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UYL2209 -- Ukraine's Battlefield Culture War
The Organizational Culture War Playing Out in Ukraine
There is a war within a war on the battlefields of Ukraine. It's a cultural war. Not a war of Ukrainian culture versus Russian culture so much as a war between organizational culture.
On one hand are the Russians, who have maintained the authoritarian leadership inherited from their Soviet past, which in turn inherited it from the czars. By contrast, the Ukrainians have purposefully foregone authoritarianism for a collaborative and empowering style of leadership.
The outcomes which have spring from these opposing leadership cultures provide a monumental case study in the implications which attend one's choice of leadership styles.
By practicing large-scale empowerment of even small fighting units, the Ukrainians have maximized the speed with which battlefield elements can identify targets of opportunity, initiate engagement, and wipe them out. Thus the amazing ability of the outnumbered and out-equipped Ukrainians to inflict horrendous tolls on Russian personnel, tanks, tracked vehicles, trucks, and artillery -- and now even a flagship.
The Russians, meanwhile, are bogged down in a cumbersome decision-making process which does not entrust independent decision-making to those on the front lines. Approval for any action -- an attack, a repositioning of assets, or a withdrawal -- must come from the top. There are fundamentally no non-commissioned officer corps in the enlisted ranks. And leadership training for lower-level officers is minimal. After all, why train someone in how to act independently if they will never be granted that freedom.
In the podcast, I detail the contrast between the two leadership cultures. I trace the historical factors which have led to the Russian reliance on authoritarianism. And then I map out why the Ukrainians abandoned the authoritarian style of leadership from their Soviet past and adopted a collaborative and empowering approach.
A transcript of this episode is available at https://www.leaderperfect.com/podcast. Just follow the link to Download Scripts.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
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By Mike Armour
5
11 ratings
The Organizational Culture War Playing Out in Ukraine
There is a war within a war on the battlefields of Ukraine. It's a cultural war. Not a war of Ukrainian culture versus Russian culture so much as a war between organizational culture.
On one hand are the Russians, who have maintained the authoritarian leadership inherited from their Soviet past, which in turn inherited it from the czars. By contrast, the Ukrainians have purposefully foregone authoritarianism for a collaborative and empowering style of leadership.
The outcomes which have spring from these opposing leadership cultures provide a monumental case study in the implications which attend one's choice of leadership styles.
By practicing large-scale empowerment of even small fighting units, the Ukrainians have maximized the speed with which battlefield elements can identify targets of opportunity, initiate engagement, and wipe them out. Thus the amazing ability of the outnumbered and out-equipped Ukrainians to inflict horrendous tolls on Russian personnel, tanks, tracked vehicles, trucks, and artillery -- and now even a flagship.
The Russians, meanwhile, are bogged down in a cumbersome decision-making process which does not entrust independent decision-making to those on the front lines. Approval for any action -- an attack, a repositioning of assets, or a withdrawal -- must come from the top. There are fundamentally no non-commissioned officer corps in the enlisted ranks. And leadership training for lower-level officers is minimal. After all, why train someone in how to act independently if they will never be granted that freedom.
In the podcast, I detail the contrast between the two leadership cultures. I trace the historical factors which have led to the Russian reliance on authoritarianism. And then I map out why the Ukrainians abandoned the authoritarian style of leadership from their Soviet past and adopted a collaborative and empowering approach.
A transcript of this episode is available at https://www.leaderperfect.com/podcast. Just follow the link to Download Scripts.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices