General Hap Arnold’s 6 December 1945 memorandum to General Tooey Spaatz is timeless. At the time, the United States was coming out of a lengthy world war and there were many lessons to be passed on to someone who would face a very different environment – one of peace and stability. The key tenets and lessons highlighted by General Arnold would not only pertain to the immediate future General Spaatz would soon encounter, but indeed they would be and are still relevant almost 75 years later. Specifically, General Arnold’s observations and lessons on discipline, his staff, and scientific developments resonated with me and I apply them directly to my own leadership philosophy today.
The first topic General Arnold outlined in his memorandum was …show more content…
He felt the aggressive nature of the Army Air Forces during the war ultimately led to victory, but this aggressiveness was not evident post war. He stated, “We are asking permission to do things which formerly we never did.” General Arnold proposed the staff relied too much on past experience without looking forward. In a time of peace and stability, the staff was unwilling to take risks necessary to advance processes and capabilities. Pheffer described this same issue in organizations today. Individuals are more calculative and make evaluations on whether or not coworkers or superiors will benefit the individual in the future. People are naturally more comfortable with things they already know or have experienced. If an individual fears punishment for risk-taking and then failing, the risk will not be taken and status quo will remain. As a leader, I want a staff that feels empowered to take calculated risk without fear of reprisal if an idea or action fails. A leader today can utilize such tools as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to first understand themselves, then use that knowledge when selecting staff members to work with. As an introvert, I would not want an entire staff full of other introverts working for me. I can stretch and flex my own behavior to match those around me and would look to have a mix of personality types on my staff. To …show more content…
Building mutual trust through discipline, empowering your staff, and the identification of weaknesses within your organization were just three areas highlighted by General Arnold, but the lessons learned from all three influence my own leadership philosophy
The first topic General Arnold outlined in his memorandum was …show more content…
He felt the aggressive nature of the Army Air Forces during the war ultimately led to victory, but this aggressiveness was not evident post war. He stated, “We are asking permission to do things which formerly we never did.” General Arnold proposed the staff relied too much on past experience without looking forward. In a time of peace and stability, the staff was unwilling to take risks necessary to advance processes and capabilities. Pheffer described this same issue in organizations today. Individuals are more calculative and make evaluations on whether or not coworkers or superiors will benefit the individual in the future. People are naturally more comfortable with things they already know or have experienced. If an individual fears punishment for risk-taking and then failing, the risk will not be taken and status quo will remain. As a leader, I want a staff that feels empowered to take calculated risk without fear of reprisal if an idea or action fails. A leader today can utilize such tools as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator to first understand themselves, then use that knowledge when selecting staff members to work with. As an introvert, I would not want an entire staff full of other introverts working for me. I can stretch and flex my own behavior to match those around me and would look to have a mix of personality types on my staff. To …show more content…
Building mutual trust through discipline, empowering your staff, and the identification of weaknesses within your organization were just three areas highlighted by General Arnold, but the lessons learned from all three influence my own leadership philosophy