Assignment 1 Bus 518
Assignment 1: A Peaceful Evacuation: Building a Multi-Project Battalion by Leading Upward
John Daniels
Jimmie Flores, PhD
Bus 518
January 25 2015
1) Describe the leadership style that Lieutenant Colonel Yaron exhibited as the commander of a battalion for the evacuation operation. Provide three (3) examples of his leadership actions and behavior. Discuss the pros and cons in each example you describe to support the response.
Example one of Lieutenant Colonel Yaron is when a presentation he gave to senior military officers did not yield the result that he thought it would. “One of the officers did not like what he heard, so he reacted by sending a lengthy email to a Brigadier General.”(Laufer) Lt. Col. Yaron inadvertently alienated this officer. This happened because his peers had not been made fully aware by their superiors the importance of the operation in advance. If Lt. Col. Yaron been aware of his peers attitude in advance he would have made it more “determined and sensitive” as he put it. The pro to this is Yaron learned from the experience that he had to dive a bit deeper before presenting his case.
Example two is his handling of the staff that was being sent from the supporting units. He found that the units where not sending their best staff and instead was sending the least motivated troops. “Either because they were not convinced that the evacuation was a crucial mission or simply because they did not want to detract from their ongoing operations by spending energy on it.” (Laufer) He was disappointed in what he found so he devised a plan to get the personnel he needed. First he instructed his team leaders to identify those least suitable for the mission, second he asked all of the feeder units for highly qualified troops which was met with resistance and lastly he went to his superior and advised him that “Without the personal involvement and commitment to the mission on the part of the commanders of the dispatching units, we
John Daniels
Jimmie Flores, PhD
Bus 518
January 25 2015
1) Describe the leadership style that Lieutenant Colonel Yaron exhibited as the commander of a battalion for the evacuation operation. Provide three (3) examples of his leadership actions and behavior. Discuss the pros and cons in each example you describe to support the response.
Example one of Lieutenant Colonel Yaron is when a presentation he gave to senior military officers did not yield the result that he thought it would. “One of the officers did not like what he heard, so he reacted by sending a lengthy email to a Brigadier General.”(Laufer) Lt. Col. Yaron inadvertently alienated this officer. This happened because his peers had not been made fully aware by their superiors the importance of the operation in advance. If Lt. Col. Yaron been aware of his peers attitude in advance he would have made it more “determined and sensitive” as he put it. The pro to this is Yaron learned from the experience that he had to dive a bit deeper before presenting his case.
Example two is his handling of the staff that was being sent from the supporting units. He found that the units where not sending their best staff and instead was sending the least motivated troops. “Either because they were not convinced that the evacuation was a crucial mission or simply because they did not want to detract from their ongoing operations by spending energy on it.” (Laufer) He was disappointed in what he found so he devised a plan to get the personnel he needed. First he instructed his team leaders to identify those least suitable for the mission, second he asked all of the feeder units for highly qualified troops which was met with resistance and lastly he went to his superior and advised him that “Without the personal involvement and commitment to the mission on the part of the commanders of the dispatching units, we
References: Laufer, A. (2012). Mastering the leadership role in project management: Practices that deliver remarkable results.