Most employers and managers would agree the business world has changed dramatically. The COVID-19 pandemic is a great (if extreme) example of how quickly disruptions can impact the economy and business. That said, the pandemic also offers great examples of agile leadership. The most agile companies survived the disruption and adapted to change very quickly. Sticking to outdated workforce norms can and has killed businesses. On the other hand, embracing disruption and realistic management is far more efficient than resisting the inevitable. As such, the demand for candidates with leadership potential is on the rise more than ever before.
How Junior Military Veterans Support Agile Leadership Goals
Leadership skills can be valuable in almost any context. They are especially useful for businesses willing to embrace change for growth. This is one very important reason why businesses want more agile leadership on their team. The right leadership can identify key opportunities for change as well as drive the transformation to accommodate it.
The challenge, therefore, is to source the right kind of leadership talent; more specifically, the kind with a demonstrable capacity for leadership and the courage to embrace disruption with a transformative mindset. Luckily for many American employers, the chances of hiring such leadership are high among the junior military veteran demographic. Here is why they make such appealing candidates for this purpose:
They Can Translate Military Practices into Corporate Growth
Businesses have learned the hard way just how quickly “business as usual” can vanish. Many organizations now seek to add talent that is quick to identify change opportunities. And while hiring for change management is critical, recruiters need to add one more aspect to their candidate needs: change leadership.
In other words, employers should not simply look for professionals with the intelligence to manage sudden disruptions and changes. They also need leaders in the right roles to successfully drive the business’s response to these changes. Military veterans, especially younger junior military officers or JMOs, are often ideal candidates for a leadership change role. They are a direct byproduct of the military’s cerebral training regimen.
JMO training places a great emphasis on agility. The need for agile leadership in the military is a necessity; few disruptions can match those in an active conflict or battle zone, especially when operational success depends on achieving goals in spite of disruptions. Firmly ingrained leadership skills don’t just make a great team player or charismatic leader; they also enable JMOs to navigate disruption, making them ideal change leaders.
They Boost Organizational Agility and Transformation Success
Agile organizations are defined by their speed and efficiency to adapt when facing rapid changes or disruptions. Organizations with poor agility are easily overwhelmed by unexpected change. Without sufficient agility, they can struggle to respond to changes in sustainable ways. On the other hand, organizations with good agility can navigate disruptions with greater success. Not only that, but they can also execute near-complete transformations – end-to-end evolution that negates large-scale disruptions.
Offer Valuable Alternatives to Rigid Leadership
Organizational agility is critical in modern business formats, but without equally agile leadership, the organization can accomplish very little. Having the right personnel in leadership roles can promote growth and evolution. Agile leadership is not just quick to respond to changing circumstances. Rather, agile leaders can help drive end-to-end change. The right mix of both organizational and leadership agility can help businesses tackle almost any kind of disruptive change.
JMOs Require Specialized Sourcing but Deliver Proportionately
Why don’t more businesses integrate former JMOs into their workforces? They actually do. Even Fortune 100 companies offer Junior Military Officer Leadership Development Programs. However, the problem is not usually a business’s willingness to hire JMO vets for leadership potential; the real problem is how they source and interact with military veterans as candidates. Many businesses have missed out on valuable hires simply because general recruiters are not equipped to interact with them meaningfully.
It may prove far more efficient to rely on specialized recruiters when it comes to veteran staffing. Veteran recruiters and staffing agencies deal with veteran candidates every single day. This offers them the necessary experience and insight to deliver greater hiring success, particularly when it comes to recruiting JMO vets for agile leadership roles.