Leadership from the front
Leadership from the front is a tactical leadership principle in the military , which is closely related to the principle of combined arms combat . Today this principle is also discussed in business.
Leadership from the front means that the commander of a unit commands his troops directly from the most critical or most effective point on the front and not from a secure command post behind the front. So can the commander
- follow the events in the core area of the fighting directly,
- efficiently enforce orders directly and without delay,
- Meet resistance from subordinates and
- motivate the troops by acting as a role model.
This applies to both attack and defense.
history
Leadership from the front is the oldest of all forms of leadership: a commander takes an active part in the fighting at the front and passes on his orders directly to the people under him.
It was not until the 17th century that a form of leadership prevailed in which the higher commander from battalion level and his staff were behind the front and passed on his orders to the units subordinate to him. Before that, the higher commanders were, if not directly with the troops, then very close behind them.
During World War I , leadership from behind the front became standard practice. Higher commanders were never or seldom directly at the front, but at most observed the action from behind observation positions.
Between the world wars
In the interwar period , this leadership style, which was removed from the front, was subjected to analysis, especially in the German Reichswehr and later in the Wehrmacht , and was sharply criticized by the "tacticians" Erwin Rommel , Heinz Guderian and Erich von Manstein as a leadership style for operations. They were of the opinion that a commander, especially of rapid formations in battalion to divisional strength, along with mission tactics and the introduction of the system of combined arms combat , should better command his troops from the front in order to get a good impression from there of the tactical requirements of combat and to immediately take advantage of opportunities on the battlefield.
Second World War
During the Second World War , generals such as B. Guderian or Rommel with this leadership principle very successfully their large associations through the Polish and Western campaign . After that, this form of operations management in the Wehrmacht was adopted by all leaders of associations upwards.
However, the weak points of this leadership style increasingly came to light, as this leadership principle leads to above-average losses among experienced officers and it happened that commanders were often cut off from their staff for hours and were therefore not available to lead their entire unit. This was countered by the fact that the deputy commander ran the command post. Also, the availability of command and control means near the front was generally lower than in the rear command posts. In principle, leading from the front was only possible thanks to the wide availability of radio equipment.
Another danger was that the commander would lose the overall picture due to the immediate tactical impressions, get bogged down in the guerrilla warfare and skip levels of command by issuing direct instructions to lower levels. This patronizing of the subordinate leadership by the local commander is also problematic, as this affects their initiative and authority.
present
Today the system is used by all modern armies with army units up to division strength and beyond, since the greatest deficiency of the leadership from the front, the communication and the exchange of information, can be largely compensated by modern command systems.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Erwin Rommel - More objectivity, please! Leadership from the front. In: if - Journal for Inner Leadership. Federal Ministry of Defense, accessed on March 25, 2015 : "... with his leadership style and offensive thinking, Rommel had impressive successes in the First and Second World Wars"