Increase in military leadership skills and competences of future leadersthrough stress research findings

The article describes the term “stress”, how stress is measured and how conclusions for an effective and efficient training can be drawn to increase officer cadets’ leadership skills and competences based on stress measurements. With the so-called Clinical Stress Assessment method, which was invented by a prestigious stress-researcher, Austrian and Czech officer cadets have been examined for the last years by taking a capillary blood sample of 100 microliters from the fingertip. The blood sample is analyzed within three minutes by special equipment and recorded by special software. After interpretation of the discovered data, adequate proposals how to organize a proper education and training can be made. In this paper, there are presented especially those findings which are related to leadership skills and competences; for example, how the sequences of education and training should be organized and which circumstances prospective, future military leaders should take into consideration in order to increase their personal and their future subordinates’ performance. At the end of the article the reader will know – because of understanding the term “stress” – that a “stressless” education and training will not create any improvement of skills and competences; without any mental and/or physical burdens there is no effect.