INTRODUCING THE ISSUE. Communication. Literature & Language Essay

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INTRODUCING THE ISSUE
Communication is a vital ingredient in military leadership. The success of military operations can stem out from proper and effective communication. Equally, the outcome can be detrimental when there is poor utilization of communication. More often, poor communication leads to poor coordination of teams that can easily be disastrous if not well handled. In the coordination of troops in the field, it is essential to appropriately use this tool to achieve a positive outcome. The most notable communication conflict comes out in the instance where the juniors only take their seniors' commands. Although this type of autocratic leadership serves the purpose of respect to the seniors, it often leaves the juniors with so little contribution rather than just implementing what they are directed to do. The juniors are accountable to their seniors, but they also have their views and perspectives on how well things can be done or how they can be improved. Without giving them attention and an opportunity to voice out their views, the juniors will feel not valued and may not give their all in their engagements. Therefore, there is a need for a coordinated and exchange approach between leaders and juniors for the effective delivery of their respective roles. 
DESCRIBING THE CONTEXT
Communication is highlighted as an increasingly critical military profession issue by placing the SnrNCOs-subordinates relationship in a wider CAF Effectiveness Framework and in accordance with major leadership functions.
Contextually, communication has, one firmly believes, a strong case in the CAF Effectiveness Framework (Department of National Defence, 2005, p. 9). Member Well-being & Commitment and Internal Integration. This dimension ...signifies a concern for people and the quality of their conditions of service – everything from the effects of organizational policies and practices to opportunities for personal growth development, from fair treatment by peers and superiors to the intrinsic satisfaction of one’s occupation and career [emphasis added]. (Department of National Defence, p. 20)
Empowering subordinates such as to contribute in a verity of ways to the mission and, to develop leadership skills essential for future leadership opportunities, commanders do build a culture of effective collaboration and a sustainable model of effective leadership within and beyond chain-of-command mandates. Moreover, cohesion and teamwork are force multipliers, making collective effort greater than a mere sum of individual efforts [emphasis added]. (Department of National Defence, p. 21)
By cementing Snr NCOs-subordinate relationships in ways that could harness and channel good relationship between two roles emphasizing collaboration and mutual understanding, as opposed to a “do-as-you-are-told” attitude, CAF is apt to multiply outcomes and mission effectiveness – at much less operational and, perhaps financial, costs.
Internal Integration, the system must follow the good doctrine that would help in maintaining better rules that regulate the army; using media in a responsible manner is also a way; and, for Member Well-being & Commitment, it must also be included in military plans because the most needed attention must be given to the members to continually acknowledge their service. Activities and motivation like giving rewards in the military is a good practice to emphasize to the members who continually work themselves to reach the goals being set.
MAPPING THE ENVIRONMENT
Communication is the central focus of a mind map that aims to provide the issue’s (operating) environment. This act primarily as a function of four main dependencies. These include Leadership, Integration, Morale, and Collaboration. If properly administered and maintained, these dependencies are apt to result in solid outcomes which are limited for only one for each dependency. For Leadership, “Skill Development” is expected; for Integration, “Organizational Consistencies”; for Morale, “Moral Development”; and for Collaboration, “Communication Consistencies.” The dependencies as well as expected outcomes merit more detail.
For Leadership, leaders need to provide an environment where subordinates can be initiated into service and, later, develop leadership skills. To do so, communication is essential for both commanders and subordinates to have an aligned understanding as a requirement for mission activities. The leadership dependency should, moreover, be provided such that subordinates are not afraid to ask or compromise a public image among peers and/or superiors. That is why, “Skill Development” – and, for that matter, any learning experience or activity – is a logical outcome in an environment characterized by openness and permissibility, on the leadership side, and receptivity, on the subordinate side.
For Integration, CAF needs a consistent method to perform day-to-day and strategic functions. From a communication perspective, different functions and activities performed by different battalions, regiments, units, and others may not necessarily align to the same method of getting activity done. That is why, “Organizational Consistencies” are expected should leaders and subordinates develop an agile performance system whereby different performers, or rather collaborators, are informed by a workflow, or system, accounting for all too predictable surprises and variances in an increasingly and rapidly changing operational and strategic context. These Organizational Consistencies may include more effective communication up to and down the chain of command (CoC), streamlined operations across units, and enhanced efficiencies in performing activities at reduced spans and costs.
For Morale, a sense of collectivity is introduced among subordinates to encourage initiative. That is, by providing 2-way communication channels, leaders/commanders are apt to lift spirits and, during conflicts of ideas, bring out what is best in each individual and group. Moreover, individuals in constant contact up and down CoC are more likely to slash out redundancies usually crippling more formal and conventional communications. That is why “Moral Development” is one main expected outcome of a sense of solid morality maintained at CAF. Indeed, values and principles are critical to engaging subordinates compared to strict and more formalized codes of conduct.
For Collaboration, involved stakeholders should be cooperative to develop effective communication. Stakeholders should develop a working system of collaboration, or workflow. This is somewhat similar to Integration. However, having a bottom-up work system, developed piecemeal by different stakeholders, is apt to enhance communication in several ways and across formerly unlikely organizational lines. That is why “Communication Consistencies” are expected should an effective collaboration system is in place. Moreover, synergistic effects are expected as a result since more and more units and departments would contribute and ultimately reshaping organizational culture into a more dynamic and collaborative one.
ANALYZING THE PROBLEM
In communication at CAF, one of the first most important concepts is leadership. Facing rapidly changing internal and external battlespace conditions, CAF is expected to meet a range of emerging challenges in a competent, adaptive, and agile manner. To do so, leadership should, as a central concept mediated by and informing communication, assume front and center position to manage such emerging challenges. Traditionally, a military leader is expected to perform the routine functions of a highly professional military officer. These functions are usually communicated in explicit mission directives and mandates. However, these are not enough under current rapidly changing battlespace conditions. Indeed, CAF leaders and subordinates are expected to meet minimum mission requirements and activities. These requirements and activities should be complemented by wider roles and responsibilities to cater to ever-changing battlespace and warfare conditions. Specifically, CAF leaders are expected to lead people and institutions in ways of inspiring proactive actions and independent initiatives among subordinates. Specifically, CAF leaders, as professional communicators, are expected to play different leadership roles to sustain, inspire, motivate, and manage subordinates of different backgrounds and differential attitudes and behaviors. They are also expected to manage organizations as visionaries and are expected to go above and beyond in managing organizations as system builders and developers. Thinking strategically, communicating is the key to effective and agile organizations. Further, leaders, as system builders and developers, are expected to accept risks to leap forward, not into unknowns, but into adequately calculated situations making a given unit and/or a whole organization much more effective and competent. From a communication perspective, leadership defined as such goes beyond mere enactment of orders issued by leaders to subordinates to compete and succeed in a mission and into an inspirational and strategic way of communicating values and principles, moral and professional, to leverage people and organizational potential in numerous, innovative ways. Further, leadership, mediated by effective and open communication, shifts in function from a mere conventional, chain-of-command role into a responsive strategy inspired by leaders and proactively embraced by subordinates to leverage performance beyond any fixed and rigid predetermined orders and into a more open understanding of leader and subordinate roles under increasingly dynamic conditions at and beyond organizational settings. In sum, leadership and communication inform one another inevitably such as to establish a new norm of a more communicative leadership accountable for and shaping subordinate roles and functions.
In communication at CAF, the second most important concept is team development. In contrast to more generalized notions of team building and management, team development in a military context pre requires attributes, values, and principles team leaders and team members should adhere to for more effective outcomes. This is not to say a mere list of such is enough to create and develop effective teams. Instead, team development is an ongoing process negotiated by leaders and subordinates not so much to complete one mission and move on but, more critically, to establish a working formula according to which leaders and team members can collaborate and deliver. For instance, open communication with team members might not work should leaders and members do not have a basic understanding and mutual appreciation for one another of a more general intent for which teams exist initially. Consider a case of a team leader who simply ignores input and makes decisions independently from valuable contributions made by team members. This attitude does not only erode a leader's credibility but creates a negative climate where subordinates are more likely to follow suit and adopt a self-centered attitude. Trust is at stake when team leaders do not listen enough or properly to team members. In addition to losing credibility, team leaders are also more likely to lose team cohesiveness and support critical to perform any given set of activities. Framed as such, team developme...