Competent Leadership vs. Toxic Leadership Many individuals in our military today have this notion that just because they earned their “stripes” that they automatically deserve respect, and that their subordinates should and will listen to them strictly because of what is on their chest. A true leader not only leads, develops, and mentors, but they embody and apply those leader competencies in their everyday life both on and off duty. Being a leader doesn’t mean you always have to be the mean guy. It means that you can successfully provide purpose, direction and motivation to make your Soldiers want to work for you to accomplish the mission. In this paper, I will discuss and give examples about the difference between Competent Leadership …show more content…
This could be a sign of Toxic leadership. Believe it or not, there are 18 different classifications and descriptions of toxic leaders. “Toxic leaders can be characterized as leaders who take part in destructive behaviors and show signs of dysfunctional personal characteristics” (U.S. Army War College Strategy Research Project, Toxic leadership in the U.S. Army, March 2005). The bottom line is that Toxic leadership is in the harm done to the organization and its members. There is a couple different ways to look at possible toxic leadership, and terms that may define a specific style of leader. One example is The Incompetent Leader who maybe lacks the required skill, counterproductive, careless, and sloppy. Another example is the Callous Leader who is uncaring and unkind, and dismissive of others’ needs. They are arrogant, patronizing, abrasive, selfish, and often hot-headed. They take pride in knowing they are feared, and will hinder his subordinate’s outlook of him, as well as could hurt their future. There are other signs of toxic leadership such as the buddy-buddy system, or any kind of racial favoritism, being stagnant and not progressing in your career, and generally not caring for your subordinates whatsoever. By allowing yourself to become a toxic influence, you cannot build positive …show more content…
If you can effectively reach them on an intellectual level as well as an emotional level and begin to understand what makes them tick, what makes them motivated, what their goals and aspirations are in life and military, then you begin to build that foundational relationship. Through shared experiences and working alongside your soldiers day in and day out, is when you begin to build respect and trust from your soldiers. They are going to see your work ethic, your intensity, your drive, your achievements, and they are going to want that. They will want to be as good if not better then you, and it’s your job to get them there. While it is doubtful that toxic leadership can be removed completely, having a better understanding and being able to identify it can greatly decrease its continuing harmful effects. Learn from both sides though. Educate yourself and be a sponge, take the good and take the bad and apply those attributes to your own style. Make your soldiers and the Army better each and every
“Military leadership qualities are formed in a progressive and sequential series of carefully planned training, educational, and experiential events—far more time-consuming and expensive than similar training in industry or government. Secondly, military leaders tend to hold high levels of responsibility and authority at low levels of our organizations. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, military leadership is based on a concept of duty, service, and self-sacrifice; we take an oath to that effect.”
On a warm San Diego night in May of 1988, not smart enough to know whether I should be scared or excited, I embarked on my military career standing atop yellow footprints neatly painted on the asphalt. As an eighteen year-old kid entering recruit training, the finer points of leadership, at any level, had not yet piqued my curiosity. The drill instructors who supervised my training placed far different leadership expectations on me than what I will face as a colonel in the Air Force. Having learned a lot, good and bad, along the way, I realize that I must adapt to make good decisions and effectively lead at the senior level. Dr. Gene Kamena’s Right to Lead Assessment Model (RLAM) provides a handy, visual means to think about leadership, and assess how one can grow as a leader. Using the RLAM, I can concentrate xxxxxx My current leadership skills and abilities have enabled me to thrive at the tactical and operational level; however, in order to succeed
There are a variety of ways to define both leader and leadership. There is not, however, a clear definition of how to become one. There is no set list of mandatory traits, either innate or learned, that a person must embody to be considered successful or proved a failure. What I feel it takes is the right mix of strengths and weaknesses in a given situation to demonstrate effectiveness. No one person has abilities without accompanying deficiencies. It’s all in the way they are balanced. The balance in the way one uses his or hers’ abilities will ultimately determine the type of leadership one has throughout time. To support these claims I will examine a well-known leader throughout the military, General James “Mad Dog” Mattis. This essay will provide some insight into both his strengths and weaknesses while discussing some personality traits he is said to possess.
Young soldiers need to learn to live the Army values, which are loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage. If these values can be instilled in us then we will have everything we need to make an excellent soldier but also a great person. These values also come into play when you are sent downrange because you want to have good fellow soldiers who will always have your back know matter what the situation you find yourself in. The army values also define our character traits as a person and they teach us discipline. The Army Values are a big part of our lives us young soldiers need to learn how to maintain them.
In the military we look for leadership in different forms from many people starting from the Private to the Commander of the unit. Leadership will build the trust of a unit through positive moral or it could break a unit with low morale. Leadership as the ability to influence a group toward the achievement of a vision or set of goals (Robbins & Judge, 2009). I as Soldier I get to observed leaders at their job and
The purpose of this memorandum is to outline my view point on leadership. As a Drill Sergeant, it is my responsibility to transform civilians into well discipline, physically fit, and competent scouts. I am entrusted to uphold the Army standards, live the Army Values and Warrior Ethos, and instill Esprit de corps.
aloofness. This does not mean that leaders do not pay attention to tasks - in fact they are
As a Marine, it is imperative to have leadership skills along with being capable of working with others. This book was written to enhance the reader’s mentality of how the Marines operate. It informs those who are looking into the service, and provides an in depth look into the trials and tribulations it has been through—as well as conquered. This book substantially explains the vigorous training platoon 3086 went through in order to earn the title of being a Marine.
In the leadership context in which I currently work I am assigned as a Platoon Sergeant accountable for 45 Soldiers and their families. The issue that I have witness within my current organization has seemed to be the lack of care for the individuals within the unit by the higher level leaders. As a senior leader within the organization I have found it to be really challenging being surrounded by what I view as toxic leadership. The plan that I have for the issues within the organization is to change the organization one Soldier at a time. This plan will take time and will have to be started at the bottom and target the new Soldiers that arrived in the unit. The issue that I see with most of the leaders that have positions of power to be individuals
LM01, Ethical Leadership. (2012). Maxwell Gunter AFB. Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education (AETC)
Upon graduation, each of us will face the challenge of building a cohesive team through mutual trust. Trust is the groundwork for any successful team. Just as the commander will learn to trust me, I in return will have to trust my commander. As a Command Sergeant Major (CSM) or Staff Sergeant Major (SGM), I realize that my Soldiers will not trust me right away, and I must gain their mutual trust through my daily interactions. By setting an example and living the Army Values, I will gain their mutual trust. My commander and I will plan team-building events often to maximize the opportunities to build the mutual trust within our organization with the staff and Soldiers. Understanding that team building requires an effort on everyone’s part but the chance to bridge any gaps tha...
Toxic leaders and unit cultures continue to plague SF units. It is most likely impossible to eliminate all toxicity given human nature. It can be lessened substantially, however, by identifying it through formal counseling, self-improvement based on the influence and advice of others, and corrective action in egregious cases, by the chain of command. There is no one way to prevent toxic leaders from developing in SF and
Toxicity in leaders is, unfortunately, a common reality in many organizations and political setups around the world. I grew up in a nation, where people were and even now are victims of toxic political and administrative leaders. I always thought, why some leaders, either consciously or unconsciously, become toxic leaders. What are the subtleties that drive a person to become toxic for the people around him or her? It was quite interesting to read how some of the human psychological needs, play a good role to (Abraham Maslow's (1971) well-known hierarchy of deficiency and growth needs -Lipman-Blumen 2005) make people seek and respond to leaders who assure them in good, bad and ugly ways. I always supposed, getting attracted to noble visions
There are many examples of poor leadership behavior in today’s workplace. Inadequate leadership can be detrimental not only to a team within an organization, but also to the entire organization itself. I believe it is vital for upper management to ensure that their leaders are properly trained and aware of how to handle certain situations and employees. When a leader’s weaknesses are overlooked, large problems occur.
Organizations have leaders who are effective and ineffective. Many of us want to be leaders but, do we have what it takes to be effective or are we going to be ineffective. Leaders are people who build their organization and employees up. Ineffective leaders are those who only care about getting a check. This paper will discuss effective and ineffective leaders. The effective and ineffective leaders I have had the pleasure to work with.