Dr. Maccoby participates in a Weekly Forum on Washington Post.com called "On Leadership". I am compiling all of his responses to the weekly questions here.
|
DATE: November 3, 2009 Secrets of Military Leadership? A new survey out from the Harvard Kennedy School's Center for Public Leadership shows Americans have significantly higher confidence in military leaders than leaders in government, business and the media -- and that this confidence rose over the past year, in spite of two ongoing, unresolved conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. What explains this high level of trust in military leadership? What can leaders in other sectors learn from the military? |
When Generals Are Wrong
There are good reasons to have confidence in the competence and integrity of our military leaders. They selflessly risk their lives to protect our nation. They embrace a patriotic culture of duty, loyalty, and honor, and they accept civilian command. But this trust in military leaders as defenders of the republic is not the same as trusting their strategic judgment.
Sometimes, as when General Eric Shinseki told Congress that winning the Iraq war would be much more costly than the Bush administration stated, their judgment has proved better than that of their civilian bosses. But throughout our history, military leaders have used their prestige to push questionable strategies.
If a poll had been taken in 1864 before Sherman took Atlanta, the public would have expressed more confidence in General George B. McClellan who wanted to bring the Civil War to a draw than in Abraham Lincoln who wanted to win it. Harry Truman had to fire General Douglas MacArthur because he wanted to expand the Korean war. After the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion, John F. Kennedy learned he could not rubber-stamp military strategy. Lyndon Johnson was misled by General William Westmoreland, who assured him we could win the Viet Nam war with half-a-million troops.
Some military leaders who retire, leave the military culture and are hired by defense contractors become business leaders. We should keep in mind Dwight Eisenhower's warning about the power of the military-industrial complex that keeps on demanding more expensive hardware, even when civilian leaders at the DOD believe it is not needed. Our nation's well-being depends on leaders in government, business, education, and the press, as well as the military who are able to earn the public trust. The others won't do so by copying the military but only by demonstrating the value they uniquely contribute to the common good.
| TMG Home | PTWC | Articles | Books | Contact Info | Comments |
This web site is being maintained by Maria