The Derivatives of Leadership

In 1989 the fall of the Berlin Wall and the collapse of the Soviet Union radically altered the geopolitical landscape which, to that date, had shaped the American military identity. The military institution West Point is charged with developing students into future leaders, and this dramatic shift in global power influence drastically impacted West Point’s traditional assumptions on the composition of leadership.

To confront this change West Point embarked on a deep cultural reflection that sought to understand the essence of leadership and the processes required to meet the obligation of shaping the next generation of leaders. Here are some lessons from that journey.

Knowledge is Perishable and is Trumped by Character
“Beast Barracks” is a gruelling six-week camp that introduces cadets to West Point by systematically breaking them down through a series of physically and mentally demanding experiences.

Beast Barracks is not meant to develop mechanical attributes such as strength or toughness. Instead Beast Barracks is designed to build character by forcing cadets out of their comfort zones. The thinking goes that stripping bare the self-esteem creates a state of confusion and questioning, which in turn offers a unique opportunity to mold identity.

West Point believes that a leader is someone who chooses the “harder right instead of the easier wrong.” Knowledge and skills are important, but without moral judgement there is no compass to direct that expertise.

The recent tests faced by society’s most prominent leaders and institutions seem to prove this out. From the legitimacy of the U.S. war on terrorism, to the moral failure of the Roman Catholic Church, to this decade’s numerous business scandals - the question of failed leadership has consistently been raised, and at that question's core often exists a failure of character.

Anything can be learned, and in today’s dynamic environment where technology imparts revolutionary change at time warping speed, much of what is learned quickly becomes obsolete. However it is our understanding of who we are and who we want to be that provides the clarity of direction to guide the decisions and sacrifices required of leaders.

The Need for Self Reflection
Although Beast Barracks relies on creating confusion and uncertainty, West Point recognized that character is not typically formed amidst the confusion of action, but rather through quiet reflection after action. Upon completing Beast Barracks cadets are required to write essays reflecting on what they learned about leadership and about themselves. Here is a brief excerpt from a cadet’s essay:

“No one could have survived BEAST if they had thought of themselves. Selfishness would have come to mind in my previously undeveloped self. I learned that selfless service is not only necessary to be a competent leader, but also to being a morally correct person.”

Warren Bennis, founding chairman of the Leadership Institute at USC’s Marshall School of Business, says “there is no difference between being an effective leader and a becoming a fully integrated person.” Mr. Bennis believes that people won’t be able to deploy their full talents without self awareness of their strengths, weaknesses and overall character.

The Individual Nature of Leadership
Finally, West Point concluded that leadership cannot be transmitted through a specific bundle of skills or lectures. True leadership must be experienced not taught, and is deeply personal, as the experience needs to be internalized by the individual in order to be translated into leadership.

This means that to effectively develop leaders corporations need to create personalized experiences that are unique to each individual and that are in essence, reflective journeys toward leadership. Unfortunately this is usually in direct contradiction to the typical team focused, homogenized training provided by most companies.

The truth is that most organizations are not built to effectively develop leadership, which means that the path to becoming a leader must be paved by the individual. Ironically, that in and of itself is the essence of leadership.
 
92UT843RDRWG