Leadership Reflection Paper

According to a definition found in ADRP 6-22, leadership is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization. This is a definition that it seems to only apply to the Army but we must be leaders not only to soldiers and peers in our organization but in life. Many soldiers and leaders have read the book definition but only a few have taken the basic concept and made it their own by giving it a real tangible meaning. In the next few paragraphs I will explain how I was able to become one of those few who have been able to take a book definition and transform it into words of action. I will achieve this by sharing experiences and how I overcame adversity by turning negative into positive, and how my leadership has evolved over the years.

A leader is someone who seeks and gains one’s trust, someone who influences and inspires those around him without expecting any recognition. In 2011 I was assigned to my first duty station, the 82nd Airborne Division, and as a new private in the Army I did not have any idea on what to expect or what to do in a real unit. I was assigned to a platoon and section but I was never assigned a leader. During the span of three months I was already hurt due to negligence and abuse, and waiting for surgery to

The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help or concluded you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership” that I realized that I did not have a leader and that I was already being one because everyone was coming to me for help. I decided that I was going to be knowledgeable to be able to give all the help I could so I started studying Army programs, everything related to my then MOS, and all about Go Army Ed which led me to finish two degrees in four