I chose to write about John Grosvenor Rowland (born May 24, 1957) an American former politician and twice convicted felon. He was the 86th Governor of Connecticut from 1995 to 2004; as a politician, he was a member of the Republican Party. (In reading the book, “Why CEO’s fail” I found, John Rowland to possess the traits or arrogance and aloofness and micchievousness. It the book, arrogance is described as self-binding a belief in your own opinions. The book discusses how leaders afflicted with arrogance are the ones most likely to deny it derailing effect on their careers. In John Rowland’s case, he got caught up in his power trip and didn’t think anyone would catch up with his wrong doings. In the first year of Rowland's third term (2003),
Kouzes, James M., and Barry Z. Posner. Credibility: How Leaders Gain and Lose It, Why People
Black Hearts is a great example of the reality on how severe bad leadership skills can ripple throughout a unit and impact its overall mission. This book serves as a guide for future leaders of America and will set the examples of what not to do in leadership positions. The lessons we can take from these soldiers can help us as potential leaders to become more competent and effective. The fact that this book focused on the hardships, poor decisions and sound judgment of the soldiers it helped emphasize on what was not the best choice of action and leaves a moment for you as the audience to think how you would of done it better. So right or wrong there was a lesson to be learned and the book did a good job including the reader. This book puts you in the shoes of a small group of soldiers from the 502nd Infantry Regiment and gives you an up close and personal take on the experience of the soldiers, from the bottom of the the ranks all the way up to the commander. 502nd Bravo Company 1st platoon deployed in the fall of 2005 into one of the most dangerous battle zones in Iraq known as the “Triangle of Death”. Thrown into the heartland of a growing insurgency, with undefined goals and a shortage of manpower, Bravo Company began piling up casualties at an alarming rate. They suffered many losses, as well as mental anguish. Because of the long and tragic deployment, a collapse in leadership began to unfold causing one of the most tragic, brutal, and infamous deployments in U.S Army history. There were many reasons that caused the deconstruction of leadership, and eventually, the actions of the soldiers accompanied by the lack of control, lead to the rape and murder of an innocent Iraqi girl and her family. This is a story about character...
A Few Keys to All Success by Jim Muncy, published in 2002 explains that there are 7 universal keys to success that we can relate to everyday life. Discernment, Optimism, Responsibility, Initiative, Perseverance, Purpose, Sacrifice. Each one represents how we grow and teaches us how to have a high quality of life. From reading this book I am confident because I know being normal means being average and what we do can change how we act significantly. Also we can’t let the world hold us back from greatness. There will be negativity, there will be those who lack enthusiasm but you can’t let them interfere in what you have in store. And these keys will help you get to that point in your life. Discernment; Judge the seed by the harvest. The first
When Lowell Weicker, Jr. took office, doing the “right thing” was the way he planned to navigate his political career. Many politicians, even to this day, lose sight of doing what is right, as what is right may not be what is always politically popular. But for Weicker, doing the “right thing” was the only way. Weicker was a man of honor, an advocator for human rights, an 18-year Congressman/Senator for the United States, and a four-year governor for the State of Connecticut. During his tenure in office, he fought for doing the “right thing”, even if it challenged his political appeal. During his journey throughout the White House and the state capital building, and for that matter any political stop in between, the public might not have always believed in Weicker’s political stance, but he knew his agenda would benefit the majority in the long run. Weicker was a man of principle who fought for what was right, in an arena where many others fight for what favors re-election. Weicker was an unorthodox man, an independent minded person, a man who, when in office, sought for the betterment of Connecticut and for the betterment of the US. He was a man who often was viewed as rebellious, or potentially disruptive to policies and/or ideas, in order to push his political agenda. Weicker was a game changer. Weicker was a maverick.
“On leadership” was written by John W. Gardner (The Free Press, New York, 1990). He used seventeen chapters to explain and describe essential components for the leadership should be in a successful organization. This book not only has significant influence now, but also for the future. Below are my understanding about this book, which was divided into two parts. For the first part, I will pick up some perspectives which influence me most from this book. For the second part, which is my comments and critique about this book.
Lipman-Blumen, J. (2005). The Allure of Toxic Leaders. New York, New York: Oxford University Press.
Simon Klinek discusses about how as well as why respectable leaders are leaders the reasons behind why they do what they do and the reactions these leader’s actions cause to those surrounding them. The fact in which a person becomes a leader is a matter of choice, and a willingness to put another person before one’s self the idea of getting the fall so that another is able to triumph and succeed. Simon utilizes ethos, pathos, and logos in an effective manner during his presentation examples are as follows.
The book Black Hearts by Jim Frederick is an in-depth narrative about the 1st platoon, Bravo Company 1-502nd Infantry 101st Airborne Division deployed to Iraq in 2005. The leadership failures documented in this book range all the way from the general officer level down to the lowest private. LT general Ricardo Sanchez failed to understand the climate his command group was entering as they were deployed into Iraq. From then on the entire leadership failures continued to compound upon each other with improper time to plan. It is customary to have a six month lead time to have a proper battle hand off when preparing to take over an AO from another unit. To compound this problem, the entire time the 502nd was in pre-deployment training, they were preparing for the rigors of urban combat. In reality, they were given six weeks to recon their new area of responsibility and were going to a countryside crafted by the heavens for guerilla warfare. As Colonel Ebel said in the book, “It is not going to be an easy road. They are not even sure of what they have in the area. It just feels bad. We can expect a real fight.”
...2004). The Allure of Toxic Leaders: Why We Follow Destructive Bosses and Corrupt Politicians- and How We Can Survive Them. New York: Oxford University Pess.
Transformational leadership also integrates well with a biblical worldview because both advocate valuing followers as well as leaders, the importance of ethical behavior, the need to forgive and learn from mistakes, and the value of a high moral example. Kouzes and Posner advocate leaders having a “moral authority to lead” (2007, p. 41), practicing personal accountability and working to improve all aspects of their follower’s lives. This others-centered leadership approach fits well in the Christ centered atmosphere of a Christian school.
Throughout 2016, many different people will claim they can lead America to greatness again just as they do each election year. This directs attention towards leadership, and most Americans simply trust that these potential candidates display leadership characteristics. Unfortunately, politicians don’t always exemplify leadership, and many Americans experience poor leaders daily such as dreadful bosses. Because of these commonplace experiences, leadership may not appear as a direct character trait. Adaptable communication, the ability to inspire, a clear passion, and professional attitudes all characterize a true leader.
Compare and contrast the management theories of Frederick Taylor, Henri Fayol, Elton Mayo and Douglas McGregor. In what sense(s) are these theories similar and/or compatible? In what sense(s) are these theories dissimilar and/or incompatible? How would a contingency theorist reconcile the points of dissimilarity and/or incompatibility between these approaches?
The rise of Enron took ten years, and the fall only took twenty days. Enron’s fall cost its investors $35,948,344,993.501, and forced the government to intervene by passing the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX) 2 in 2002. SOX was put in place as a safeguard against fraud by making executives personally responsible for any fraudulent activity, as well as making audits and financial checks more frequent and rigorous. As a result, SOX allows investors to feel more at ease, knowing that it is highly unlikely something like the Enron scandal will occur again. SOX is a protective act that is greatly beneficial to corporate America and to its investors.
This book has a powerful way to do introspection and application of what you learned about yourself into public life. In the paragraphs that follow will be a summary of each chapter with a comparison to the book we used for class, and my own personal take away from this book and course. With the chapters of the book I will do a habit by habit breakdown and comparison of what was written and then relate it to the book for class and end with what I personally got from the course.
Leadership is the action of leading a group of people or an organization. Leadership is leading a group of people or company to reach a result or further and the organization. A leader is supposed to be an example of how all employees are expected to act and what they should be striving for. Good leaders also don’t use their position within a company to take advantage of the company and its employees. A good leader is supposed to be able to perform their job with high standards, efficiency, and honor. However, for every good leader, there are bad leaders and the worse the leader the more detrimental he or she becomes to employees and the company they run. Poor leadership skills can ultimately ruin a company 's chance of success. The attitude