Military Review English Edition March-April 2014 | Page 71

STRUCTURED ORGANIZATION Figure 2 Volume of daily tweets in Egypt, January-February 2011 thinks the world works as mental models.9 These rigid and highly individualized mental models affect how an individual analyzes a situation, and they explain why two people can interpret daily events in completely different ways. Military leaders with decades of service are prone to have developed mental models commensurate with a hierarchical organization rooted in linear information channels and bureaucratic processes. Senior leaders must recognize and overcome these mental models to adapt and ensure improved cross-generational communication in a rapidly evolving world. Mental model based on position. One mental model associated with a structured organization values strong positional leadership where individuals execute their duties with the authority granted by their position.10 In the military, those who ascend upward in the hierarchy are recognized with promotion in rank; higher positions in the organization equate to higher positions of authority. Traditional MILITARY REVIEW March-April 2014 thinking prescribes inflexible positional leadership and concludes those in senior positions are the most knowledgeable, experienced, and informed. The structured organizational model assumes that those with seniority in rank are most capable to lead and grants the authority to do so. However, younger generations do not immediately accept this mental model and, surprisingly, they do not immediately assume experience is relevant. Leaders at all levels must understand these differing viewpoints. Individuals who assume that younger subordinates accept authority at face value may ultimately fail. Instead of acting in the narrowly framed leadership role of most knowledgeable expert and attempting to command and control information, senior leaders must become the chief facilitation officer by guiding organizational processes, communication channels, and information dissemination.11 Leaders must identify and accept subordinates who are more skilled and informed, and possibly better postured, 69