Navy definitions of leadership and LMET/NAVLEAD competency clusters compared to selected leadership theories

Abstract

This study examines the leadership training model used in the US Navy and investigates the way the Navy looks at and defines leadership in general. The emphasis is placed on leadership training for commissioned officers. The objective is dual; first, to make explicit the Navy's concept and definition of leadership, and second, to examine and analyze the leadership training program LMET/NAVLEAD content, as designed by McBer. Then, both the Navy definition of leadership and the LMET/NAVLEAD content are compared to selected popular theories of leadership in order to find out how congruent they are with those theories. Findings from the study seem to support the conclusion that the core curriculum for officer training in the Navy, as represented by the LMET/NAVLEAD training courses, is not very congruent with the selected leadership theories. In contrast, findings regarding convergence between Navy definitions of leadership and leadership theories shows a strong tie between the definitions and the selected theories. Based upon the research results, it is recommended that a comprehensive evaluation of the leadership training be conducted to determine the overall effectiveness, in order to make a decision regarding the optimal material mix which should be included in such training that uniformly fits the Navy's present definition, needs and requirements. Finally, several suggestions for improving the effectiveness of the Navy leadership training are offered.