Leadership development in the SAF : planting the seeds for our future. [journal article]

Chan, Adrian

Articles

Total copies: 1

Summary

Abstract: This article is about how we can help leaders develop leaders. In this article, we first make the case that being an effective leader is distinctly different from being an effective developer of leadership. The typical SAF leader is trained to achieve mission success, to lead well, but not necessarily to develop others to become leaders. To develop others, the SAF leader has to go against his training as a performance-oriented "deliverer of results" to become one who is more learning-oriented; one whose focus is on the development of his subordinates rather than on maximising the utility of his subordinates for mission accomplishment. The analogy we introduce to facilitate this mindset switch is that of the leader as a nurturing cultivator or gardener. Next, in tracing the historical contribution of SAF Centre of Leadership Development (CLD), we explore emerging new capabilities that the SAF needs to invest in so as to ensure that LD is facilitated.