James J Smith | U.S. Army Command & General Staff College (original) (raw)
Address: Honolulu, HI
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Papers by James J Smith
The character of armed conflict continues to change at an alarming rate due to extremist ideologi... more The character of armed conflict continues to change at an alarming rate due to extremist ideologies, the reassertion of global hegemons, climate change, cyber conflict, infectious disease, and technological advances. This provides compelling justification that traditional leadership models used to prepare military organizations to succeed in armed conflict are becoming less useful. Given the hierarchical structure of military organizations and the complex environment described above leaders must now be able to generate teams that can thrive in the chaos and ambiguity associated with war. Teams must provide the innovative and creative solutions formerly left to the individual leader. This monograph explores how the theory of complexity leadership offers a compromise that bridges the gap between the stability commonly associated with the traditional top-down, centralized military structure, and the principles of self-organization, decentralization, and bottom-up refinement associated with complex adaptive systems. Two historical illustrations provide an analysis of leadership through the lens of complexity leadership theory. This research concludes with an analysis of current Army leadership doctrine, identify gaps and propose how complexity leadership theory could fill these gaps.
A liberal television host and magazine editor (Chris Hayes), a researcher on Muslim-American stud... more A liberal television host and magazine editor (Chris Hayes), a researcher on Muslim-American studies (Dalia Mogahed), a major in the United States Army (James Smith) and the vice president of Google[x] (Megan Smith) gathered on the Amphitheater stage to talk about what it means to be part of "The Next Greatest Generation."
This lecture suggests that Millenials who serve in the military are not the same as the Millenial... more This lecture suggests that Millenials who serve in the military are not the same as the Millenial "Me, Me, Me" generation described in a previous Time Magazine article. The author first describes four different generations, Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millenials. He then provides examples of how military Millenials have embodied the Army Values during a period of military service defined by multiple combat deployments. The lecture concludes with a question and answer session.
The character of armed conflict continues to change at an alarming rate due to extremist ideologi... more The character of armed conflict continues to change at an alarming rate due to extremist ideologies, the reassertion of global hegemons, climate change, cyber conflict, infectious disease, and technological advances. This provides compelling justification that traditional leadership models used to prepare military organizations to succeed in armed conflict are becoming less useful. Given the hierarchical structure of military organizations and the complex environment described above leaders must now be able to generate teams that can thrive in the chaos and ambiguity associated with war. Teams must provide the innovative and creative solutions formerly left to the individual leader. This monograph explores how the theory of complexity leadership offers a compromise that bridges the gap between the stability commonly associated with the traditional top-down, centralized military structure, and the principles of self-organization, decentralization, and bottom-up refinement associated with complex adaptive systems. Two historical illustrations provide an analysis of leadership through the lens of complexity leadership theory. This research concludes with an analysis of current Army leadership doctrine, identify gaps and propose how complexity leadership theory could fill these gaps.
A liberal television host and magazine editor (Chris Hayes), a researcher on Muslim-American stud... more A liberal television host and magazine editor (Chris Hayes), a researcher on Muslim-American studies (Dalia Mogahed), a major in the United States Army (James Smith) and the vice president of Google[x] (Megan Smith) gathered on the Amphitheater stage to talk about what it means to be part of "The Next Greatest Generation."
This lecture suggests that Millenials who serve in the military are not the same as the Millenial... more This lecture suggests that Millenials who serve in the military are not the same as the Millenial "Me, Me, Me" generation described in a previous Time Magazine article. The author first describes four different generations, Traditionalists, Baby Boomers, Generation X, and Millenials. He then provides examples of how military Millenials have embodied the Army Values during a period of military service defined by multiple combat deployments. The lecture concludes with a question and answer session.