Negotiation as a leadership tool in the Brazilian Army

Abstract

An effective leadership is a condition for  obtaining  the  maximum  perfor-mance  of  teams,  regardless  of  the  obstacles  that  may  arise  between  them and their goals. The Brazilian Army shares this view and recogni-zes the limitations of hierarchy and discipline to ensure the common will around  the  commander.  Among  the  core   competencies   for   leadership   consensually appointed by civil and military   experts,   the   negotiation   stands  out.  The  crisis  of  authority  that  permeates  today’s  society,  and  the  challenges  of  managing  chan-ges  that  the  transformation  of  the  Army  foreshadows,  more  value  is  added for the “know how to negotia-te”  skill  as  a  requirement  for  “good  leading.”  In  this  sense,  the  question  is  the  extent  to  which  this  correla-tion  is  recognized  by  the  Force  and  its  official  view  is  shared  by  staff,  based on their empirical reality. Ad-ditionally, it is questioned about the type  of  preparation  offered  by  the  institution  for  its  human  resources  assigned   for   command   positions-   the  officers  and  NCOs  –  comparing  it with inspiring experiences of more advanced   armies.   It   was   found   through  literature  and  field  rese-arch  a  visible  dissonance  between  the   institutional   posture   and   the   experience  and  needs  identified  by  the  officers  and  NCOs.  It  has  been  diagnosed   that   the   Force   should   systematize negotiation as a tool for leadership  in  the  various  levels  of  command  and  should  structure  the  training of personnel regarding this field.