Today’s Army is evolving at an expeditious rate and leaders have to be more adaptive than ever before. Our Soldiers are coming in more educated, technologically savvy and innovative than previous generations. Yet our junior ranks are still entitled to and in need of outstanding leadership. A problem that is growing in our ranks of leaders that is detrimental to the Army and often unnoticed is the lack of intervention in unacceptable situations. The bystander effect, or bystander apathy, is defined by Wikipedia as “a social physiological phenomenon that refers to cases in which individuals do not offer any means to help to a victim when other people are present.” With one of our four warrior ethos being “I will never leave a fallen comrade,”
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Diffusion of responsibility is one of two phenomenon tied to the bystander effect. The diffusion of responsibility “is a social psychological phenomenon whereby a person is less likely to take responsibility for action or inaction when others are present. Considered a form of attribution, the individual assumes that others either are responsible for taking action or have already done so,” (Wikipedia, 2017). Army leaders are charged with policing up its own and enforcing standards. We have doctrine which sets forth these standards which are readily assessable and commonly referred to. Yet many occasions when witnessing an act which one deems as requiring action, leaders often turn a blind eye. This is commonly due to the fact that when they see other leaders, especially someone of higher rank, they assume that they do not solely own the responsibility in …show more content…
Programs like Equal Opportunity and Sexual Harassment Assault Response Prevention are amongst the highest priority in the United States Military. New policies are arising such as Transgender Soldiers and Accommodation of Religious Practice. All of these will require leaders to be shaper then ever when it comes to intervening. It is an integral part of the Army that all Soldiers feel safe and get treated with dignity and respect. This cannot be achieved unless leaders fulfill their sworn duty to hold not only themselves to the highest standard, but charge their subordinates to do the same. The bystander effect can be diminished from the Army if leaders become more aware of pluralistic ignorance and the diffusion of responsibility. Being cognoscente of their surroundings and willing to intervene at any moment. To many this may take time and practice and will not always be easy. Sometimes it’s not the easy left but taking the hard right that will set leaders apart. Today’s society has become accustomed to accepting the social norm instead of doing the right thing when faced with adversity. All it takes to combat the bystander effect is to do something instead of nothing. Intervention can come in many levels and form, but the key here is to intervene. Army leaders have and will continue to
Diffusion of responsibility is one of two phenomenon tied to the bystander effect. The diffusion of responsibility “is a social psychological phenomenon whereby a person is less likely to take responsibility for action or inaction when others are present. Considered a form of attribution, the individual assumes that others either are responsible for taking action or have already done so,” (Wikipedia, 2017). Army leaders are charged with policing up its own and enforcing standards. We have doctrine which sets forth these standards which are readily assessable and commonly referred to. Yet many occasions when witnessing an act which one deems as requiring action, leaders often turn a blind eye. This is commonly due to the fact that when they see other leaders, especially someone of higher rank, they assume that they do not solely own the responsibility in …show more content…
Programs like Equal Opportunity and Sexual Harassment Assault Response Prevention are amongst the highest priority in the United States Military. New policies are arising such as Transgender Soldiers and Accommodation of Religious Practice. All of these will require leaders to be shaper then ever when it comes to intervening. It is an integral part of the Army that all Soldiers feel safe and get treated with dignity and respect. This cannot be achieved unless leaders fulfill their sworn duty to hold not only themselves to the highest standard, but charge their subordinates to do the same. The bystander effect can be diminished from the Army if leaders become more aware of pluralistic ignorance and the diffusion of responsibility. Being cognoscente of their surroundings and willing to intervene at any moment. To many this may take time and practice and will not always be easy. Sometimes it’s not the easy left but taking the hard right that will set leaders apart. Today’s society has become accustomed to accepting the social norm instead of doing the right thing when faced with adversity. All it takes to combat the bystander effect is to do something instead of nothing. Intervention can come in many levels and form, but the key here is to intervene. Army leaders have and will continue to