Leadership Lessons from the Battle Road
Standing atop the same ridge that Captain John Parker used to ambush the British Regulars retreating from Concord, 15 cadets and adultmembers of the Massachusetts Wing reflected on how Parker could so successfully rally his men from the morning’s disaster on the Lexington Green.
“The level of discussion and cross-talk between age groups was remarkable,” said Captain Alex Baptiste, one of the Wing’s adult members. The level of analysis was on par with what we see in the professional world, he added.
The group was participating in a “Staff Ride,” a leadership development program that uses an historical event to drive conversations about modern command, decision-making, and leadership. While participants do discuss “what” happened they focused more on the “why” of what the people did.
This was the fourth year of the Wing’s program specifically geared for its cadet non-commissioned officers (NCOs). Cadet Officers participate in a similar program at Gettysburg battlefield in Pennsylvania.
“These stories - of the people who wrestled with complexity, ambiguity, and uncertainty - are certainly relevant to how we operate today,” said facilitator and guide, Lt. Col. Thomas Williams. The facilitator’s job is to ask the right questions, questions that provoke thought and move the discussion beyond superficial explanations, Williams noted.
The day starts on the Lexington Green before jumping to Concord and the North Bridge, where the students follow the Regular’s retreat from Concord back through Lexington. There were five stops in all. The discussions revolved around leadership, critical thinking, organizational culture, the focus was on how we apply what we learn to what we do in our units today.
Staff Rides have been part of military professional development in the United States since the early 1900s. Elihu Root, Secretary of War from 1899 to 1904, encouraged the practice because he thought exploring Civil War Battlefields and Campaigns (on horseback) was a superb way of preparing senior officers for the rigors of duty on a general staff.
For More Information:
Lt. Col. Thomas Williams
thomas.williams@mawg.cap.gov
