Choosing the Elite

We seem to cultivate elitism.  Separating those who have special qualities, through heritage, education, intelligence, artistic talent, athletic ability, or wealth.  They become models for us to look up to, to emulate, to follow.  But, what really happens when we establish a process that identifies a child or a twenty-something as elite and then build a special world around them to ensure she or he rises to the positions we expect?

Looking at Europe we see the continuation of royalties and monarchs, but the real governing is left to the political elites.  Each of these classes have their own selection process.  Here at home, we have a number of paths into the world of elites, starting with our educational institutions where there are the Ivy League schools and then everyone else.  Within the military there are the service academies as the first door to that pathway within the small segment of the society that chooses to serve as defenders of the nation.

We see in the world of athletics the problems that come to so many who have been sheltered from the reality of life due to their world-class physical ability.  Look at the problems with drugs, sexual predation, or physical violence routinely reported when talking about football athletes here in the U.S.

During my career, I saw the corporate decisions shaping a leadership structure of the Air Force designed to reach down and pick the Lieutenants whose destiny would be guided to the stars.  From those early candidates, some would naturally fall away either through personal choice, or failure.  Those who remained would be the candidates for promotion to the general officer ranks, and the most senior military positions.  The possibility that someone could enter this group while in his or her thirties was never a serious possibility.  It was true those “late bloomers” could rise to credible and important positions but almost certainly not the most senior ranks.

Once, when discussing changes in the officer performance system that obscured the evaluator's ability to clearly rank subordinate readiness for the next grade, I foolishly asked how the promotion boards would know who was best qualified.  The response did not surprise me, only the candor with which it was given.  A candor, which when recognized was quickly corrected.  But what happens when the candidates for these highest positions are chosen so early and sheltered throughout their careers until they arrive at the most important position of Commander/Senior Leader?

The US Army seems to be trying to sort that out now, after a number of scandals among their Pantheon of the Stars.  See: Army looks for new ways to address misbehaving generals.  While I wish them good luck, I don’t expect they will alter their process for deciding who should be elevated to the Pantheon in the first place, for at the end of the day the reason the Army is considering this program has less to do with the individual than with the institution.

“We have tolerated people doing things they shouldn't be doing because we say all of them are extremely competent and really good at what they do. And that's not good enough now because you're not only damaging yourself, you're damaging the institution,” Cardon said. “We have great trust with the American people, every time one of these things happens, you're putting a nick in that.”