Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Military leadership development
Military leadership philosophy essay
Leadership examples military
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Military leadership development
Leadership Philosophy
My leadership philosophy is quite simple. I follow the Golden Rule, “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” This simple process has guided me through some of the most difficult decisions I have had to make as a leader. According to Field Manual 6-22, “Leadership is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization” (United States, 2006 p. 2). I completely agree with this definition of leadership. The most influential leadership rolls I have filled during my career have been JSTARS 1SG, Counter NARCO Terrorism NCOIC, and Squad Leader in a Combat Engineer Platoon. These challenging positions have shaped my leadership philosophy and style.
Most recently, I was selected to deploy to Qatar as the 1SG forward for Army JSTARS. I was responsible for daily missions in and out of Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan and the welfare of twenty-four Soldiers. There were several challenges which occurred during this deployment, but one in particular comes to mind. O...
The topic of leadership has been explored and written about by thousands of authors who are considerably more qualified than I am to write about the subject. However, I’ve always maintained that developing, evolving and articulating one’s own leadership philosophy is an essential part of a professional’s growth. Through academics and experience, I’ve concluded that leadership is a “soft” skill, more art than science, and that leadership principles can be universally applied. As a topic of discussion, leadership can be ambiguous and seldom does everyone agree on a single definition. Organizations and the people they consist of crave leadership, even if not overtly. Undeniably, strong leadership is essential to achieving
In order to better understand my leadership philosophy, you must first understand who I am. I spent 8 years active duty in the Marine Corps. Afterwards, I did a multitude of different civilian jobs while pursuing my Bachelor of Science Degree in Organizational Management and Leadership from Friends University. I have been married for almost 20 years and have two awesome boys, ages 1 and 5. I think family is imperative in keeping Soldiers grounded and in a good state of mental health.
Developing a personal philosophy of leadership is essential for every leader to establish prior to becoming a leader. A leader should be aware of their strengths and weaknesses and then develop a philosophy that would best compliment that leader’s personality traits and strengths as a person. Leaders need to have their personal philosophy established prior to becoming a leader because once you are in a position of leadership it is time to lead others, not time to determine what philosophy would be best used to lead. I truly believe that a personal philosophy of leadership should be fluid as the leader continues to learn about leadership and people throughout the leader’s career but the four core principles of integrity, ethics, positive attitude and honesty must remain constant.
I believe that as a leader we should all have a leadership philosophy that we live by and teach our subordinates to live by as well. However, even at this stage in my life I still have yet to figure out what my leadership philosophy really is. Crazy right that at the rank of SFC with 18 years in the United States Military, I do not have this one simple thing figured out. As I write out my thoughts pen to pad hopefully I can come up with something that makes sense is enlightening and that I can pass on to my soldiers as a guide. So that as they enter into the Senior Enlisted ranks they are better equipped then I to lead there soldiers.
My Senior Leader Philosophy is based on what I have learned through the study of leaders, both good and bad, over the course of my career. I believe these principles offer the best chance for individual growth and unit cohesion, and ultimately to cultivate an environment for success so the unit I am part of can meet the high demands levied upon us by our nation’s Air Force.
My style of leadership according to the quiz by Cherry (n.d.) is participative leadership which is a type of leadership that engages the members of the team to participate in decision making and problem solving while the leader makes the final judgment in the deliberation process. This style of leadership allows members who are experts in their fields provide input to reach a more effective and accurate decision. This fits exactly into my leadership style. I always believed that in every aspect there is a greater or lesser person than you are, so, why not focus on the best in others and tap on their expertise in knowledge or skill to get the best results.
It takes a long time to become an effective and respected leader but can evaporate very quickly with one misstep. It needs to be nurtured and cultivated every day. My personal leadership style is to observe and correct. As a junior member, one of my Chief told me, “I don’t care how long it takes you to do a job as long as you do it right the first time because if it is wrong you will be the one fixing it.” That resonated with me because it allowed me to take risks and learn from my mistakes making me a better technician. I firmly believe one of the best learning tools is failure. His statement let me know it was all right to fail but if you do you will be learning from it. Identifying weaknesses within my leadership abilities and striving to correct them will result in being consistently looked upon a leader within our
Everyone has a different definition of what makes someone a leader. My definition is not a statement of requirements, but more so a list of characteristics. I believe it takes a strong, independent, dependable, open-minded, thoughtful, selfless, smart and creative, someone who can work well with others, able to work under pressure, respectful, and experienced individual to be a leader. I believe it is someone who knows who they are and know their morals, someone who has already found who they are in life and accepts who they are, making what I believe the most important characteristic is, is someone who knows and sticks with their personal values. If someone cannot respect values and stick to their word, then how can they be a leader of others? A leader takes a lot of work, but if you are good at it, it may seem like nothing. Some people are leaders and do not even know it, like role models. When little kids look up to certain people that have impacted their lives in a way, they will see those people as role models. Truth is, leaders are everywhere and not everyone knows or can see that. It's not always the person who stands out for taking control or being bossy, but the one with the characteristics and high values that do the right things, even when no one is watching.
A purposeful leader has a requirement where individuals must create within themselves something that other people desire to follow or be like. This is a very interesting comment that brings to mind a reality of behavior. For example, why did people follow Adolf Hitler? It was not for his looks or his personality; it was for his passion. Passion creates willingness in others to follow regardless if what they are pursuing is right or wrong. Initially, Adolf may have had some great ideas that people thought were of importance to them and society, but soon discernment disappeared and we see in history the results of Adolf Hitler’s leadership. Hitler’s passion was the core element to his success, and
Everything in leadership will be determined by the competency of the leader. John C Maxwell is credited with saying “everything rises and falls on leadership. The leaders are often the ones making the decisions influencing success or failure. When I think of competency, I believe it is important to acknowledge the difference between competency and confidence. Confidence is the belief that I can lead; competence requires results of successful leadership. Confidence is the place people get the idea a person is a “good guy.” Being a good guy or even being confident is not a qualification of competency; it merely means one has the right to have dinner. Being a good guy allows
Leaders do not just appear out of thin air and automatically start making great things happen in the world. A leader must learn from prior leaders or role models that they are surrounded by that they look up to. Not everyone can be a leader, only some people have the correct characteristics it takes to lead others in the right direction. Those who do great things, for example volunteering at a homeless shelter, are not leaders. Many people mistake a “great person” as being a leader, which is completely incorrect (Kouzes and Posner, p. 3). While playing an active role in your community is a positive thing it does not make someone a leader of that community. All leaders have a group of people they have inspiration too and that is a good way of determining who your personal leaders are. My mother, brother, and grandfather are my leaders because I have always looked up to them and tried to mimic some of the great things that I have seen them do. My mother has always been an independent women with goals and an action plan to accomplish those set goals. Stephen, my elder brother, is outgoing and tends to have a leveled head when it comes to evaluating stressful situations. My grandfather is the most caring person I know and he is amazing at keeping situations under control in order to please everyone. These are all the qualities I want to combine into my own leadership style. I know I am not a efficient leader of these actions yet, but I plan on growing into this as I more on into my career, fulfill my set goals, and adjust to the curve-balls that life throws at me.
Leadership is contagious throughout the world and most importantly in the Army. It is not just my view, but of all leaders, at all levels, that organizations are responsible for setting conditions that lead to long-term organizational success. As I reflect on my experiences, through experience and observation, I realize how my values, beliefs, and perspectives about leadership continuously evolve over time. Recognizing these changes over time helps me better understand that people in organizations have different perspectives in life. This leadership narrative serve as important guiding principles for how I will lead at the organizational level and represents my thought, values and beliefs.
When people think of leadership so many things rush through their heads. For example am I a leader, am I apart of a group that has a leader, and what does being a leader mean? A common definition of being a leader is a person who leads or guides a group of people. So now knowing the definition of a leader who pops into your head; Phil Jackson, Mike Krzyzewski, Martin Luther King Jr.? All of these people are great leaders, but the real question is why are they so great? One very important thing that all these men have in common is they have a philosophy of leadership. This philosophy is going to help guide these men during turbulent times, or when they need guidance themselves. Nobody is perfect and everyone needs direction no matter how wise or gifted you are. I am no different, which is why writing this philosophy of leadership is going to be a fruitful experience for years to come.
The leadership is a privilege and it is such a privilege and an honor which will carry the tremendous responsibility which will inspire others to direct them to accomplish goals and vision of the organization. Leadership is about influencing the people, by producing direction, purpose and motivating in order to accomplish the mission, vision and improving the organization. The leadership philosophy is evolved based on the experiences, both positive and negative, in most of the initiatives and activities that we undertake. It is also one among the collaboration and teamwork within which the team members can utilize each other’s strengths to counter the weaknesses of the individuals. By observing, introspecting and experimenting we can developed a leadership paradigm which is inclusive, collaborative and proactive. We can develop the ability to recognize which will approach in order to reach the productive conclusion. The great leaders know their limitations and are capable at utilize their strengths and also the strengths of others to compensate.
Throughout my life, my experiences and role models have shaped my understanding of leadership. I believe leadership is responsibly guiding and motivating others to use both my strengths and their own to obtain success. My personal leadership philosophy is guided by my core values of my family, relationships, loyalty, harmony, and responsibility. My ever-changing definition of philosophy helps my leadership and decision making routinely. New experience’s and external forces effect my translation of leadership daily which, in turn, helps shape me into a successful leader.