EDUCATION OF STUDENTS (MILITARY PROFESSIONALS) TO FULFILL REQUIRED LEVELS OF LEADERS’ COMMUNICATION COMPETENCIES

The implementation of a competency-based approach in the education of Czech military professionals at the tertiary level has brought, among other things, the demand and the need to ascertain the level of development of social competencies. In the past, their quality was not the subject of goal-directed monitoring and research on the part of an educational institution; it was left rather in the hands of the students themselves. At the University of Defence in Brno, the situation changed at the beginning of the 2014/2015 academic year, when the newly accredited study program entitled “Armed Forces Management and Employment” came into force. The changes in the content and forms of education allowed the knowledge of soft skills to be passed on and the social skills of the leader to be monitored in an environment that is very close to the real conditions of military service in the units and facilities of the Army of the Czech Republic. The advantage of the changes made is the fact that it is possible to monitor the changes in competencies in individuals over the course of three years, in particular after the end of the semester. Communicative competency was determined both by specialists in practical training and by the implemented research to be one of the most important social competencies. The aim of the article is to inform about the activities performed and to present the results of ascertaining the level of the leader’s communicative competency in one specific communicative situation, i.e. issuing and receiving an operation order, which is the basic way of passing information in the military environment. The monitored sample included 27 students in the roles of squad leader and patrol leader. The mixed methods research design was selected. The main method to ascertain the leader’s level of communicative competency in a given situation was the observation method combined with video recording. To correct the notes of observers that recorded the proband’s performance, the method of interviewing, carried out through questionnaires, was used. The questionnaires contained the items for self-assessment and the appraisal of the commander’s performance by subordinates. The result was a positive finding: the communication of most students in assigned roles was approaching the required parameters already in the second year of study. They have managed both the verbal and non-verbal aspects of speech, have used the professional language and have complied with the requirements for military communication: brevity, dispassionateness and clarity. They have been able to remember essential information and to tailor the message to their level of command. However, in a few individuals, more serious shortcomings have also been revealed, which rested mainly in their inability to provide feedback or to get the gist of the message. It has also been found out that some students having other qualities of leaders did not manage the given role at all. The research activity and the results obtained are part of the project solution for organization development entitled “Development of Social Competencies of the Military Leader” realized by the Department of Leadership at the Faculty of Military Leadership, at the University of Defence in Brno.