| Xavier University Army ROTC
Study Guide
Military Leadership
1. What is military leadership?
Military leadership is the process of influencing
others to accomplish the mission by providing purpose, direction,
and motivation.
2. What manual pertains to Military Leadership?
Field Manual 22-100.
3. What is meant by command?
Command is the authority a person in the military
service lawfully exercises over subordinates by virtue of
his rank and assignment or position.
4. What are the basic responsibilities of a
leader?
Accomplishment of the mission and the welfare
of the soldiers.
5. What is the most fundamental and important
organizational technique used by the Army?
The chain of command.
6. What is the chain of command?
The sequence of commanders in an organization
who have direct authority and primary responsibility for accomplishing
the assigned unit mission while caring for personnel and property
in their charge.
7. Describe the NCO support channel.
The NCO support channel parallels and compliments
the chain of command. It is the channel of communication and
supervision from the command sergeants major to the first
sergeants and then to other NCOs and enlisted personnel of
the units.
8. What are the three types of duties that each
NCO has?
- Specified duties
- Directed duties
- Implied duties
9. What is the Professional Army Ethic?
- Loyalty to the nation, the Army, and the
unit
- Duty
- Selfless service
10. What is meant by selfless service?
Putting the needs and goals of the nation, the
army, your unit and your soldier ahead of your personal needs
and interest.
11. What are the four individual values that
all soldiers are expected to possess, and what do they mean?
- Courage: overcoming fears of bodily harm
and doing your duty (physical courage), and overcoming fears
of other than bodily harm (moral courage) while doing what
ought to be done
- Candor: is being frank, open, honest, and
sincere with your soldiers, seniors and peers
- Competence: is proficiency in required professional
knowledge, judgment, and skills
- Commitment: means the dedication to carry
out all unit missions and to serve the values of the unit,
Army, and the country
12. What are the four actions that should be
taken in assuming a new leadership position?
- Determine what is expected of your unit
- Determine what is expected of you
- Determine the strengths and weaknesses of
your subordinates
- Determine what other key people whose willing
support is necessary to accomplish your job
13. List four indicators of unit effectiveness
and give a short definition of each.
- Morale: A person’s state of mind
- Esprit de corps: Pride in unit, enthusiasm
for unit, and loyalty to unit
- Discipline: Prompt obedience to orders and
initiation of action in the absence of orders
- Proficiency: The unit’s ability to
accomplish the mission
14. What are the factors of leadership?
The Led, the Leader, the situation, and communications.
15. What are the 23 Traits of Character?
Bearing, Confidence, Courage, Integrity, Decisiveness,
Justice, Endurance, Tact, Initiative, Coolness, Maturity,
Improvement, Will, Assertiveness, Candor, Sense of humor,
Competence, Commitment, Creativity, Self-discipline, Humility,
Flexibility, Empathy/Compassion.
16. What are the eleven principles of good leadership?
- Be tactically and technically proficient
- Know yourself and seek self-improvement
- Know your soldiers and look out for their
welfare
- Keep your soldiers informed
- Set the example
- Ensure the task is understood, supervised
and accomplished
- Train your soldiers as a team
- Make sound and timely decisions
- Develop a sense of responsibility in your
subordinates
- Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities
- Seek responsibility and take responsibility
for your actions
17. What are Leadership Principles used for?
They are general rules which have guided the
actions and conduct of successful leaders in the past.
18. What is meant by the decision-making process?
It is a conscious process for selecting a course
of action from two or more alternatives for the purpose of
achieving a desired result.
19. What are the principle forces you should
consider when making an ethical decision?
- Legal standards
- Basic national values
- Traditional Army values
- Actual Army values
- Individual values
- Institutional Pressures
20. In order, what are the seven steps in the
decision-making process?
- Identify the problem
- Gather information
- List courses of action
- Analyze and compare courses of action
- Make a decision; Select a course of action
- Make a plan
- Implement the plan
21. What are the three major steps in backwards
planning?
- Determine the basics: what, how, and when
- Identify tasks you want to accomplish and
establish a sequence for them
- Develop a schedule to accomplish the tasks
you have identified. Start with the last task to be accomplished
and work back to the present time
22. Why is professionalism important in the
military?
There are two significant reasons. First, the
military leader is a public servant responsible for the defense
of the nation. Second, the military organization is often
responsible for the life of its soldiers
23. What are the four leadership indicators?
Morale, Esprit de Corps, Discipline, and Proficiency
24. What are three different styles of leadership?
Directing, Participating, and Delegating
25. What are the actions good leaders avoid?
Violation of dignity to individuals, mass punishment
or ridicule of the troops, hurry-up and wait formations and
similar drills that waste time, resting before his men, shirking
the responsibility of checking his men’s position, blaming
the next higher in command for a rough and unsuccessful mission,
blaming subordinates for a squad’s failure in satisfactorily
completing a specific mission, eating before his men have
eaten, favoritism and moral weakness.
26. A good leader must have a thorough knowledge
of command essentials. What are the command essentials?
Command policies, authority, responsibility,
chain of command and other channels, military rank, military
discipline and conduct, and the enlisted aspects of command.
27. Explain what a leader must be,
know and do.
A leader must be:
- A person of strong and honorable character
- Committed to the professional army ethic
- An example of individual values
- Able to resolve complex ethical dilemmas
A leader must know:
- The four factors of leadership and how they
affect each other
- Standards
- Him/Herself
- Human nature
- His/Her job
- His/Her unit
A leader must do:
- Provide direction
- Provide purpose
- Provide motivation
28. How does a leader provide direction?
- Knowing and maintaining standards
- Setting goals
- Planning
- Making decisions and solving problems
- Supervising and evaluating
29. What does it mean to seek responsibility
and take responsibility for your actions?
It means to take the initiative in the absence
of Orders and accept the responsibility for your actions.
30. How can a leader stop the spread of a rumor?
Give the troops as many facts as possible with
security requirements and attempt to eliminate conditions
creating uncertainty before they accumulate.
31. Name three factors which tend to shape personality.
Heredity, Environment, Experience.
32. What is supervision?
It is keeping a grasp on the situation and ensuring
that plans and policies are implemented properly, including
giving instructions and continuously inspecting the accomplishment
of a task.
33. What is the danger of too little supervision?
It can lead to miscommunications, lack of coordination,
disorganization or the perception by subordinates that the
leader does not care.
34. What is the danger of too much supervision?
It stifles the initiative, breeds resentment,
and lowers morale and motivation.
35. What is morale?
Morale is the mental, emotional, and spiritual
state of mind of an individual. It is how a soldier feels.
High morale strengthens courage, energy and the will to fight.
36. What is Esprit?
Esprit is the spirit, the soul, and the state
of mind of a unit that the soldier identifies with.
37. What is bearing?
An individual’s posture, overall appearance
and manner physical movement. It is an outward display to
others of the state of your inner feelings, fear and overall
inner confidence.
38. What is integrity?
It is the utter sincerity, honesty and candor.
It is the avoidance of any kind of deceptive, shallow, or
expedient behavior.
39. What is justice?
It is the fair treatment of all people regardless
of race, religion, color, sex, age, or national origin.
40. What is tact?
It is a sensitive perception of people, their
values, feelings, and views which allows positive interaction..
41. What is an unselfish leader?
One who avoids providing for his own comfort
and advancement at the expense of others.
42. Define the word "proficiency"
as it applies to military leadership?
The technical, tactical, and physical ability
of the individual and the unit.
43. What are ethics?
Rules or standards that guide a individual or
a group to do the moral or right thing.
44. What are some of the pressures to be unethical?
- Pressure from self-interest
- Pressure from peers
- Pressure from subordinates
- Pressure from a senior
45. What are formal norms?
They are official standards or laws that govern
behavior.
46. What are informal norms?
They are unwritten rules or standards that govern
the behavior of group members.
47. What is the meaning of the term Military
Discipline?
The prompt and effective performance of duty
in response to orders or taking the right action in the absence
of orders. A disciplined unit forces itself to do its duty
in any situation.
48. What are the principles that help ensure
good discipline?
- Ensure norms which contribute to discipline
are established and strengthened
- Set high, but realistic, standards in all
things that relate to the success of your unit in training
and war
- When your standards are not met, analyze
the situation and decide on a course of action for handling
the situation
49. What are values?
Values are attitudes about the worth or importance
of people, concepts or things.
50. What are beliefs?
Beliefs are assumptions or convictions that
an individual knows to be true regarding people, concepts
or things.
51. How can you, as a leader, influence the
beliefs and values of your soldiers?
By setting the example; by rewarding behavior
that supports professional beliefs, values, and norms, and
by planning and conducting tough individual and collective
training.
52. What must you do and have in order to influence
the beliefs and values of your soldiers?
You must respect your soldiers and have their
respect.
53. What four emotions must you, as a leader,
inspire in yourself and your soldiers that will combat fear,
panic and stress?
Confidence, purpose, meaning, and self-respect.
54. What is communication?
It is the exchange or flow of information and
ideas from one person to another.
55. How many motivational principles are there?
Give two examples of these.
Fourteen (14):
- Make the needs of individuals in your unit
coincide with the unit tasks and missions
- Reward individual and team behavior that
support unit tasks and missions
- Counsel or punish soldiers who behave in
a way that is counter to unit tasks, missions an standards
- Set the example in all things
- Develop morale and esprit in your unit
- Give your subordinates tough problems and
challenge them to wrestle with them
- Have your subordinates participate in the
planning of upcoming events
- Alleviate causes of the personal concerns
of your soldiers so that soldiers can concentrate on their
jobs
- Ensure your soldiers are properly cared for
and have the tools they need to succeed
- Keep your soldiers informed about mission
and standards
- Use positive peer pressure to work for you
and your unit
- Avoid using statistics as a major method
of evaluating units and motivating subordinates
- Make the jobs of your subordinates as challenging,
exciting and meaningful as possible
- Do not tolerate any form of prejudicial talk
or behavior in your unit
56. What are the two types of authority?
Command authority and general military authority.
57. What are the nine leadership competencies?
- Communications
- Supervision
- Teaching and counseling
- Soldier team development
- Technical and tactical proficiency
- Decision making
- Planning
- Use of available systems
- Professional ethics
|
