Military Leadership Research Paper

Integrity is one of the Army’s core values and one of the cornerstones of the army. The cornerstones of the army are important because they are the very fundamentals that we all must live to uphold. We must always embody and live up to the core beliefs and fundamentals of the army. We must try every day to respect and uphold the army core values and beliefs. These core beliefs are what all the rest of the army beliefs and discipline is built upon in the founding of the army. If we live up to the core beliefs of the army, we are honoring all who have served before. We also honor all those who have yet to serve by leaving the service better than we came to it. We are also honoring all those who have paid the ultimate price for their country. If, we cannot live to uphold the very fundamentals and the very cornerstones of the army way of life then we are letting our peers, subordinates, and senior leaders down. Not only are we letting our peers, subordinates, and senior leaders down but we are letting down all those who have come before and all those yet to come into the service. Not only are we letting our army down we are also letting down all the people who we defend, protect, help and support around the world. By the lack of integrity, we cause our fellow soldiers, leaders, and their families’ trouble as well. We also lose the trust of our peers, and we ostracize our self into becoming the outcast of

Leader Attributes are measured by their character, presence, and intellect. Character is defined by living the Army Values, Warrior Ethos, and discipline. Presence is a leader's ability to demonstrate military and professional bearing, fitness,

Army leaders are facing some tough challenges with their leadership for their Soldiers organizations, and garrison operations. Leaders have to redefine their leadership to improve their Soldiers and organizations. Army leaders has to develop their Soldiers though personal interactions at the squad, platoon and company levels. Leaders will develop their organization through guidance with support from their staffs that consist of subordinate Officers and Non-Commissioner Officers. Direct leadership and organizational leadership will have major roles in the progress of Soldiers, organizations and garrison operations.

Leadership development in the military is critical to its mission and objectives. Understanding and embracing leadership will foster an agile culture and facilitate attainment of strategic goals. People desire quality leadership to assist with achieving their goals, albeit personal or professional development. Having a clear vision and the motivation to perform at high-levels influences others to work synergistically together to achieve organizational goals. Insomuch, employees value being treated respectfully, fairly, and ethically. Leaders serve people best when they help them develop their own initiative and good judgment, enable them to grow, and help them become better contributors.

An Army Leader is able and willing to act decisively, within the intent and purpose of his superior leaders, and in the best interest of the organization. Army leaders recognize that organizations built on mutual trust and confidence, successfully accomplish peacetime and wartime missions.” (2006, P. Viii). Balance molds a leader and in turn, an effective leader is a proactive person who works a whole lot smarter. President George Bush (1997) states, “Leadership to me means duty, honor, and country; It means character and it means listening from time to time.” (Adrain, p. 35).

One important expression for army leadership is BE-KNOW-DO. Army leadership begins with what the leader must BE, the values and attributes that shape character. A leader can think of these as internal and defining qualities possessed all the time. As defining qualities, they make up the identity of the leader. Values and attributes are the same for all leaders, regardless of position, although refined through experience and assumption of positions of greater responsibility. For example, a sergeant major with combat experience may have a deeper understanding of selfless service and personal courage than a new soldier.

Leadership can be viewed in many different ways and possess many different qualities. There are courageous leaders, respectful leaders, terrible leaders, and seemingly insignificant leaders but leaders nonetheless. But what is it that differentiates between a strong leader and a weak leader, or a powerful leader and an insignificant one? Is it the qualities in the leader or the decisions they make in key situations that define good leadership qualities? Some would define a good leader by their ability to do the right thing even if it is not the easiest choice. Others might define a good leader as one that possesses great integrity and leads by example. The military possesses many great leaders through a process of development and molding individuals to meet expected leadership qualities like honor, courage, commitment and integrity to accomplish any mission or goal. However, this process doesn’t always create the desired effect. So, let’s examine some good and bad examples of leadership qualities and break down what and how we can emulate them.

Live up to all the Army values. What is life without honor? Degradation is worse than death. – Lieutenant General Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson Honor provides the “moral compass” for character and personal conduct in the Army. Though many people struggle to define the term, most recognize instinctively those with a keen sense of right and wrong, those who live such that their words and deeds are above reproach. Honor is demonstrating an understanding of what is right and taking pride in that reputation means this: Live up to all the Army values. Implicitly, that is what you promised when you took your oath of office or enlistment. You made this promise publicly, and the standards—Army values are also public. To be an honorable person, you must be true to your oath and live Army values in all you do. Leaders who demonstrate honor Live up to Army values and never lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those actions by others.

The Army also instills integrity in each Soldier. Integrity Do what’s right, legally and morally. Integrity is a quality you develop by adhering to moral principles. It requires that you do and say nothing that deceives others. As your integrity grows, so does the trust others place in you. The more choices you make based on integrity, the more this highly prized value will affect your relationships with family and friends, and, finally, the fundamental acceptance of yourself. That takes a bigger person to do what is right at all times. Even when it is easier to take the easy left turn instead of the hard right turn.

Leadership, according to the Army doctrine, represents individuals’ ability to influence people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improving the organization (“Leadership” FM 6-22). However, the varying characteristics of individuals that the Army attracts may instill this doctrine in many different ways, leading to different representations of leadership. Some individuals choose to lead their subordinate in a stern matter, only displaying matured emotions and a “tough-loving” attitude to guide them in the right direction. Others

Since I entered into the military school, this term “the leadership” has encompassed me. Many senior officers I recognized told me that leadership is an art, because it could be conducted by whichever you employ and it has no any standard answer. What is a good leader? The one who treats you well or guide you to an appropriate way. What kind of characteristic should a leader possess? The one who can boost the morale of a group. How to become a leader? To be a leader need continuing training and educating, or it requires a gift. No one has a specific description. Today, I am going to discuss this topic and to share personal experiences of the leadership through my 18- year military life.

Leadership is crucial part of today’s army and leaders play a huge role in the accomplishment of the mission. I believe this is true, because leaders are the guys who are in close contact with the younger soldiers. They are the ones who counsel the soldiers and make them better and make a plan for that soldier to improve and become a better soldier. Leaders play a major role in the accomplishment of the mission, because officers and higher leaders cannot be everywhere at once, so they need a person they can trust to lead the charge and tackle the mission the right way

I define leadership as being able to efficiently and effectively accomplish tasks with the resources that have been given to you; all the while maintaining an esprit de corps. The leaders that best demonstrated what “right looks like” when it comes to leadership was MMNCM Jim Lucky and LCDR Michael Siedsma. Jim and Mike were the Engineering Department Master Chief (EDMC) and Engineer Officer (ENG), respectively, at my last command. While attached and under their tutelage, I was shown what effective leadership can do. They were able to take four different personalities, four different leadership styles, and four different maturity levels and combine them to make NORTH DAKOTA’s Engineering Department the best that I have ever served at. I don’t believe that I will ever serve under the same awesome leadership again in my Navy career. Although that does make me a little sad, it has motivated me to emulate that style to those that I lead.

In a military organization personnel emulate their leaders and the leader who leads from the front influence his personnel by displaying professional competency and attracts their confidence and respect. This brings forth a desire in his subordinates to match or even surpass the standards set by him and generates a healthy competition within the unit. By doing so the leader becomes a part of the group, understands the culture prevalent in the organization and if necessary transforms it to further enhance efficiency. The more difficult the situation, greater will be the need for a leader to inspire his men by displaying personal leadership qualities. A good leader will remain visible when things are going wrong and invisible when they are going well. On the contrary, a leader who shies away from setting a personal example of leading from the front does not enjoy the respect of his subordinates that significantly reduces their

“Wars may be fought with weapons, but they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory.” (General George S. Patton) The ethereal spirit of man that Gen. Patton is speaking of is what some believe separates a passable leader from a great one. The Army attempts to define and quantify this intangible quality through the use of the Leadership Requirement Model and its attributes and competencies. The portion of the Leadership Requirement model that best embodies this vague quality, while still falling short, is the Leads portion of the Core Competencies. This Competency encompasses