
I THEORY R JOINT A G I
O OF STRATEGIC NATIONAL THEATER PROCESSES K ELECTIVES T
STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP SECURITY
STRATEGIC R STRATEGY
N WAR AND I R Y
THINKING LEADERSHIP POLICY AND E AND
AND LANDPOWER N E
STRATEGY C CAMPAIGNING DEVELOPMENT S
C STRATEGY G C
O E E EM
U S E S I
R S X S N
S A
E R
S
STRATEGY RESEARCH PROJECT
Commandant’s Lecture Series SPECIAL National Security Policy Program
Eisenhower College Program PROGRAMS Advanced Strategic Art Program
APFRI Executive Health and Student Social Activities
COMPLEMENTARY
Leadership Feedback Program Noontime Lectures
PROGRAMS
Military History Program Student Athletic Program
Military Family Program Conversational Arabic
 Develop Essential Characteristics

• Keenly aware of a complex & changing

environment
• Competent in consensus, team building, & peer
leadership
• Transforms the political & conceptual into the
practical & concrete
• Leverages technology, especially information
• Shapes the organizational / institutional culture
• Builds a values-based organization
• Provides for the future/vision;
leads and manages change
• Understands all levels of strategy
 Educating Strategic Leaders
Adult Learning

The goal is how to think, not what to think!

•Content Mastery •Learn to learn & problem

•Push (Teach) solve
•Instructor-Centered •Pull (Learn)/dialog
•Structure Imposed •Student-Centered
•Complexity Removed •Understanding Constructed
•Disjointed Examples •Complexity Maintained
•Exercises •Case Studies
•Individual •Exploration
•Collaborative
 Developing Strategic Leaders:

How (USAWC) we do it
• A process of transformation…
– continuous, rigorous education
– Cohort (peer group) learning
– simulations/exercises/case studies
– field visits
– self-knowledge
– awareness of historical continuity
– emphasis on the whole person--
mental, physical, spiritual
 Experiential/Adult Learning

• Learning in a broadly-diverse group of

peers
– Unstructured problem-solving; “choosing
between right and right”
– Peer leadership
– Consensus/coalition building
– “Truth is discovered, not revealed”
– Lifelong learning
 CLASS COMPOSITION
Resident Education Program Class of 2010

TOTAL – 340

Army 199
22 National Air Force 32
Guard 3 Air National
21 Reserve Guard Marine 17
4 Air Force Reserve3 USMC Reserve Navy 14
Civilians 27 3 Navy Reserve Coast
8 Defense Senior Leadership and Development Program Guard 1
12 Department of the Army
3 Department of State
2 Defense Intelligence Agency
1 National Security Agency
1 Department of Homeland Security International 50 21
As of 24 Jul 09
 RESIDENT SEMINAR
PROFILE

• ARMY 10 - 11
– Combat Arms
– Combat Support
– Combat Service Support
– National Guard / Army Reserve
• AIR SERVICE 1 - 2
• SEA SERVICE 1 - 2
• CIVILIAN 1-2
• INTERNATIONAL FELLOW 2-3
FACULTY INSTRUCTOR
TEAM OF 4

STUDENTS PER SEMINAR 17

 DDE CLASS COMPOSITION
CLASS OF 2010

TOTAL - 376

Army 327
114 National Air Force 2
Guard
182 Reserve Marine 9
31 Active
8 USMC Reserve Navy 9
Civilians 25 9 Navy Reserve Coast
1 Defense Leadership and Management Guard
Program
15 Department of the Army 0
2 Commandant’s Program
5 Department of State
2 Interagency International 4
As of 16 Jun 09
 INTERNATIONAL FELLOWS
RESIDENT CLASS OF 2010

Total 49
Poland
Albania El Salvador Korea Qatar
Australia Finland Macedonia Republic of
Bosnia & Georgia Malaysia Congo
Herzegovina Germany Mali Romania
Botswana India Moldova Saudi Arabia
Brazil Indonesia Mongolia Serbia
Canada Iraq Morocco Taiwan
Chile Israel Nepal Tanzania
Colombia Italy Netherlands Thailand
Croatia Japan Norway Turkey
Czech Republic Jordan Pakistan x2 Ukraine
Denmark Kazakhstan Philippines United Kingdom
Egypt
 INTERNATIONAL FELLOWS HISTORY

1978 - 2010
Total = 115
Afghanistan-4 Croatia-4 Participating every year since conception
Albania-6 Czechoslovakia-1 Italy-25 / Denotes DDE Participation
Algeria-4 Czech Republic-7/1 Ivory Coast-2
Argentina-16 Denmark-6 /1 Japan-33
Australia-29 Djibouti-1 Jordan-26 Norway-25
Austria-6 Dominican Rep.-2 Oman-5
Kazakhstan-1 Pakistan-22
Bahrain-2 Ecuador-8 Kenya-16 Sudan-4
Bangladesh-9 Egypt-29 Peru-2 Sweden-6/1
Korea-33 Philippines-26/4
Belarus-1 El Salvador-14 Kuwait-16 Switzerland-2
Belgium-1 Estonia-2 Poland-15/1 Taiwan-15/7
Latvia-3/1 Portugal-1
Bolivia-3 Ethiopia-1 Lebanon-8
Bosnia-Herz.-2 Finland-4 Qatar-11 Tanzania-1
Lithuania-1/2 Romania-11 Thailand-24
Botswana-7 France-14 Malawi-4
Brazil-20 Georgia-5 Russia-3 Trinidad & Tobago-1
Malaysia-14 Tunisia-11
Brunei-1 Germany-33 Mali-3 Rwanda-1
Bulgaria-6 Ghana-5 Saudi Arabia-28 Turkey-26
Burkina Faso-1 Greece-11 Macedonia-3 Senegal-9 Uganda-3
Burundi-1 Guatemala-2 Mexico-26/4 Serbia-1 Ukraine-14
Cambodia-1 Honduras-5 Moldova-2 Singapore-9 United Arab Emir.-16
Cameroon-2 Hungary-9/4 Mongolia-6 Slovakia-4
Canada-29/6 India-25/1 Morocco-10 Slovak Republic-1 United Kingdom-25/1
Chad-2 Indonesia-14 Nepal-5 Slovenia-4 Uruguay-1
Chile-14 Iraq-5 Netherlands-14/2 Somalia-4 Venezuela-18
Colombia-10 Israel-29 New Zealand-2/2 South Africa-4/1 Yemen-4
Congo-2 Niger-1 Spain-20 Yugoslavia-3
Nigeria-11 Sri Lanka-4 Zaire-4
Zambia-1
 Assessment: Personal

• Development of self-knowledge through:

– Self-assessment/Individual Learning Plan
– Peer assessment
– Senior Leader Development Inventory
– 360-degree feedback (former subordinates,
superiors, peers)
– Mentor assessment/feedback
– Faculty advisor counseling
 Strategic Thinking Skills

Systems Thinking

Creative
Thinking Thinking
In Time

Critical Ethical
Thinking Reasoning

Foundation
Know Yourself, Others & Self Reflection
 Strategic Leadership
(Some of our Lessons)

Visioning & Leading Change

Organizational Culture…
… & Climate (as distinct from Culture)

Environmental Scanning & Futuring

International Culture

Ethics

The Military Profession Negotiating

 Leaders live in three worlds

(GEN (R) Gordon Sullivan)

Creating
The Future

Managing
Complex Building Teams
Processes

Values and vision provide leverage for change.

Values and Trust will move you into the future.
 STRATEGIC LEADERSHIP

“Strategic leadership is the process used by a

leader to affect the achievement of a desirable and
clearly understood vision by influencing the
organizational culture, allocating resources,
directing through policy and directive, and
building consensus within a volatile, uncertain,
complex, and ambiguous global environment
which is marked by opportunities and threats.”
U.S. Army War College Strategic Leadership Primer (2004) S. Shambach (Ed.)
 Strategic Leader Competencies

• Conceptual: Frame of Reference Development;

Problem Management; Envisioning the Future

• Technical: Systems Understanding; Joint,

Interagency, Multi-national and Intra-agency
relationships; Political and Social competence;
and Professional Competence in area of expertise
• Interpersonal: Consensus-building; Negotiation,
Communication; and cultural competence
(SLP, Shambach, 2004)
Mission:
Mission: Providing
ProvidingForces
Forcesand
andCapabilities
Capabilities

The
TheArmy
Armyexists
existsto
to serve
serve the
theAmerican
Americanpeople,
people, toto defend
defend the
the
Nation,
Nation, to
to protect
protect vital
vital national
national interests,
interests, and
and to
to fulfill
fulfill
military
militaryresponsibilities.
responsibilities.

Our
Ourmission
missionisis enduring
enduring to
to provide
providenecessary
necessaryforces
forcesand
and
capabilities
capabilitiesto
tothe
theCombatant
CombatantCommanders
Commandersin insupport
support of
of the
the
National
NationalSecurity
Securityand
andDefense
DefenseStrategies.
Strategies.
32
 Visioning

Visioning is the leader-focused, organizational process that

gives the organization its sense of purpose, direction,
energy, and identity.

• Visual

• End-state

• Rational yet emotional

• Understandable/communicable
 Organizational Culture

A culture of a group is “a pattern of shared

basic assumptions that an organization learns as
it solves its problems...., that has worked well
enough to be considered valid and, therefore, to
be taught to new members as the correct way to
perceive, think, and feel in relations to those
problems.”
Edgar Schein, 1992
 THE LEVELS OF CULTURE

ARTIFACTS

SHARED VALUES

UNDERLYING ASSUMPTIONS
 COLLEGE FACULTY
UNITED STATES ARMY WAR COLLEGE

An agile, responsive
team educating
strategic leaders,
researching vital issues
and supporting the
Dr. Leonard Wong Army Vision. Dr. Tami Biddle
Research Professor, SSI DNSS

COL Julie Manta Col Mike Marra Col Keith Ferrell COL (Ret) Chuck Allen
DCLM USAF, DMSPO USMC, DMSPO DCLM
 These are my credentials

39
40
 DISTINGUISHED GRADUATES
UNITED STATES ARMY WAR COLLEGE

From the Past and into the Future – all Serving as

Strategic Leaders for our Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen,
and Marines.
 Questions?

CharlesD.Allen@us.army.mil
717 245-3460