The hierarchy of the objectives of the leadership training program

The objectives of leadership training can be defined at several different levels, from a single concrete procedure or model all the way to the abstract concept of self-directedness. As an example of goal setting for leadership training, it is possible to mention the objectives of the Leadership Training Institute of the lsraeli Defence Forces.

ln a report on training the objectives of institutionalized leadership development are defined as follows:

1. Developing persona! awareness and conceptual understanding.

2. Developing behavioral skills.

3. Developing the commander' s self-efficacy in his ability to motivate his soldiers. (The School for Leadership Development 1998, 9.)

ln the new leadership training program of the FDF, the development of self-awareness and conceptual thinking aim to support comprehensive self-reflection and persona!

growth. ln the development of leadership behavior emphasis is not solely on perceivable interactive skills, but on key skills such as visioning and development of situational awareness. The aim is to develop self-confidence of leader trainees by using methods of learning at work, by ensuring sufficient and encouraging feedback through simulated exercises and the instructors' coaching touch.

To a young military leader in particular, technical and practical skills (see Figure 14) are necessary basic skills that form a foundation for the entity of professionalism. ln their own operating environment, they are connected to the use and maintenance of weapons, weapons systems and ordnance and to general military skills like orienteering, firing, close combat and first-aid skills. When a young military leader plans and organizes training, his above-mentioned skills form the premise for his activities (Heikkurinen 1994, 121 - 134).

There are notable differences between services, branches and training branches and the curriculum must reflect this. The significance of this area of skill decreases in leadership when moving to the middle and top levels of an organization.

lnter- and intrapersonal skills are related to leadership behavior. lnterpersonal skills refer to the ability to understand other people and their behavior: how to create trust among people, what encourages, inspires and motivates, how to really get people involved and committed to both objectives and self-development, how important it is to listen, care for and respect one's fellow-men (Goleman, 1995). lntrapersonal skills are directed at the

individual himself, thus creating a foundation for real self-directedness (Bandura, 1998).

The importance of this area of skill remains large at all levels of leadership. On the other hand, it should be noted that changes in the level of leadership and the area of operations create a need for an individual to check the efficiency of his leadership behavior by using feedback systems.

The skills of conceptual thinking are related to the high level human cognitive processes.

The apprehending of entities, understanding complexity and making efficient as well as anticipatory decisions require the ability to combine and understand concrete phenomena at a conceptual level. Conceptual thinking creates a foundation for the ability to do research. lt aisa creates a foundation for the ability to draw up visions and manage in an anticipatory manner; in other words, strategic level leadership. Conceptual thinking is the control of information at all levels. On the other hand, it should be noted that changes in the level of leadership and the operating environment always cause a need for individuals to review with feedback systems the efficiency of their leadership behavior.

When interpreting this framework in the training systems, or the setting of goals for curricula, it would be advantageous to examine a 2x2 matrix in which variables are contents information and method information, and on the other hand long and short term goals. This way leadership training can acquire a logical structure that takes into account the needs of the organization as well as the demands related to the development and life-long learning of an individual. The hierarchy of goals is aisa referred to in the areas or training planning (Lehtinen, 1996).

Leadership training carried out in a military organization aims primarily to fulfill precise organizational needs. The needs of leadership training are based on the tasks and structures of the military organization, in which case qualitative and quantitative demands can be set on the training system. Through systematic planning it is possible to build inside leadership training a value foundation that supports the activities of the entire organization as well as democratic social order. Leadership training in a military organization cannot be free of values (Bass, 1998b).

The attitudes and behavioral models of instructors as well as different traditions carried on by students emphasize the significance of the internalization of the value foundation. lt is difficult to imagine the training of military leaders without a framework that originates from values. This becomes the basic question of leadership training that originates from an

organization: can the constructive principle of leadership training, introduced already by Burns, be applied to the traditiona/ value-bound training system? According to the analysis of student feedback and the first-hand impressions in conscript training in the FDF, it is possible (Nissinen [ed.], 2000a}. Giving an exact answer here is thus impossible, but in principle the question deals with the possible conflict of the values of the organization and trainees. ln pluralistic and heterogeneous societies this problem has already been recognized (Ulmer 1999).

No significant problems in this area have surfaced in the FDF so far, because other values of society have strongly supported the performance of the training duty of the FDF. At individual level there is a trend of increasing plurality, but trainees with value foundations that have adjusted well to the training system of a military organization have still chosen to become career officers (Verkasalo, 1995). From the viewpoint of the training system it is also important that the development of leaders trained for the reserve is encouraged to continue in the leadership positions of the civilian society. This is how connections to the social framework are made.

The reform of leadership training that has already been started must therefore be seen as a part of cyclic movement in which changes in the values of the operating environment, leadership training and the leadership culture of the entire organization follow each other.

The new paradigm of leadership is seen as a particularly competent premise for leadership for this particular reason (Bass 1998a}.

ls the model of deep leadership offered to the trainees not in conflict with the constructive conception of leaming? lf methods like unraveling the leadership experiences are applied to training (Bass & Avolio 1997; Avolio 1999), it can be noticed that the paradox will be solved. The inevitable result of the compilation of the trainees' experiences is a description of leadership behavior that is sufficiently joined to the model of deep leadership. Therefore we are dealing with a process that mainly strengthens our already existing collective conception of the forms of excellent leadership behavior, as the paradigm assumes.

From the viewpoint of leadership behavior, the objectives of the leadership training program in the FDF position themselves in the following hierarchical order:

1. Development of the leadership behavior of military leaders.

2. lncreasing the efficiency and productivity of the FDF.

3. Development of the leadership culture of the FDF.

4. Development of leadership culture in the entire society.