The purpose of the Strategic Leadership (SL) course is to develop innovative strategic thinkers and change agents who can create and lead agile, effective organizations to attain and maintain competitive advantage in a volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous strategic environment. SL focuses on developing students’ ability to analyze and synthesize internal and external factors that contribute to the development and execution of strategies, policy recommendations, and leading large organizations. This is accomplished by exposing students to both theory and practitioner-oriented scenarios/exercises designed to enhance the requisite cognitive and interpersonal skills need to effectively lead at the enterprise level.
As part of the SL course, students have the opportunity to participate in individual leadership assessment and development opportunities. U.S. students and native English speakers take advantage of the leading-edge Executive Assessment and Development Program (EADP). Students who are not native English speakers take the Discovery Insights instrument. The purpose of these two programs is to increase the student awareness of his/her strengths and weaknesses, and help the student develop the skills needed to become successful strategic leaders and change agents.
SL Course Objectives:
• Foster continuous self-assessment and development, including enhanced understanding of the requisite competencies of strategic leaders which include the past CJCS’s Desired Leader Attributes (DLA).
- DLA 2: “Anticipate and respond to surprise and uncertainty”
- DLA 3: “Anticipate and recognize change and lead transitions”
- DLA 4: “Operate on intent through trust, empowerment, and understanding (Mission Command)”
- DLA 5: “Make ethical decisions based on the shared values of the Profession of Arms”
• Evaluate the scanning and interpretive skills needed to operate on intent through trust, empowerment, and understanding (Mission Command) in the strategic environment.
• Evaluate the strategic, critical and creative thinking skills needed to anticipate change and respond to surprise and uncertainty, and recognize when change is needed in organizations.
• Evaluate the interpersonal skills needed to operate at the strategic level.
• Develop an improved ability to evaluate the decision-making skills needed to meet the ethical challenges inherent at the strategic level.
• Evaluate the challenges of leading large organizations.
• Create and apply a personal framework to lead in the security environment and conduct strategic leader decision-making.