2003 IMTA Proceedings - International Military Testing Association

656
The principles and techniques presented in the 1958 version were “the result of an
analysis of outstanding leadership displayed by both military and civilian leaders (FM 22-
100, 1953).” The result of this analysis was a description of 14 traits and 11 principles,
which provided the attributes a leader must have to succeed. This model was thorough,
easily understood, and remained a fixture in Army leadership for the next 32 years until
1990. Between 1958 and 1990, there were several updates to the manual (1961, 1965,
1973, and 1983). Each of the ‘improvements’ provided more or less detail to leaders
(e.g., depending upon the trait or principle being presented) than the previous version
regarding how to develop themselves and their subordinates. For example, the 1958
version included--in addition to operational descriptions/definitions of each trait--lists of
activities and methods leaders could use to develop these traits. The 1973 version failed
to include these lists of methods/activities, yet it offered situational studies to leaders to
provide assistance in relating the material in the manual to the day-to-day issues that a
leader might face in the field. Meanwhile, both versions offered ‘Indications of
Leadership’ as benchmarks leaders could use to determine whether or not they were
successful in their roles.
The 1990 manual, however, illustrates the significant departure from the
trait/principle approach of earlier versions. The 1990 version of FM 22-100 used a factor
analysis of leadership survey responses to establish the following nine leadership
competencies: communications, supervision, teaching and counseling, Soldier team
development, technical and tactical proficiency, decision making, planning, use of
available systems, and professional ethics, which in concept has many similarities to
other versions but was presented in a different format.
The most recent version (1999) of FM 22-100 used quite a different approach to
establish a framework of leadership than any of the earlier versions. This version
presents 39 labels that specify what a leader of character and competence must be, know,
and do. Within this framework are “be” dimensions consisting of values (7), attributes
(3) and sub-attributes(13); “know” dimensions consisting of skills (4); and “do”
dimensions consisting of actions (3) and sub-actions (9). Among the approaches used to
derive these labels was borrowing from the notions of a best selling job-hunting book
(Bolles, 1992) that identified people, things, and ideas as critical to job success. This
framework transposed these issues into interpersonal, technical, and conceptual skill
areas and added an additional skill labeled ‘tactical’ to lend an Army flavor to the list.
This version also differed from the 1958 and 1973 models in that it no longer included
lists of activities or methods that leaders could use to develop their leadership skills and
abilities.
In summary, the Army Leadership doctrine has used a variety of methods to
derive very different types of leadership frameworks. While there may be no single
correct method for establishing Army leadership requirements, there are several
important considerations when attempting to develop a framework or model that
prescribes those requirements. Among these are methodological rigor in development,
comprehensiveness of the framework/model, consistency of the dimensions within the
framework/model, ability to communicate the model/framework to the audience, and
endurance of the framework/model over time.
45 th Annual Conference of the International Military Testing Association
Pensacola, Florida, 3-6 November 2003