Leadership has long been a focal point of human curiosity but has recently gathered even more attention. As globalization becomes increasingly the dominant force in political, social, and economic affairs, leaders far and wide are being called upon to take on new roles and address emergent challenges. This trend may be most prominent in the arena of national security. 

Both military leaders and civilian managers conceive of organizations in a variety of ways. Yet they may not think through the models, paradigms, and theories they espouse as they affect command and control on the battlefield. The vagaries of organization theory have made it harder for organizations to work in joint and interagency environments, and since diverse thinking will be an enduring feature of the security landscape, especially in an era of accelerating change, there must be recognition that military leaders and civilian managers are guided by different and even contradictory concepts. The bureaucratic view at the Pentagon, for instance, needs to appreciate the command and control realities of combat and vice versa