The Need for Organisational Resilience Chapter 5

• The selection of a location for a corps headquarters is determined above all by the need to

keep in close and constant touch with both the divisions and the rear. A corps commander is

not to rely on technical means of communication alone.

In spite of the availability of advanced technological apparatus, staying far away from the front

extends the distance orders and reports must travel, endangers communications and may

cause reports and orders to arrive belatedly or not at all. It also puts difficulties in the way of

obtaining a personal view of the country and of the state of combat.

On the other hand, the location of corps headquarters should be fixed in such a way as to

make possible the orderly activity of the various services.

• A divisional commander’s place is with his troops … During encounters with the enemy

seeing for oneself is best. (Van Creveld 1982, 128)

[TEXT BOX ENDS]

In contrast to adaptive leadership, encapsulating the capability of agility and creativity,

Administrative leadership is about orchestrating tasks, and making people compliant in

executing these tasks in a prescribed fashion, in an efficiently consistent and transparent

manner. Successful administrative leaders are able to establish systems (of rules and

procedures) that protect and sustain essential operational functions to meet the needs of the

organisation. Military staff (often referred to as general staff, army staff, navy staff, or

airstaff within the individual services), enlisted and civilian personnel are commonly tasked to

manage administrative, operational and logistical needs.

In both the German Armed forces and those of the French and their Allies, both Adaptive

and Administrative Leadership, run in concert with each other, provided crucial contributions

to the ability to wage war. However, while the Germans saw Administrative Leadership as a

supporting function, in particular the French developed a strategic, operational system of

rigidity, defined by strict timetables of movement and firepower. Hence, front-line officers in

the French Army were relegated to mere administrators of a methodical battle.

The Challenge: Breaking out

During the night of May 13 th , German engineers completed a first crossing across the

Meuse. Getting heavy equipment across was another matter. Roads leading to the crossings

were clogged, soldiers fatigued and the night sky made organising an effective crossing

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