Leadership essay

What is Leadership? Leadership is the art of influencing and directing people in such a way that will win their obedience, confidence, respect and loyal cooperation in achieving common objectives. To become an effective Leader, there are certain traits and characteristics that must be present in an individual. No one is born a Leader; certain individuals are born with Leadership traits that must be honed, cultivated, shaped and improved with practice.

Leadership is a critical management skill; an essential quality in a manager, it is how you get your team motivated and willing to follow your plan. An individual can serve as a Leader or several persons might share Leadership. Leaders play a vital role in standardizing performance and influence others to perform tasks beyond expectation. Leaders plan, organize, lead and control so that “ leading” and “ managing” are inseparable, they are both integral parts of each other. A Leaders failure to influence and inspire others to work willingly towards set objectives and goals will lead to ineffective planning and organizing which results in poor execution of essential mission tasks. Similarly, setting direction is usually not enough, no matter how inspiring one can be, management skills are crucial. Leaders will simultaneously fill many roles interacting, motivating group members, solving conflicts as they arise.

Leaders set vision, strategies, goals, and values in order to guide for desired action and behavior. Leaders are characterized by certain traits which distinguish Leaders from non-Leaders includes drive, desire to lead, honesty, cognitive ability, self-confidence and knowledge. Effective Army Leaders must possess core competencies to include: knowledge (tactical and technical) and communication competence. A good Leader needs knowledge of issue(s) and the ways of effectively leading a team. This knowledge will enable the Leader to identify alternatives available. He/she also needs to be an effective communicator as equally active listener and speaker. Leaders should acquire qualities of flexibility, openness, empathy, courage, and positive attitude. In the Army, Leadership speaks directly to the Army Values which are Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage.

A Leader must be knowledgeable of not just his/her job but the various jobs of their Soldiers, and can perform those tasks themselves if need be. The words “ Be, Know, Do” describes the Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO), who is an Army Leader and epitomizes Leadership. An Army Leader (NCO) is willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish the mission; providing purpose, motivation and direction to subordinates to execute even when hope is bleak.

Given all the different variations and definitions of Leadership, it all encompasses into getting the job done with little to no resources and making sure your Soldiers or employees are satisfied with their accomplishment and don’t mind doing it over. A Leaders intellectual capacity is what gets him/her out of tight situations because they possess the ability to think on their feet and adapt to any situation and always optimistic in their approach. You must be empathetic towards all Soldiers, a mentor, enforcer and bearer of standards, present to deal with situations as they arise and also to observe the strength and weaknesses of your Soldiers. Character is vital in Leadership, because your character as a Leader speaks to the very core of your being; this is what subordinates, peers and superiors see on a daily basis and distinguishes you from the rest. An effective Army Leader not only focuses on their Soldiers knowing and performing at a high level on their assigned duties, but cross trains them to understand the overall mission and how each function affects the other. The NCO encourages their Soldier’s to pursue civilian education, ensures that each individual Soldier has their finances in order, Soldier’s family life is intact because disruptive family life equals a distracted Soldier.

Realistic but tough goals and expectations are set for each Soldier to achieve by their NCO and he/she monitors their progress and provides guidance and direction when needed. A good Leader knows their Soldiers and treats each of them accordingly because he/she understands that no two Soldiers are exactly alike. The final indicator of good Leadership in my opinion is when your Soldiers or employees almost never question your decision(s). Soldiers will die with and for that NCO that invested time and effort into shaping and molding them into not only outstanding Soldiers, but better individuals.

Leadership is putting the needs of everyone under your charge to care for first before your own. It coincides with the core Army Values, speaks to the true nature of a Non-Commissioned Officer and all the duties and responsibilities that go alongside the honor of being an Army Leader.