The Department of Leadership and Information Strategy’s goal is to educate and develop senior leaders to bring strategic thinking skills and innovative approaches to the challenges of transforming organizations and formulating and resourcing our future national security strategy.

We seek to achieve this goal by... (click here for more info)



The Strategic Leadership Program at ICAF offers:
Executive Assessment & Development Program
Strategic Leadership Core Course
Electives Program
Distinguished Guest Lecturers

Participants in the Strategic Leadership Program are select, high-performing U.S. government senior civilians, military personnel, International Fellows (military and civilian), and national and international Industry Fellows (senior managers from corporations).

Executive Assessment & Development Program

In conjunction with the Strategic Leadership Course, students have the opportunity to participate in a leading edge Executive Assessment and Development Program (EADP). The purpose of this program is to increase student awareness of strengths and weaknesses, and aid in developing the skills needed to become transformational leaders and strategic change agents in the 21st century.
One of the major goals of the EADP is to facilitate guided self-development. EADP counseling and feedback is offered early in the academic year to provide a foundation for continued reflection and development throughout their ICAF experience. EADP feedback counselors continue to be available throughout the year to meet with students to guide their continued development.

Strategic Leadership Core Course

The goal of the Strategic Leadership course is to develop innovative strategic thinkers and change agents who can create agile, adaptable, and flexible organizations to maintain a competitive advantage in a dynamic and changing world. Transformational leadership serves as the overarching conceptual framework for the core course and provides the intellectual underpinnings in the specific areas of (1) Strategic Leader Competencies and Skills and (2) the Work of Strategic Leaders in Building and Transforming Organizations. Key objectives that run throughout the course include:

1. Developing strategic leader competencies, to include technical, conceptual, and interpersonal competencies, as they relate to transformational leadership and transforming and changing organizations. 2. Developing and applying the tools of strategic leadership for implementing coherent strategies to lead organizational transformation in joint, interagency, multinational, and cross-cultural environments. 3. Enhancing self-awareness and engaging in continuous self-assessment, development, and fostering a commitment towards life-long learning. 4. Developing a strategic understanding of the moral, social, and ethical impact of the 21st century on information age organizations.

Electives Program

Additionally, we offer several electives that foster strategic leadership development from a variety of perspectives:

Ethics: Meeting the Challenges of Strategic Leadership
Creative and Critical Thinking
Complexity and Strategic Thinking
Lessons in Leadership
Interagency Negotiation
The Great Captains

Distinguished Guest Lecturers

An integral part of the ICAF Strategic Leadership Program is the opportunity to hear from numerous individuals serving in strategic leadership positions in the military, government, industry, and other public and private sector entities. The National Defense University Distinguished Lecturer Program (DLP), the ICAF Commandant’s Lecture Series (CLS), the ICAF Industry Studies Program, together with the various core academic courses, expose students to a wide array of speakers serving in senior positions. By the end of the academic year, students will have had the opportunity to interact with the Military Service Chiefs, the Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Vice Chairman, and several, if not all, of the Joint Staff Directors. In addition, there are visits by several Combatant Commanders, various cabinet level and senior administration officials, as well as some of the leading captains of industry. The Industry Study Program allows students personal experience in meeting and talking with another set of leaders whose thinking and views on a variety of organizational, management, and leadership issues are shaping specific sectors of their industries.