Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Importance of leadership
Leadership styles
Importance of leadership
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Introduction
“Leaders have always been generalists. Tomorrow’s leaders will, very likely, have begun life as specialists, but to mature as leaders they must sooner or later climb out of the trenches of specialization and rise above the boundaries that separate the various segments of society.” (Gardner, 1990, pg. 159).
In a recent verbal bout with my History of the Military Art professor, I contended that the true might of a nation may be inversely proportional to the size of its military during peacetime. My thinking, though perhaps idealistic, was that the maintenance of a large military during relative international tranquility is an overt admission of weakness and increases the likelihood of unnecessarily employing that force—it is contextually irrelevant. Instead, I proposed that a strong and stable economy is the best metric of national prowess, for such an economy can resource many opportunities as they arise. On the contrary, a robust standing military has a much narrower utility. To be sure, this author is not one that intentionally seeks to take an interdisciplinary approach to academia, but the connection seems relevant given the nature of this assignment. Whereas a nation may accomplish a strategic goal through military force, a leader may accomplish a task relying upon coercive power; whereas a nation may transform and develop the world through its economic strength and versatility, a versatile leader may transform others through the employment of one or many leader development principles—both theoretically based and experientially acquired. This piece serves to describe acquired PL499 course concepts and their relevance to my project team and the West Point Leader Development System (WPLDS). Only through a...
... middle of paper ...
...I make here and now form who I will be when it matters even more. Just as leadership lessons can be learned in a History of the Military Art class in an interdisciplinary manner, I need to focus on pulling as many lessons from my time at West Point so I can apply them when the stakes are potentially much higher.
References
Avolio, B.J. (2005). Leadership Development in Balance: Made, Born. New Jersey: Lawrence
Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Crandall, D., Editor (Various authors) (2007). Leadership lessons from West Point. San
Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.
Gardner, J.W. (1990). On Leadership. New York: The Free Press.
London, M. (2002). Leadership Development: Paths to Self-Insight and Professional Growth.
New York: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc.
Ting, S., & Hart, W.E. (2004). Formal Coaching. John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
According to Ken Blanchard, “In the past a leader was a boss. Today’s leaders must be partners with their people. They no longer can lead solely based on potential power”.
...in. “The Cultural Imperative for Professional Military Education and Leader Development.” Parameters: US Army War College 39.4 (2009): 20-31. Academic Search Complete. Web. 4 Apr. 2010.
I wasn’t phased much at first , but then my fiancee decided she did no want to be with me. I sold cars for a short time and was very good but I got sick and with no health insurance and It was just too much to struggle through. I then was out of work for almost two years with exception of army reserve which earned me basically nothing with child support. My credit and all my bills went to straight hell and soon I was homeless. I slept in my car. I then decided to ask reserve for release to go full time active which was a chore in itself. This was a mass of red tape and paperwork. I got in best shape possible and finally at age 42 went back in the army, the infantry no less. For some reason the people in the army can be less than fond of a guy that age going to
For some time the Army has been using a certain expression to defines what an Army leader actually is. To keep it basic, the three words be, know and do explains it all!
...ught me how to make better decisions, both personally and in my professional life. Now that I am going back to Fort Benning upon completion of CGSC, leaving my family there was one of the best decisions of my life. It has taught me how to manage my time better; a skill that always needs to be refined. Most of all, it has taught me to deal with and not just overcome, but also learn from failure. As an organizational-level leader, sometimes I will have to make the unpopular decision for the staff, but that decision will always be for the good of them. It may also be a decision on how I am managing the staff’s time. Most of all, it will help me in teaching my subordinates how to deal with and learn from failure. Therefore, I feel the educational and life lessons I have learned during my CGSC experience has already and will continue to make me a better leader.
Amongst military theorists and practitioners who studied war, its origin and implications, Carl von Clausewitz assumes a place among the most prominent figures. With his book On War, he demonstrated his capability to provide thorough historical analysis and conclusions of the conflicts in which he was engaged, and as a philosopher he reflected about all encompassing aspects of war. Today, Western armies conduct modern warfare in a dynamic environment composed of flexible and multiple threats in which civilians form a substantial part. Studying Clausewitz provides current military and political leadership useful insights to understand twenty-first century warfare. He explains the nature of war, provides an analytical tool to understand the chaos of warfare, and he argues for well educated and adaptable leadership capable of creative thinking. Although he died before his work was complete, his writing style was ambiguous and unclear at some moments, and current technology reduced some of his tactics obsolete, his work still arouses and inspires military and political strategists and analysts.
Gardner, J. (1990). The Nature and Tasks of Leadership. In J. T. McMahon (Ed.), Leadership Classics (pp. 171-175). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press.
In this monograph you will be educated on the history of the United States Army from when and why the branch was originally formed to its present-day eminence. As the greater part of the Unites States Army’s global interactions is war time situations. I also highlighted on in global history is the humanitarian missions in the United States Army has conducted that usually go unnoticed. I also expound on some of the key leaders that stood out in our nation’s wars that had a great influence in why we have never lost a war. This paper will highlight on the concepts of the United States Army and how this branch has brought the concept of change to the world and how its concepts of leadership has allowed it evolve into most dominant force in the
“In order to be a good leader, there are two things to remember. Lead from the Front and always set the Example. From these two leadership principles, everything else will fall into place.”
The vision of leadership that leaders are born made, and not learn to be leaders is still considered but not popular among researchers (Avolio et al, 2013).
As an officer in the United States Army, it has been imperative for me to understand every facet of leadership and why it remains important to be an effective leader. During this course, I have learned some valuable lessons about myself as a leader and how I can improve on my leadership ability in the future. The journal entries along with the understanding of available leadership theories have been an integral part of my learning during this course. For all of the journals and assessments that I completed, I feel it has given me a good understanding of my current leadership status and my future potential as a leader. All of the specific assessments looked at several areas in regards to leadership; these assessments covered several separate focus areas and identified my overall strengths and weaknesses as a leader. Over the course of this paper I will briefly discuss each one of these assessments and journal entries as they pertained to me and my leadership.
P. (1999). What Leaders Really Do: Motivating people vs. controlling and problem solving. In What Leaders Really Do (pp. 59-62). Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press.
The role of the military in any country is one of prestige. Unless having been through it personally, one could not imagine willingly subjecting oneself to the rigorous training received by so many young men and women today. The role played by the military is always to protect, defend, and assist its country in both war and peacetime, but in developing nations there are quite different roles as well. To be a leader in the armed forces, one must be strong both physically and mentally, as well as having a certain charisma, or skill with people. This is true because in order to lead, one must appeal to those he or she is leading. Not only does a developing country have armed forces for defense, but on occasion, the leaders of third world militaries use them for the overthrow of their own government. Currently serving as a soldier(reservist), I can identify with the saying, "spilling blood in the mud ," as we are trained, contracted, and sworn to do so on command, but if ever asked to help plan or execute an act against our government, I would be appalled.
Leaders are dishonest. Although some are unintentionally dishonest, it can lead to the deterioration of trust between the leader and his or her followers. An ideal leader is effective when there is trust established between both the leader and the followers. According to Michelle Bligh, trust is an “expectation or belief that one can rely on another person's actions and words and that the person has good intentions to carry out their promises” (21). Leaders gain trust when they are consistently honest and communicate well with their followers. In return, followers respect an honest leader and obey commands without issues. Respect causes a positive environment because authoritative figures and subordinates can rely on each other to achieve the
Great leadership is not achieved over night, and it is not something that one achieves and stops. Great leaders spend entire lives building and growing their leadership skills. It is not likely that a leader will one day wake up with all of the vision, influence, knowledge, respect, and momentum necessary to be great; these take time to develop. “It is the capacity to develop and improve their skills that distinguishes leaders from their followers.”