Several leadership qualities listed in the Army Leadership module were to be courageous rather than passive, to adjust ones actions according to circumstance, the power of collective leadership. Courage is the decision to take action during stressful times, rather than be passive to its effects. With practice, a courageous leader not only betters their ability to lead under pressure, but strengthens their confidence and consistency of thoughtful action under pressure. Situational leadership is related to this, in the ways that not all stressful situations are the same. A situational leader must be trained to confront complex problems with understanding and an open mind. Collective leadership expresses a goal that is shared amongst leaders at
Leadership can be viewed in many different ways and possess many different qualities. There are courageous leaders, respectful leaders, terrible leaders, and seemingly insignificant leaders but leaders nonetheless. But what is it that differentiates between a strong leader and a weak leader, or a powerful leader and an insignificant one? Is it the qualities in the leader or the decisions they make in key situations that define good leadership qualities? Some would define a good leader by their ability to do the right thing even if it is not the easiest choice. Others might define a good leader as one that possesses great integrity and leads by example. The military possesses many great leaders through a process of development and molding individuals to meet expected leadership qualities like honor, courage, commitment and integrity to accomplish any mission or goal. However, this process doesn’t always create the desired effect. So, let’s examine some good and bad examples of leadership qualities and break down what and how we can emulate them.
The intention of this paper is to introduce my leadership philosophy. I will start off defining leadership as well as explaining my leadership philosophy. I will then share a summary of an interview with a Squadron Commander about a difficult situation that he needed to use his philosophy to work through and analyze how my philosophy applies to the same situation followed by a brief summary.
From the time I was a little boy I was always taught to never lie and to always do my best. I learned at a very young age that you possess virtues and personal attributes that make you who you are. Fast forward 15 years and now I am a Sergeant of Marines in the United States Marine Corps. Leading and mentoring young men in their earlier adulthood. My influence on these Marines can change them for the rest of their life. As a sergeant you must possess integrity, dependability and courage to be a successful leader of Marines. Tell the truth all the time no one bats an eye, tell one lie and your reputation is in question for a lifetime.
This paper on Leadership will compare the primary differences and characteristics between the tactical leader and the organizational leader. I will provide you with the basics for development, characteristics, and the fundamentals that help guide and influence each leader’s style and how they influence Soldiers to follow them. Leaders at all levels demonstrate their values, knowledge, skills, and abilities in many different means and methods in
The primary challenge for leaders in the Army is taking a group of individuals and molding them into a team. The framework that is employed to the
You can ask ten different Soldiers what an Army leader is, or what they believe a good Army leader is. It will not matter the rank, time in service or the maturity level of that Soldier because more than likely you will get ten different answers. Everyone has their own opinions on what an Army leader is, or what they believe a good Army leader is. By definition leadership in the Army is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization (ADRP 6-22, 2012). There are three leadership competencies that make an Army leader; leads, develops and achieves.
Leadership, according to the Army doctrine, represents individuals’ ability to influence people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization (“Leadership” FM 6-22). However, the varying characteristics of individuals that the Army attracts may instill this doctrine in many different ways, leading to different representations of leadership. Some individuals choose to lead their subordinate in a stern matter, only displaying matured emotions and a “tough-loving” attitude to guide them in the right direction. Others
The United States Marine Corps has fourteen leadership traits. One of those traits is ‘Integrity.’ I look at integrity as ‘doing the right thing when no one is watching.’ However, the Oxford Dictionary defines integrity as, “The quality of being honest and having strong moral principles. The state of being whole and undivided. The state of being whole and undivided. Internal consistency or lack of corruption in electronic data.” Integrity is vital to any leader because the people that they are leading is depending on them to lead them in the right direction. “Most ministers want to be persons of integrity, persons whose professional lives uphold the highest ethical ideals,” state Trull and Carter. Integrity is the glue that keeps all the other parts of leadership intact.
Leaders are look upon as role models as they guide us with their motivating, influence to accomplish tasks. There are a lot of leadership styles; when leading, it is based on the situation. When I was in the military, I encountered with many different styles of leadership. A leadership that I considered meaningful is a Transformational Leader. The transformational Leader in the military with their inspiring charisma of motivating, influence creates a visualized path that produces energetic characteristics that inhere to new changes, developments, and possibilities.; by demonstrating authority, the Transformational Leader in the military utilizes their power to inspire and motivate people into trusting and following their example; this as
I believe a leader has many things to describe them. They have many characteristics, for example the 14 leadership traits. J.J.D.I.D.T.I.E.B.U.C.K.L.E. I’ll write them in my own words and what they mean to me. I believe the LT judgment is the ability to weigh the starting, midway, and outcome of any decision and decide which would be best for his junior marines, which way would be able to incorporate the strength of his marines, be open for other suggestions too because there are so many angles that a situation can be looked at and you might miss something when someone might see it, and most of all be able to carry out the mission the most successful way possible. Next is justice, I believe that justice is a good thing to have when it’s
Caring, empathy, communication, and intelligence are positive key leadership traits that are identified by B.M. Bass and R. Bass (2008), authors of The Bass Handbook of Leadership. Caring, empathy, and communication are part of B.M. Bass and R. Bass interpersonal competence, and intelligence is a task competence. Even though, these are a few of the 6 key positive leadership traits identified by B.M. Bass and R. Bass: task competence, interpersonal competence, traits of character biophysical traits, personal traits. Caring, empathy, communication, intelligence are enough to show the effect of positive behavior in the workplace.
Situational leadership focuses on adapting your leadership style or approach based on the situation and the amount of direction and support that is needed by followers. As Jesus trained and equipped his disciples from simple fishermen to fishers of men, who carried on his ministry after he ascended to heaven, he integrated different styles and theories of leadership that best served and supported his followers (Blanchard & Hodges, 2003). Depending on the level of competency and commitment of their people, leaders will adjust their style to provide the necessary support and direction. The core competencies of situational leaders are the ability to identify the performance, competence and commitment of others, and to be flexible (Paterson, 2013). From being highly directive, telling their people exactly what to do and how, to delegating, clearly stating the objective and allowing them to complete the task with little direction and support, situational leaders adapt their approach to the needs of their people and the particular situation.
Leadership in general requires courage. Courage is defined in Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary as a mental or moral strength to venture, persevere, and withstand danger, fear, or difficulty. (Merriam-Webster Collegiate Dictionary) Physical courage is courage in the face of physical pain, hardship, death, or threat of death, while moral courage is the ability to act rightly in the face of popular opposition, shame, scandal, or discouragement.
There are many different theories and approaches developed, that help determine personal leadership qualities and actions. Each approach holds valuable information in relation to leadership styles and qualities, yet you must find the approaches that appeal to you when attempting to determine your own leadership qualities. The skills approach and authentic leadership approach were the most appealing for me. I choose these two approaches because I believe that it is very important to be an authentic leader, as well as to have the knowledge to do the job asked of you and for you to be able to teach your followers. “Leadership is a combination of intrinsic personality traits, learned leadership skills, and characteristics of the situation” (Cherry, B., & Jacob, S. R., 2014, p. 287). You never know when you can be viewed as a leader to someone else, regardless of your position and title. Knowing where you stand in your leadership qualities will help you throughout your career.
Hersey and Blanchard’s Situational Leadership Theory (SLT) asserts that a leader’s effectiveness is dependent upon the readiness, or ability and willingness, of the leader’s followers to complete a task. This leadership style is an amalgamation of task-oriented and relationship-oriented characteristics that are employed depending upon the situation and the followers involved. According to the SLT, as followers increase in readiness the leader’s style is to adapt accordingly (Kinicki & Kreitner, 2009).