Intelligence Leadership in the News
Leaders Inspire People, Managers Fix Systems
“President Obama has said that the failures revealed by the Christmas Day plot are both human and systemic. He’s right, but the 9/11 Commission said the same thing. The question is what is he going to do about it. USAToday editorial January 5, 2010.
Leaders focus on people: Admiral Denis Blair, Director of National Intelligence:
The president was direct in his assessment that intelligence failures were a contributing factor in the escalation of this threat. This is a tough message for us to receive. But we have received it, and now we must move forward and respond as a team.
In coming days, we will review what information was available to whom, determine what mistakes were made in assessing or sharing that information, commend those who did their jobs well, and hold accountable those who did not. I have no doubt in our ability to close the gaps that these attacks have exposed….
We are an adaptive learning organization. We can an must outthink, outwork and defeat the enemy’s new ideas. Our intelligence community is now more collaborative than ever before, know how to operate as a team and can adjust to conditions on the ground. In the immediate term we have a challenging job of self-examination, and we will do it as a community….we will work together to understand, anticipate and act against our enemies….
I could not be more proud of this community, of all we have accomplished together and of your willingness to sacrifice for the country. We have more to do, and we will do it as a mutually supporting team, with our eye on the goal of keeping Americans safe.
Source: Public statement by the Director of National Intelligence, Dennis C. Blair published by USAToday as “Opposing View” January 5, 2010.
Managers focus on systems:
….These actions are necessary given inherent systemic weaknesses and human errors revealed by the review of events leading up to December 25th . They are also required to ensure that the standards, practices and business processes…are appropriately robust….”
Department of State:
· Review visa issuance and revocation criteria and processes….
Department of Homeland Security:
· Aggressively pursue enhanced screening technology, protocols and procedures….
Director of National Intelligence:
· Immediately reaffirm and clarify roles and responsibilities of counterterrorism analytic components of the intelligence community….
· Accelerate information technology enhancements….
· Take further steps to enhance the rigor and raise the standards of tradecraft of intelligence analysis….
· Ensure resources are properly aligned….
Central Intelligence Agency:
Issue guidance aimed at ensuring timely distribution of intelligence reports
Source: Presidential Memorandum of January 7, 2010 “Attempted Terrorist Attack on December 25, 2009; Intelligence, Screening and Watchlisting System Corrective Actions
But, the Intelligence Community needs Leader-Managers at all levels.
-For more information on the difference of Leadership and management, go here_____ and use the index.
-For the requirement for all intelligence professionals to be Leader-Managers, go here____ and use the index.
When Leaders Fight Over Management Rather than Lead, Nobody Wins
"For those who believe the only thing the CIA leadership has to do is provide all-source intelligence analyses to President Obama and his top policymakers, think again....
"Early last week, several long-festering bureaucratic issues that had arisen between Director of National Intelligence Denis C. Blair and CIA Director Norman Panetta had to be settled by national security advisor James L. Jones, through some Solomon-like decisions.
"Blairs four-year-old organization has been trying to establish its role as supervisor of all 16 intelligence agencies, particularly the CIA, former top dog.
"Three issues arose within the last year....
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"...a May Intelligence Community Directive from Blair that dealt with appointing DNI representatives to foregin partners and international organizations....
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"...a DNI role in oversight of covert action....
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"...Blair's determination to name the intelligence community representative at National Security Council Meetings....
Jones...decided all three issues....
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"CIA station chiefs would continue to serve concurrently as DNI representatives---a well-publicized CIA win.
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Blair will name the intelligence community representative to NSC meetings...a not well-publicized DNI win.
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On covert actions and their oversight, the CIA would continue to deal directly with the White House but must report oversight findings to the DNI. This was a more complicated split decision, but one that CIA claims as a victory...." Extracted from "Settling an intelligence turf war" by Walter Pincus in the Washington Post, Nov. 17, 2009.
For more on Leadership in Management, go here____
Leading from a Staff Position
“Gen. David H. Petraeus plans to open an in-house intelligence organization at U.S. Central Command this week that will train military officers, covert agents and analysts who agree to focus on Afghanistan and Pakistan for up to a decade.
“The organization, to be called the Center for Afghanistan Pakistan Excellence, will be led by Derek Harvey, a retired colonel in the Defense Intelligence Agency who became one of the Gen. Petraeus’ most trusted analysts during the 2007-08 counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq.
“Mr. Harvey distinguished himself in Iraq by predicting that the Iraqi insurgency would spiral out of control, at a time when it was widely underestimated by the Bush administration, in 2003 and 2004….
“….In 2005, Mr. Harvey wrote a paper on how to reform the intelligence community based on his experience in Iraq.
“‘I put together a paper to outline the way ahead to address the shortcomings of the intelligence community's posture for addressing the threat in Iraq and the emerging problems I anticipated. I outlined what we could do, in building architecture, training, realigning resources and developing new architecture,’ he said.
“But when he presented the report to Gen. Petraeus, the general told Mr. Harvey not to go public with his critique. ‘His counsel was let me help you, there is a better way to bring change. Sometimes you don't go public.’”
Gen. Petraeus, then used his leadership position and exercised his leadership authority to start the reform effort based on Colonel Harvey’s recommendations and has given Colonel Harvey the opportunity to implement them. That is exactly the leadership role of the staff officer. More than any other follower, Staff Officers should consider themselves as partners with the Commander in the leadership process. That is because staff officers are the direct extension of the Leader. They assist and support their Commanders in carrying out their responsibilities:
-to participate fully and actively in Community and organizational policy, planning and decisionmaking activities.
-to create a vision and goals for their organization in support of Community and higher level organizational visions and goals.
-to develop policies and plans for the implementation of the higher level direction and guidance as well as for the realization of the organizational vision and goals.
Indeed, as General Perry Smith emphasized to Pentagon staff officers, their role was to “lead the generals”. source: Extracts from “Petraeus To Open Intel Training Center” by Eli Lake in the Washington Times August 24, 2009. and Smith, Perry; Assignment Pentagon: How to Excel in a Bureaucracy (Brassey's, 2002). (reissue).
For More on Leadership as a Staff Officer, go here_____.
Can Leon Panetta Move the CIA Forward Without Confronting Its Past? By Jane Mayer in The New Yorker.
To read this lengthly article, go there_____
Leader Relationships
“In the old world, the CIA director ruled. He not only ran the spy agency, but he wore a second hat as Director of Central Intelligence. The DCI was ostensibly responsible for coordinating the activities of all 16 agencies and departments which make up the intelligence community. Then came along the DNI (Director of National Intelligence) in 2005 ....
Running the CIA in itself was a full-time job. The DNI would oversee the entire intelligence community while the CIA director concentrated on running the spy agency. But there’s a problem with this setup. Although the DNI was given more input into budgets and personnel than the DCI had, the DNI's powers are limited and somewhat vague. The intelligence chief has a say in lots of things, but there's no real muscle behind his decisions. It's not like the defense secretary, who has absolute authority over all department components.
Outgoing CIA Director Mike Hayden recently told reporters there is natural tension between the CIA and DNI, but it’s ‘not a bad structure.’ And how did departing DNI Mike McConnell respond to Hayden's quip? ‘Anytime you have organizations that have similar interests, you're going to have disputes,’ he said. ‘And particularly if the two leaders aren't working together and having a partnership and so on, the warfare at the trench level gets to be pretty much a raging battle.’
CIA nominee Leon Panetta got into the middle of the dispute during his confirmation hearing.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Michigan, wanted to know Panetta's understanding of the relationship between the CIA and the DNI. Would he be under the supervision of the DNI?A bit baffled by Panetta's response, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, asked him point blank, ‘Is the DNI your boss or not?’ Panetta’s answer, ‘The DNI is my boss.’
It makes you wonder how Panetta and the other new guy - DNI Dennis Blair - will play in the sand box.”
Extracts from "CIA vs DNI, Clash of Titans" from the Association of Foreign Intelligence Officers Weekly Intelligence Notes dated 17 Feb. 09 based on "Benson/CNN/12 Feb 2009.
List of Recent and Short Leadership Articles
- List of Recent and Short Leadership Articles
