During the mid-twentieth century, the United States became increasingly involved in the world affairs. As there were problems in different parts of the world, the United States, as the emerging world power, took its responsibility and sought for ways of tackling the problems.
Notable among these is the Vietnam War (1955-1975) that the U.S. involvement was largely felt. Initially, the conflict was internal between South Vietnam and North Vietnam, but it soon shot up into a limited international conflict in which the U.S. supported the government forces of the South. During the war, the roles of Presidents Dwight Eisenhower and John Kennedy were pronounced.
President Dwight Eisenhower was the thirty-fourth president of the U.S. who served two terms in office from 1963 to 1961.Under his administration, the U.S. became increasingly involved in global affairs so as to counter the increasing threat to dominance of the Soviet Union.
In particular, he used the emerging role of the United States to assist in establishing a non-Conformist state in South Vietnam. His action resulted in catastrophic long-term outcomes that largely increased his effectiveness as the President of the U.S. Eisenhower inherited the foreign policy of his predecessor, Harry S. Truman, in providing financial and military assistance to the South Vietnamese (Solheim, 2008).
On November 1, 1995, Eisenhowers action to give military training to the government of South Vietnam marked the official start of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnamese conflict. On this day, he sanctioned the deployment of the Military Assistance Advisory Group to South Vietnam.
Eisenhowers dynamic leadership style made the Vietnam War to become Americas war. In addition to the military training, he provided the CIAs (Central Intelligence Agency) Air America services and intelligence assets to assist in the war. Consequently, France, which had tried to re-establish its presence in Vietnam after the Second World War, left the country by April 1956. As much as these actions were effective in defining the role of the U.S. in world affairs, some of his actions inhibited his role as the president.
For example, in 1958, he did not take a strong stand when North Vietnam conquered Laos and controlled some sections of the nation. Most Americans believed that he used behind-the-scenes leadership style to exert Americas influence in the world. Eisenhowers indirect tactics, both at home and abroad, were effective in increasing the engagement of the U.S. in the Vietnam War.
Under President John Kennedy, the United States became increasingly engaged in global affairs, particularly in the Vietnam War. On assuming office, he continued with the policy of his predecessor, Eisenhower, in providing more military as well as financial assistance to South Vietnam (Peake, 2008).
He was determined not to see the rise of communism in South Vietnam. Therefore, he actively participated in the affairs of the country. Kennedy believed that America should be able to pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend&to assure the survival and success of liberty (Trueman, 2010, para. 3). This is what defined his resolute leadership style in increasing the engagement of the U.S. in global affairs.
However, the introduction of the Strategic Hamlet program to resettle the peasants into fortified camps under his administration resulted in major failures that inhibited his effectiveness. Because of this program, many South Vietnamese peasants started giving assistance to the North Vietnamese communists; consequently, it provided the critics of the U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War with the ground to oppose Kennedys actions.
Kennedy, with the intention of advocating for democratic ideals across the world, saw that North Vietnams communist principles were an impediment to achieving this objective. Therefore, the Kennedy administration strived to uphold the Truman Doctrine that allowed the United States to provide support for countries that wanted to be democratic.
He sanctioned the coup on November 1, 1963 that ended up in the overthrow and unfortunate murder of the South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem when he perceived that Diem was an obstacle to winning the war. However, the assassination of Diem inhibited his effectiveness because he was accused of the crime since he had authorized the coup. Prior to his death, Kennedy had added the number of Americas military personnel from nine hundred that were present in Vietnam before he assumed presidency to sixteen thousand.
In the United States, the direct leadership of the sitting President is very important in the running of the affairs of the country. The U.S. president, as the head of the state and the head of the government, is endowed with the responsibility of addressing various issues affecting the country.
Since the U.S. has emerged as a major world power in this century, the decisions that the President makes are also significant in tackling various international issues. During times of crisis when the country is at war or facing another major crisis, as exemplified by the Vietnam War, the intervention of the President is crucial.
Reference List
Peake, L. A. (2008). The United States in the Vietnam War, 1954-1975: a selected, annotated. New York: Routledge.
Solheim, B. O. (2008). The Vietnam War era: a personal journey. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Bickering politicians and other government officials are a common occurrence during budget hearing. Admittedly agreeing on how much the government needs, in totality and individually for each of its numerous agencies, is a tedious and complex process given the sheer number of politicians needed to ratify the budget.
In a human resource development point of view, the budget season stands out in that leaders will emerge to steer the common men to the common good, which is to ratify a budget that is for the best. This paper analyses the leadership styles exhibited by government officials in a specific situation.
Analysis
Money is a necessary but a finite government resource. Hence, come budget-time government officials and politicians alike are faced with very tough choices. In this instance, a politician exhibits a largely autocratic or authoritarian leadership style.
According to a study (Stewart & Manz, 1995, p. 750) autocratic leadership is exhibited by leaders who aim to achieve the sole possession of authority, power and control which is in contrast with a democratic leader in that he willingly shares authority, power and control within the group.
Though research (Appelbaum, Bartolomucci, Beaumier, Boulanger, et al, 2994, p. 13) suggests that the autocratic leadership has a significant direct impact on employee satisfaction, which affects the organizations trust environment and the strength of its corporate culture, studies also suggest that this type of leadership style is the most effective in certain situations.
For example, in situations wherein the leader has to make a tough call, an authoritative leadership stance can best serve the purpose of jump starting the organization in immediately following what the leader has decided. This situation can be observed whenever politicians have to make tough budget cuts.
Nevertheless, this does not mean that during the entire budget process the most effective leadership style is autocratic or authoritative. What is being said here is that during the Congress budget hearing, or even before that, there will be times that leaders must make decisive actions and decisions.
For example, the audio of the Lawmakers Prepare To Take Budget Debate Late Into Night, shows that a lot of senators are nervous with the magnitude of the cuts. However, these same senators also understand that these cuts are necessary and someway somehow. This desire for a compromise will take some time if there is no decisive voice among the legislators and that voice is the autocratic leader.
Another leadership style clearly exhibited in the audio presentation is participative or democratic. This type of leadership encourages followers to actively participate in the decision making process of the group.
Democratic leadership is evident in the budget debate specifically when Governor Granholm mentioned that the legislators are doing their best to meet the deadline in spite of the difficulties they are experiencing. This example shows us that the decision making process is by a group rather than dominated by a single individual.
In this particular phase of the budget approval process, participative leadership style is the most productive. Under a participative leader, legislators can make more supportive remarks as regards the budget issues at hand, and consequently, they will propose more solutions.
The third leadership style observed in the debate is the delegative or free reign leadership. This leadership style is exhibited by a leader who allows his followers not only to participate in the decision making process, but in actually making the decisions.
For example the identification of what government services and agencies budget will be cut, it is highly likely that the legislators staff made the decisions rather than the politicians themselves. However, this style doesnt mean that the leader is no longer necessary.
On the contrary, the leader must work harder if he chooses to practice this style. The decision making process of the group must be guided by the leader such that the decision made is the effective and efficient. At the end of the day, the success of the decision is the leaders responsibility.
This leadership style shows that leaders find ways to utilize the resources available to them and one of these is their people. After all delegative leadership is the extent to which a manager attains desired objectives by leaving subordinates or others free to make their own decisions (Oshagbemi & Ocholi, 2006, p. 748).
Without the proper delegation of functions and decision making authority, the leader and his group could end up not being able to finish anything at all.
However, it is clear that there are decisions that cant be delegated to subordinates. These decisions are of the leader alone which brings us back to the discussion on the autocratic leader.
Conclusion
In every situation, someone someway will exhibit leadership characteristics. Admittedly, all leadership styles, specifically the three discussed in this paper autocratic, participative and delegative, have advantages and disadvantages.
The responsibility of an effective and efficient leader therefore is to identify the combination of traits from of each of these leadership styles to use in a given situation. This is certainly true for government, non-profit and for profit settings.
References
Appelbaum, S., Bartolomucci, N., Beaumier, E., Boulanger, J., et al. (2004). Organizational citizenship behavior: a case study of culture, leadership and trust. Management Decision, 42 (1/2), 13.
Oshagbemi, T. & Ocholi, S. (2006). Leadership styles and behaviour profiles of managers. The Journal of Management Development, 25 (8), 748.
Stewart, G. & Manz, C. (1995). Leadership for self-managing work teams: A typology and integrative model. Human Relations, 48 (7), 747-770.
The unique position of the US President as the key decision-maker has opened up the opportunity to exert a broader and more targeted influence on the course and content of foreign policy development. The presidential foreign policy establishment is faced with the task of ideologically substantiating its strategy of international activities in the new environment. However, the president is involved in presenting a model of new world order and a global strategy for the long term. The study of the doctrinal aspects of US foreign policy in the areas of foreign policy making is all the more relevant. It is due to the vision, concepts, ways of implementing foreign policy guidelines, and the institutional base of the current system of international relations. It was proposed and developed by US foreign policy specialists, as well as interpretation US roles remain debatable. The presidents role in policy making is to ensure goal adherence and thorough execution. The recent Obama and Bush administrations are excellent illustrations of the presidential role in international relations.
The basis of the US strategy is the doctrine of American foreign policy. It is manifested on the concept of neoconservatism, which can be expressed in the form of virtue and power1. The era of the 2000s, perhaps one of the most critical periods of American history, to a certain extent, rival the age of the formation of the US statehood. The events of September 11, 2001, sharply actualized the issue of national security and the terrorist threat. The policy integration was preceded by a large-scale preparation of public opinion, and an atmosphere of intense anticipation was created around the document. In addition, US foreign policy was highly regarded as a source of global unipolarity, which raised some concerns2. It was signed by the president to introduce to the US National Security Strategy, briefly outlining the main ideas of the document.
Bush Administration
The given presidential decisions caused a great resonance in society and received a positive assessment as a clear, far-sighted, and impressive response to the threats that America faces today. However, at the same time, it was criticized as a radical and disturbing retreat from the American foreign policy tradition. In the following months, senior foreign ministers, as well as the president, explained the administrations approach in more detail. It included the possibility of preemptive strikes, taking preventive measures instead of waiting passively and reacting only after the United States or its allies were attacked. After analyzing the National Security Service, we can distinguish four main topics that clearly indicate the globalization of threats to national security. It is important to note that the given occurrences are the result of the concept of the language game analysis, which outline the basis of social and political relationships.3. It was born in close connection with finding a solution to the problem of new challenges and threats to national and international security, in particular, terrorism. The events pushed the United States to review its foreign policy. Now the main threat to the safety of the United States is international terrorism.
The danger of the new-minded enemy is that it is not a specific government in a certain territory. These are organizations that are scattered throughout the world, differing in power, influence, and number of people. The constitutional authority and presidential role of Bush administration were manifested in increased awareness of foreign policy making process and related procedures. The main issue with the given idea is that presidential influence can be manifested in various human attributes, such as charisma4. The national security strategy does not refute half a century of doctrine and does not discard the policy of deterrence and intimidation. Only now a new, complementary concept of preventive defense is added to these concepts. Thus, the United States needs to be prepared to take action before the threats are fully materialized. The last section of the National Security Strategy is devoted to the reorganization of the institutions providing it.
The Bush administration intended to undertake the largest since the time of President Truman, when the Ministry of Defense and the CIA were created, the reorganization of the federal government, forming the Ministry of Homeland Security. Major American institutions in the field of national security were created at another time and for other tasks. Therefore, it should be noted that every defense committee that is established to preserve peace on national scale, operates globally. The presidents philosophical rationale revolved around ensuring national safety and security. He both supported and signed the given executive order in order to integrate the policy changes. The 2006 strategy, in contrast to the previous document, extends the initial security framework outlined by the Bush administration in September 2002, before the invasion of Iraq.
Obama Administration
The foreign policy steps taken by the B. Obama administration were capable of providing a strong incentive for revising American strategic thought. Unlike the strategic innovations of George W. Bush, who evoked a public response, the Obama general line clearly claimed a new pragmatism, a coalition approach based on strength in solving various problems of international importance. It is important to note that neoconservatism plays an essential role in guiding the US foreign policy5. One can judge the degree of continuity and novelty in the administrations approach to US security issues. In this formulation of the question, there were no significant changes in foreign policy.
Obamas national security strategy, like all previous documents of this kind, retained an emphasis on maintaining American leadership in the world. However, Obamas administration began to operate by following the Clintonian irrationality, which severely hindered the overall performance6. However, it is difficult to state that Obama followed the biblical rights of conscience because the policy was nation focused and specific. For the first time, the strategy proposes to integrate the main tools of American power, which involves diplomacy, military force, economic mechanisms, intelligence, and internal security forces. Thus, small and unnoticeable interactions are critical in determining the future of nations foreign policy.7. At the same time, the approach of the current Trumps leadership of the United States contains a number of important innovations, not only tactical but also strategic.
Historically, the American approach to the problem of ensuring national security was limited to the international aspects of military and foreign policy issues. Issues of domestic policy and economic development were not considered to be in the field of US national security. The administration has moved away from such a rigid distinction and expanded the concept of national security. The Obama strategy was comprehensive, and it was an attempt to integrate the internal and international aspects of national security.
Obamas new strategy reflected the acute systemic crisis that the United States faced at the end of the last decade. It is important to regulate and consider the limitations, because overstretching them can lead to serious consequences. The thesis of overvoltage was repeated in the text of the document three times. It was often accepted that no country was able to bear the burden of responsibility alone. The Obama administration continued to gradually increase the importance of foreign policy changes. However, the document proposed to reduce unnecessary costs for international relations. It should be noted that the given case can be explained through a language game analysis, where unimportant cue lead to serious changes8. However, there was no talk about reducing military spending, although a promise was made to reduce or restructure outdated, duplicate, inefficient, and unnecessary programs.
Discussion
The previous strategy shifted US foreign policy from decades of a containment course toward a more aggressive approach, which is attacking enemies before they strike the US. The doctrine of preventiveness caused fierce debate at that time, and many critics believe that the failure to search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. It dealt a fatal blow to the main premise of this strategy, which was that intelligence data about the enemys capabilities and intentions might be sufficient to justify preventive of war.
Although the concept of pre-emptive strikes is no longer a priority, the United States did not reject it. In the paper, America confirms that its strategy is to deliver preventive strikes against countries that pose a threat to them. If necessary, the foreign policy does not exclude the use of force before the citizens are attacked, even if there are doubts about the date and place of the attack of the enemy. In order to support the legislation, step-by-step introduction and implementations were done with presidential supervision. At the same time, the executive order emphasizes that international cooperation, especially with the countriys oldest and most loyal friends and allies, is considered as a priority means of resolving crises.
The US foreign policy is based on two pillars, which includes the doctrine of unsurpassed American military superiority, and the concept of preventive war and readiness to act alone. It also involves multilateral cooperation to achieve US foreign policy goals is impossible to achieve. Bush advocates point out the sluggishness of existing international institutions. The United States refuses to negotiate with terrorist organizations and those states that provide them with shelter and assistance. This document is the first significant revision of the key doctrine, in which preemptive strikes against alleged terrorist targets were based.
It is important to note that there are a number of factors that lead to a hindered communication, which makes the set of derivatives highly inconsistent9. Iran was declared as the main enemy of the United States. America accuses Tehran of extending nuclear weapons and providing shelter to terrorists. North Korea is also considered as a country threatening the proliferation of atomic weapons. That is why the White House proposes to introduce universal control over the production of components for new foreign policy. The president mostly acted as an independent entity, but the collaboration process took place. Therefore, it is clear that the given occurrence was directly influenced by ideological classification, and Obama was not willing to use US force10. In short, Washington noted some positive changes taking place in the EU and called it as an ally in the fight against terrorism.
The presidential foreign policy emphasized that the United States could not achieve significant positive change without the support of international allies and partners. The presidential leadership was manifested in his speech, which included comments on the description and policy promotion. However, Washington expressed a very skeptical attitude towards the development of democracy in the world. The strategy states that the United States must be prepared to act independently if necessary. According to the proponents of Obamas administration, previous presidents were responsible for initiating the czar proliferation11. The presidential foreign policy included the American understanding of democracy and the needs of combating undesirable regimes.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it must be noted that both strategies set the course for coordinating the process of forming a new system of foreign policies and international relations by the United States. It was based on increasing cooperation between countries and establishing key strategic ties. Although the term multipolar world was not used in the new strategy, the emphasis is on multilateral partnerships, and the strengthening of alliances from Europe was implemented. The nations also involved North America, East Asia, and the Pacific, because they were in the sphere of key American interests. The long-term goals of presidential foreign policy were to maintain peace and ensure security, where Washington is obliged to formulate new approaches and priorities for its Middle East course. It occurred due to the rapid and global political and economic changes in the region. Therefore, the presidents role foreign policy making is ensuring the promotion of the proposals alongside the monitoring the execution.
References
Carsten, Melissa K., Michelle C. Bligh, Jeffrey C. Kohles, and Vienne Wing-Yan Lau. A Follower-Centric Approach to the 2016 US Presidential Election: Candidate Rhetoric and Follower Attributions of Charisma and Effectiveness. Leadership 15, no. 2 (2019): 179204.
Edwards, George C., Kenneth R. Mayer, and Stephen J. Wayne. Presidential Leadership: Politics and Policy Making. Stamford, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2018.
Karkour, Haro L. Unipolaritys Unpeacefulness and US Foreign Policy: Consequences of a Coherent System of Irrationality. International Relations 32, no. 1 (2018): 60-79.
Pan, Chengxin, and Oliver Turner. Neoconservatism as Discourse: Virtue, Power and US Foreign Policy. European Journal of International Relations 23, no. 1 (2017): 74-96.
Skonieczny, Amy. Playing Partners: Expectation, Entanglement, and Language Games in US Foreign Policy. International Relations 29, no. 1 (2015): 69-95.
Sollenberger, Mitchel A., and Mark J. Rozell. The Presidents Czars: Undermining Congress and the Constitution. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2012.
Footnotes
Chengxin Pan and Oliver Turner. Neoconservatism as Discourse: Virtue, Power and US Foreign Policy. European Journal of International Relations 23, no. 1 (2017): 79.
Haro L. Karkour. Unipolaritys Unpeacefulness and US Foreign Policy: Consequences of a Coherent System of Irrationality. International Relations 32, no. 1 (2018): 71.
Amy Skonieczny. Playing Partners: Expectation, Entanglement, and Language Games in US Foreign Policy. International Relations 29, no. 1 (2015): 88.
Melissa K. Carsten, Michelle C. Bligh, Jeffrey C. Kohles, and Vienne Wing-Yan Lau. A Follower-Centric Approach to the 2016 US Presidential Election: Candidate Rhetoric and Follower Attributions of Charisma and Effectiveness. Leadership 15, no. 2 (2019): 183.
Chengxin and Turner, Neoconservatism as Discourse: Virtue, Power and US Foreign Policy, 86.
Karkour, Unipolaritys Unpeacefulness and US Foreign Policy: Consequences of a Coherent System of Irrationality, 67.
Skonieczny, Playing Partners: Expectation, Entanglement, and Language Games in US Foreign Policy, 73.
Skonieczny, Playing Partners: Expectation, Entanglement, and Language Games in US Foreign Policy, 77.
George C. Edwards et al. Presidential Leadership: Politics and Policy Making (Stamford, MD: Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, 2018), 296.
Karkour, Unipolaritys Unpeacefulness and US Foreign Policy: Consequences of a Coherent System of Irrationality, 74.
Mitchel A. Sollenberger and Mark J. Rozell. The Presidents Czars: Undermining Congress and the Constitution (Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2012), 157.
Mohandus Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma, was a leader of the people of India; he was not only a political and ethical leader, but also a religious leader. This leader is the founding father of Indian nation, as he aided his nation to attain independence from the British. The guiding principles of Gandhi were truth, individual and political self-policing (Bischoff, 2010, p.3).
Generally, Gandhi used various weapons that included non-cooperation, non-violence, and peaceful resistance from the British (Bischoff, 2010). Simply, leadership is defined as a process by which someone takes the role of motivating or influencing others to follow a certain course for a common agenda or objective.
Many styles of leadership have been employed in various fields in life; however, the style of leadership employed by Mohandus is termed as follower centric that evaluates the existing conditions before setting strategies to be used. Moreover, mahatmas leadership was also situational as various tactics were employed to different circumstances.
The style of leadership used in the Indian revolution is applied in some governments and businesses to day. A key aspect of the leadership was motivation and empowerment, which are essential in business and requires every member involved to be connected to the organizations goals. Gandhi has a way of doing that making sure that everyone in the cause is connected to the goal.
As a great leader, Gandhi managed to not only influence his fellow Indians, but also many other leaders in the world to participate in movements for civil rights internationally, for instance, Nelson Mandela, and martin Luther Jr.
This paper will explore leadership of Mohandus, and some government that use his style of leadership. Moreover, personal qualities, traits, and characteristics that made mahatma a successful leader will be explored. Finally, the paper will discuss Gandhis limitations in his role as an Indian leader.
Thesis statement: the most important principle of leadership is forming personal character, having personal conviction and the influence of religion through prayers. Moreover, essential leadership skills emphasized by Mahatma include the need for constant growth and strength, while influence is not obtained by muscle power.
Leadership style of Gandhi
Gandhi was an outstanding and charismatic leader in India who led a revolution to end colonialism by the British. In his leadership, Gandhi leadership skills were centered on ethical, servant, and spiritual leadership theories (Bischoff, 2010). However, Gandhis leadership is seen to be situational, since he advocated for use of a leadership style depending on the circumstances prevailing.
Ethical leadership
Gandhi was an ethical leader who modeled ethical behavior to the Indian community. Ethics are standards of beliefs and values that guide conduct, behavior, and activities; in other words, a way of thinking that provides boundaries for our actions. Ethical leadership is therefore defined as the act of leading based on ethics at all times. The principles of ethical leadership are truth telling, keeping promises, and fairness and respect for all individuals.
Through telling the truth, Gandhi was able to influence people of India to recognize their rights and need for revolution. He modeled what he expected his followers to act on and practiced ethical leadership, as his core motivation was to benefit his fellow countrymen and women rather than himself, thus he was ready to face the consequences of his actions.
Moreover, his lifes motivation was to attain social achievement rather than personal achievement. He attained his goal by transformation of the beliefs, values and the behavior of his followers. In this case, the transformation was achieved by empowerment and education.
Integrity is essential in ethical leadership; Mahatma portrayed his integrity through adhering to ethic behavior, thus his advocacy for non-violent means during the revolution. He actually cancelled campaign that yielded to violent behavior i.e. rioting. Moreover, Gandhi applied equal standards to all people regardless of their caste in society.
He did not manipulate his followers to participate in revolution activities i.e. fasting, but he allowed them to make choices freely. As a leader, Gandhi was imprisoned for several years for his actions but he did not give up his desire for change in his nation. Finally, Gandhi categorized seven social sins that he challenged his followers to evade at all cost.
Servant leadership
Mahatma was a servant leader; servant leader is defined as a leader who serves his followers (Bischoff, 2010, p.6). Servant leaders usually have various traits including integrity, empathy, listening to name but a few. Gandhi as a servant leader was ready to suffer for what he believed in and he was not influenced by titles or wealth and money but lived in humility, which can be attested by the simple loom, weaved cloth he wore.
According to Polelle (2007, p.24), modern servant leadership approach emphasizes collaboration, trust, empathy, and ethical use of power. Gandhi was largely involved in humanitarian work; indeed, most of his money obtained from his work as a lawyer was used in assisting needy people in the society (Polelle, 2007, p.24).
Importantly, his leadership did not discriminate any caste in the society, as he worked with low castes in India who were discriminated by fellow Indians.
Spiritual leadership
As a spiritual leader, Gandhi demanded peaceful coexistence of all religions irrespective of the fact that he was a Hindu spiritual leader. He believed that all different beliefs led to the same ultimate truth; hence, there was no need for religious conflict (Polelle, 2007, p.24). Using power of love, the leader was able to overcome any negative emotions on the colonial masters that led to his choice of non-violent ways to repel the British.
Through this belief, he advocated for peaceful coexistence of Hindus and Muslims and all levels of castes in the community, hence a unified nation. Further, he promoted other spiritual attributes such as Peace. Mahatma believed that his enemies should be treated honorably irrespective of their behaviors.
Transformational leadership
Gandhi is seen as a transformational leader as he single handedly raised the motivation and morality of his followers during the Indian revolution (Shriberge & Shriberge, 2009). Transformational leadership has a moral dimension, which Mondulas upheld strongly in his advocacy against violence. He maintained humility at all times and sought to satisfy the needs of his followers first, rather than his needs.
Key components of transformational leaders are charisma and stewardship. Through his charismatic attributes, mahatma was able to rally and motivate the people of India to revolt against the British colonialists. Although his means of revolt were criticized and seemed ineffective, he managed to make Indians to believe in his cause.
Moreover, Gandhi focused on empowering and motivating his followers and stimulated their intelligence. Importantly, he involved people who would be affected by his actions before making any decisions (Bischoff, 2010). As a result, his followers were satisfied and committed to go to any length in order to attain Mahatmas defined goals.
In other words, when Gandhi told his followers to boycott foreign made clothes and instead hand-weave their own clothes, they all obliged without any resistance. Further, the followers gained trust with their leader since he was committed, kept his promises, and satisfied the needs of his followers.
He was able to initiate change, confront the status quo, and know prospects that his followers could benefit from. Mahatma not only influenced his fellow Indian people, but also other leaders in the world, for instance, Martin Luther King indicates that Gandhi illustrated the means of bringing a revolution.
Transformational leadership entails four spheres namely, the concern of supporters needs, intellectual stimulation of followers based on their strengths, inspiration of supporters to attain their best and influencing the vision and interests of followers to be have a correlation with leaders goals (Odom, 2010, p.82). As a transformational leader, Mahatma Gandhi influenced and motivated his followers; additionally, he was a mentor and a role model.
Traits of Mohandus
Gandhi had extemporary traits that helped him to be an effective leader in his times. These traits include good communicator, humility, self-motivating and responsible.
Mohandus was a good communicator, which is an essential trait for all successful leaders. He was able to convey and persuade the people of India to support his cause and goals that he had defined. Moreover, he was self-disciplined, as he was not governed by any policies or rules; however, he had a set of values that he stuck to regardless of the situation.
Application in business/government leadership
In the present corporate workplace, there is need for ethical leadership for an organization to attain its goals. The components of ethical purpose, knowledge, authority, and trust define the success of a business (Johnson, 2005, p. 1). Moreover, values and ethics are fundamental in any corporate organization culture.
Businesses that practiced servant leadership benefit from satisfied employees who are motivated to meet the goals of the organization, i.e. TD industries lay much emphasis on servant leadership through its CEO Mr. Lowe, and as a result, the firm has enjoyed much recognition. The firm has been able to build trust with its employees, which is essential in ensuring that the firm remains competitive in the business environment.
Therefore, the firm is more flexible in dealing with changing business environment without internal resistance. In return, the firm has developed competitive edge over its competitors; hence, profitability of the organization has increased (Bounds, 1998).
Lack of ethical leaders in an organization can lead to disastrous results to the firm. A case in mind is the Enron Corporation, a gas pipeline company that collapsed due to lack of ethical leaders.
It is believed that the executive management did not live up to the set up values that they expected their employees to follow. In addition, ethical leadership is portrayed by senior managers who demanded their employees to take pay cuts during recession, while they (managers) continued to take home large bonuses.
Limitation in Gandhis Leadership
Despite of Gandhis achievements, he had some shortcomings; it is believed that he had racism tendencies, as he did not include black people, and he supported the Indian people only (Bischoff, 2010).
Conclusion
Mohandus was a great political and spiritual leader of India; through his leadership, he managed to toppled the colonial masters, British, hence bringing liberation to his countrymen.
His leadership styles and skills set an example to other great leaders i.e. Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther Jr. Further, his leadership styles can be implemented in present business and government management. Importantly, Gandhi used the following leadership styles, servant leadership, and transformational, spiritual, and ethical leadership.
As a servant leader, Gandhi was keen to empower his followers and he was more concerned with meeting their needs rather than his personal needs. Servant leaders do not implement force, but persuade the followers by setting him or herself as an example and encouraging them to reach their full potential, thus performing at their best.
Transformational leadership is defined as the practice in which leaders and supporters uphold higher levels of morality and motivation. The vision of a transformational leader goes beyond him, but to the greater good of all that followed him.
Through charisma, a leader is able to break barriers that exist between leaders and their followers. Primarily, transformational leaders are able to influence their followers to accept and get committed to achieving goals defined by their leaders.
Ethical leadership is a crucial factor for any successful organizational leadership, as it ensures that the goals are met using guidelines of laws and regulations. Leaders like Mahatma should set examples of how they wish their followers to act or behave. Generally, all the facets of leadership portrayed by Mahatma should be emulated by organization and government leaders.
References
Bischoff, A. L. (2010) Leadership Theories: Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi: The Application of Leadership Skills in Businesslife on a Great Leader of Our Time. Norderstedt: GRIN Verlag.
Bounds, G. Dallas Business Journal, (1998). Servant leadership: a model that can pay great dividends. Web.
Bill Clinton was one among the many presidents of the United States of America. As a leader, Bill Clinton achieved many things which made him become a popular leader during his reign (Biography.com, 2011).
This research paper will focus its discussion on the leadership of Mr. Bill Clinton, his major style of leadership, the numerous theories connected to his leadership and it will further highlight the lesson we as population can learn from his system of leadership.
To have a good understanding of Bill Clinton, we shall have a review and a brief description of his biography in order to understand about the background of Bill Clinton right from the time he was born up to his time in power as the president to of US.
Bill Clinton was born in August the year 1946 in the state of Arkansas where he was raised by his grandparents until the age of three years since he was born in a single family after the death of his father just before he born (Biography.com, 2011).
During his stay with the grandparents, Bill Clinton learned a lot including; good discipline, reading and counting which he was taught by the grandfather who liked the young boy very much. During all this time, Clintons mother was at college and she only came back after graduating with a nursing degree and shortly moved in with Roger Clinton his newly wedded husband.
During his childhood Bill Clinton was raised in a religious manner and was a devoted Baptist where he attended church services every Sunday. At the Baptist church, Bill became interested in music and he engaged a lot in the church music where he even learned how to play jazz saxophone which he continued playing up to high school (Biography.com, 2011).
Al this particular time, Bill was used to the hard life such as harsh, abusive and rude stepfather due to excessive drinking. At the age of 14 Bill gained his ground and decided it was no more when he engaged his step father in a quarrel that consequently put a stop to the abusive behavior. However, not long after this incidence that the mother divorced with Roger Clinton.
At high school, Bill used to play musical instrument and also engaged in political debates a factor that made his teacher Ms Mae Mackey to like him very much (Biography.com, 2011). At the age of 17, at Arkansas Boys state, Bill was selected as the representatives of the boys association due to his outstanding character giving him a wonderful opportunity to meet face to face with President John F. Kennedy at the state house.
After high school, the youthful Bill attended Georgetown University where he got involved in university politics very much. After college he won a highly prestigious award for further studies at the Oxford University where he studied law.
Moreover, after the scholarship at oxford, Clinton further went to Yale university school of law to complete his law course; after schooling he immediately went into national politics and in the 1978 he become the youngest governor in history of US.
After this incidence Clinton had his ups and down going in and out of politics until 1992 when he was nominated as a party representative to vie for presidency which he campaigned well and in November 3 he become the 42nd president of United State of America (Biography.com, 2011).
Clintons philosophy on leadership
Clinton a young president belonging to Democrat party had changed the history by winning the election against the republicans which had not happened for such a long time (Hamilton, 2008); in fact, he was elected for the second term despite of the many scandals that he had been accused of due to his negative personality.
However, Clinton is highly regarded for the positive changes he brought to US which are highly attributed to his concerned nature for the well being of the citizens (Gates, 2000).
One of the major policies which he held is that of economical progression. In fact, during his reign and presidency, Clinton achieved economical progress in many ways; his government was keen to note the high rate of unemployment which his administration developed measures to curb such crisis (Hamilton, 2008).
Additionally, Clintons administration was very successful in ensuring that the level of inflation was reduced by all means and due to the efforts administered during his term, US acquired the lowest level of inflation (Gates, 2000). On the other hand, Clintons administration was very alert and did not hesitate to make necessary changes in the national budget.
During Clintons era, the government made proposals that really impacted the US economy in a very positive way; in point of fact, Clintons government made a budget that is said to have brought a balance in the deficit that had been there for decades and in effect to this, the result was a budget which was surplus (Gates, 2000).
Another topic which makes Clinton to be a president who was highly regarded was due to his enthusiasm for peace causing him to extended campaign works intended to bring harmony in the land. Further more, his administration cleared all issue of violence and crime which is reported that, during his era issues of crime rates were reported to have reduced considerably.
In the education sector, Clintons administration made numerous changes that have brought a positive impact up to date. During his era, the US achieved the largest investments in the education segment by expanding college edification and facilities in order to ensure all American could have at least access college education.
This program was made accessible in the course of also giving scholarship to more than five million students annually (Hamilton, 2008). Additionally, Clinton ensured that college education became basic; his administration hired more teachers and lowered college fees in order to make education become quality and be easily accessed even by the poor in order to promote equity in the society (Gates, 2000).
More importantly, his administration encouraged technology through incorporating modern facilities in schools to embrace technological changes as a form of development in the education sector.
Moreover, Clintons administration was in the forefront to campaign for better and improved health care; as such his government ensured increased medical facility access to all Americans at an affordable rate (Gates, 2000). Through creating a balance in the national budget, Clintons government extended the medical facilities through making accommodative changes to cater for the growing population of US.
In the child health care, Clintons administration enacted the largest health supportive program since 1965 which was big enough to cater for medical needs for more than 5 million children every year (Gates, 2000).
Furthermore, to ensure better health care, his government signed a law to cater for the mental challenged across America which would help eradicate stigmatization against those mentally challenged (Hamilton, 2008). Apart from this, Clintons administration also developed foreign policies that were meant to facilitate peace, campaign for freedom and encourage democracy (Gates, 2000).
Leadership Theories connected to Clintons leadership
There are many theories of associated with leadership and we can relate a good number of the theories to the leadership of Bill Clinton based on his accomplishment as the 42nd president of US. In order to have an understanding of this concept we shall review just but a few of the leadership theories studied in class for a broader understanding.
One among many other leadership theories is the great man theory; great man theory argues that, quality leaders arise when they are needs in the society and it further argues that leaders are born and not made (Changingminds.com , 2002). By looking back to the system of Clintons administration, we can be able to relate Clintons leadership to this particular in the following way.
As a president of US Clinton was able to integrate quality management leadership when the state was undergoing tough economical times, it during his era when US acquired a balance in the national budget something that seems not to have been achieved for decades.
So, we can be able to attribute the economical progress to sthe good leadership style by Clinton which can also be argued that the great man theory correctly fits in this situation because as the theory argues good leaders come in when the society really needs them (Changingminds.com , 2002), as such, Clintons leadership also seems to have appeared right when US was under tough economical times.
Secondly, another theory of leadership which can be related to leadership of bill Clinton is the transformational leadership theory.
Transformational leadership theory is a hypothesis whose assumption is that, good leaders are those who inspire others and usually work hard to achieving what they have passion for (Changingminds.com , 2002); mostly their style of leadership is based on what they what to achieve in the society, so, the transformational leaders will be motivated to achieve their desired goals which they work and dedicate all their energy towards such objectives (Changingminds.com , 2002).
In this regard, by reviewing the leadership of bill Clinton we are able to conclude that, it is no doubt that Clintons leadership style can be related to this particular theory in various ways. One way is through the way Clinton had passion for education based on his background and how he had gotten quality education through scholarship.
As such, we can be able to trace those qualities through observing how Clinton was aggressive to make positive change in the education sector in US (Gates, 2000). In point of fact, Clintons administration worked towards making college education to be accessible as basic by all Americans and this was achieved through his passion for education.
Additionally, Clintons made sure that college education was affordable by campaigning for reduced college fee. Most importantly, Clintons administration initiated the scholarship program in order to support the needy students towards attaining education in the society and it does support millions of student annually (Gates, 2000).
Lessons we can learn from leadership of Bill Clinton
From what we have already learned, Clinton is one among the many presidents of the US who was popular during his term as a leader of US. Despite of the few shortcomings and criticism raised regarding his personality, Clinton was a charismatic leader a factor that also contributed to him being selected for the second term.
Generally, there are many positive things we can learn from such form of leadership and if applied in the society today, it could contribute to progressive changes necessary for development and social change in the world today.
One great lesson we can always learn from Clintons presidency is that, a good leader transforms the society for better.
Clearly, we have already seen how Clintons administration strived to make a lot of changes in the society in order to accommodate developments and hence steer growth of the state; such changes include, economical development, technological advancement, health for all, affordable college education, environmental conservation among many others. All these changes are necessary for a better tomorrow.
Furthermore, we can also get to learn that as leaders, we should develop love for others in order to change our society and our neighbors (Koestenbaum, 2000).
Such a lesson can be derived form Clintons leadership looking at the way his administration was concern about peace; majorly, he was concerned about peace in his country and that of the other countries which resulted in developing foreign policies that were meant to promote internal and external peace.
Finally, another lesson we can learn from Clintons leadership is that, as leaders we should have a desire to impact changes where others have not achieved (Koestenbaum, 2000). It is obvious that Clinton made positive developments where other presidents had not achieved; such changes include creating a balance in the national budget something that had not been achieved for decades.
Therefore, leaders should not be discouraged by the fact that others have not achieved, in fact this should be a motivation to achieve and exercise ones abilities in order to achieve great things in the society.
Angela Merkel was Chancellor of Germany for a stunning period that was marked by numerous crises. Despite Brexit, economic problems, and the external pressure on the European Union, Germany remained as stable as possible during the period of Merkels leadership. Several critical factors of Merkels personality that show transformative traits have given her the support of Germans that allowed her to remain Chancellor of Germany for sixteen years. This essay will analyze Angela Merkels leadership style and how it helped her and her country to push through political and economic crises.
During the time Merkel led Germany, there were adverse events that tested her ability to make the right decision. For example, the Brexit referendum has caused a significant stirrup in the European Union. In fact, this event shows why Angela Merkel can be seen by some as Europes leader. Germany was the country that other members of the EU turned their gazes to in search of a proper answer to Britains odd political decision ( Looking to Mutti, 2016). Angela Merkel did not rush with her commentaries, which kept other EU members from doing so as well and kept other countries at bay. This delay gave everyone enough time to plan a viable strategy to move forward as an alliance. Brexit did not further divide EU members partially due to Merkels answer to this event, which was both lenient and decisive ( Looking to Mutti, 2016). With a clear understanding of the consequences of this crisis, Merkel pushed forward with the determination that assured Germans of the appropriateness of her response.
At the same time, Merkel has provided a cautious yet encouraging message to the public. Her way of conducting business with European and American leaders has shown that the actions taken after meticulous consideration and careful planning can lead to greater unity within ones country. Janning (2019) states that Germany appeared to prefer stability and the status quo (para. 11). Despite the outside push toward conflict in relationships among transatlantic partners, Merkel remained focused on keeping her external communications as close to positive as possible. Moreover, her take on financial matters has created a stable economic environment for the same reason, as the German currency kept its stability over the euro crisis ( Looking to Mutti, 2016). This well-calculated approach reveals how Merkels leadership promotes self-balancing political and economic systems.
Even at the end of her term, Merkel was able to show her leadership skills by leaving the country on a path she considered the safest. She continuously attempted to elevate the minister of defense, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, to become a suitable candidate for leading Germany by allowing her to attain the reputation necessary to become a Chancellor (Karnitschnig, 2019). This move shows that Merkel has the essential qualities of a transformative leader, including her ability to critically analyze a situation and motivate her followers in times of need. As a result of Merkels actions, the political stability of the country was not disrupted by any internal and external factors. Despite the fact that her proposed successor did not participate in the recent election, the German people voted for the most suitable and not the most emotionally appealing leader.
In conclusion, Angela Merkels leadership style aligned perfectly with the countrys direction and voters preferences. She showed the qualities of a transformative leader through elevating others to take action and based her decisions on the opinions of well-informed individuals and factual information. Due to this approach that is deeply rooted in solid evidence sources, Germanys economy remained stable for decades, and its relationships with neighboring countries stayed as positive as possible in times of political crises.
Mao Zedong was a communist leader and the founding father of the Peoples Republic of China. Although his policies such as Great Leap Forward face heavy criticism, Mao formed the foundation that anchors modern-day technological growth and freedom in China. Nonetheless, based on Maos leadership styles examined in this paper in relation to those of Pope Francis, he stands out as a bad leader due to various failed leadership missions reported when he was at the helm of the Chinese government.
Why Mao Zedong Was a Bad Leader
Mao enacted policies that lacked any scientific proof of their likely success. For example, the Great Leap Forward policy resulted in a food crisis that led to the death of many Chinese people (Pang, 2016). This program was introduced in 1958 as a five-year plan that aimed at ensuring rapid economic growth. Diverse levels in his communist partys leadership fabricated statistics to ensure that individuals in higher ranks were conformable with the Great Leap Forward policy (Pang, 2016).
Based on these fictitious figures, the state ordered for the production of agricultural produce for export at the expense of the ordinary Chinese citizen. The outcome was the starvation of millions of farmers who now had little left or nothing to eat after giving out all their harvests. By the end of the Great Leap Forward initiative in 1962, a huge number of people, including children, had died.
Mao was assertive in the development and implementation of his policies. For example, all peasant farmers were compelled to work in massive infrastructural projects and tedious steel production plants (Rittenberg, 2013). Diverting labor to these projects accompanied by natural catastrophes caused a high drop in grain production, thus leading to a major famine. To fulfill anticipated volumes of steel production, people were forced to melt even farm machinery under harsh conditions that interfered with their health.
Mao developed policies that encouraged him to abuse power. For example, Lee (2018) describes him as one of the notorious leaders in China, just like Qin Shi Huang. According to Lee (2018), Mao buried scholars alive as one of his policies that targeted intellectuals. His revolutionary ideas, for instance, the Cultural Revolution, led to the death and persecution of millions of Chinese.
Maos Leadership Style
Mao applied a charismatic leadership style. He discovered ways of winning in all situations, including during the most unfavorable moments. For example, his military judgments and advice turned out correct in all situations during World War II. This situation forced his followers and colleagues to not only believe but also respect him (Lussier & Achua, 2016). Maos charismatic leadership was manifested during these early years. He convinced people that his policies were right, despite the heavy criticism from other nations such as the United States of America.
Comparison of His Leadership with Pope Francis
Pope Francis and Mao stand out as strategists who believed in change. Although the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution doctrines having negative outcomes in China, Mao developed them with the objective of changing the status quo (Lussier & Achua, 2016).
For example, the Great Leap Forward program was formulated to accelerate economic growth. Similarly, Pope Francis was overly concerned about changes that guaranteed environmental security for all. For example, in 2015, he published an encyclical that convinced global leaders on the need for environmental protection. He warned about climatic changes due to irresponsible behaviors by multinational corporations. Mao also easily influenced people through his narratives (Lussier & Achua, 2016). For example, following the formation of the Peoples Republic of China, citizens embraced Maos communist party. They regarded it as less corrupt and serving the needs of the common people.
Conclusion
Mao clearly understood the direction that he wanted China to take to realize developments. However, despite using his charisma to gain followership, he made mistakes such as introducing policies that caused a significant loss of life. Just like Mao, Pope Francis also knew the direction he wanted the Catholic Church to follow to attain spiritual growth.
References
Lee, T. C. (2018). Can Xi Jinping be the next Mao Zedong? Using the big five model to study political leadership. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 23(4), 473-497. Web.
Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2016). Leadership: Theory, application, & skill development (6th ed.). Canberra, Australia: Cengage Learning.
Pang, H. (2016). Visual Mao Zedong and new world order. Social Identities, 22(6), 577-589. Web.
This research project shall depict Lt Col. Hal Moore as a leader of his characteristics of Loyalty, Courageousness, and preparation. All the resources used in the project portray Moores leadership through undying loyalty to his troops and determination to succeed despite the extent of known or unknown challenges. Throughout his battle of Ia Drang he showed his courage as a leader by being an active part in the battle and not by standing in the back, he led from the front.
As a great leader, he showed his men perfect examples to follow throughout this battle. Using strategic battle skills he did his best to bring his soldiers back home. As Moore prepared for this new assignment he was very good at researching what it was he and his men were going to be against. This preparation allowed him to train his men effectively for this type of battle. Moore would be a good example of the Army Field Manual FM 22-100. As you read the definition of leadership in this manual you will see how Moore reflects it. The type of leader exemplified in Lt Col. Hal Moore will be explained through a vivid description of his actions and the relation to the FM.
Characteristics
Loyalty
Lt Col. Hal Moores leadership styles met several, if not all, key requirements expected of a military leader. First, he was able to exemplify self-sacrifice for the success and safety of all his men. The loyalty that Lt Col. Hal Moore has for his men was amicable he led their leader but like another soldier who was at par with them. This meant that he was liable for their welfare, something that the men also retained back in the same gesture.
He understood that success for the group did not entirely depend on him but the abilities of his men to perform the tasks that were laid before them by their military superiors. Lt Col. Hal Moore further understood that all men in his group had one goal and could only succeed he provides the right leadership that would increase trust and sense of responsibility of each other among themselves. This trait was seen in his loyalty to his men.
This trait was helpful not only to his own benefit but to the very safety of his brave followers. One can easily observe that Lt Col. Hal Moore was always concerned with the safety of his men, which without, would have led to their demise on the battlefield. For instance, during the Battle of la Drang, the colonel understood that his men were outnumbered by the enemy, which increased the chances of losing, but he was not ready to lose. Instead, he could order regiments to pull back from engagements even when they were pushing hard from the enemy engagement (Moore & Galloway, 1992, p. 126) meaning that safety came first due to strategic reasons.
This leadership trait enabled Lt Col. Hal Moore to cultivate an excellent working relationship among his men and especially other ranking officers that he worked closely with. Lt Col. Hal Moore was thus always willing to listen to the men leading different groups. For instance, he was willing to listen to others opinions: like when Alpha and Bravo leaders requested to pull back after experiencing heavy fire engagement (Moore & Galloway, 1992, p. 244). that made him agree with their decision to retreat. Such a decision brings out the trait of adaptation, meaning that Lt Col. Hal Moore was always ready to change tactics and decisions depending on the scenario that faced his men.
Courageous
Lt Col. Hal Moores courage to fight on despite the odds that had afflicted his men was the major driving factor that led to the victory of his group over the Vietnamese. It requires courage for a leader of 450 men to convince his troops that 2000 Vietnamese should not worry them at all. But it was not a hard task for the courageous Lt Col. Hal Moore. It dazzles observers to understanding that despite fact that the colonels troops were surrounded and outnumbered, he never asked for help; he decided to develop winning strategies and fight on. It was only when it became clear that complete success could not be reached without aerial help despite his mens victory over their enemy.
This courageous soldier was thus determined to fight with the few men he had; he knew that instilling courage in them will lead to victory and he did just that. As a courageous leader, Lt Col. Hal Moore was able to use what he had (men and artillery) to accomplish the tasks, rather than wishing he could have air power to make his mission easier. This soldier was not ready for shortcuts to victory, because he knew that courage was all that soldiers needed to overcome their worst nightmare: fear.
Courage to withstand fire and restraint from immediate retaliation was another factor that characterized Lt Col. Hal Moores leadership. He hardly asked his men to retaliate immediately after experiencing an enemy fire. Instead, he waited until the right time availed itself and proper strategies had been developed. That is tough courage to develop considering that it applied on the battlefield. But one man in the name of Lt Col. Hal Moore developed; His men must have understood the reasons behind Lt Col. Hal Moore decisions later in the batter or even years after it the war; there is no doubt that they were silently equally dazzled and appreciated their leaders decision.
Honorable/Honest
During his leadership, Lt Col. Hal Moore showed many instances that his honesty left a long-lasting legacy in the nations disciplined forces. Other sectors (private and public) in the country have lessons to learn from his leadership, especially in the Battle of la Drang. He had together with his men underwent thorough one of the most challenging confrontations on the Vietnamese battlefield, and arguably one of the toughest assignments in respective forces recent histories. Despite his groups victory, Lt Col. Hal Moore has honestly asserted that the success was little lived because their enemies were able to assert control in the area after the end of that deadly confrontation engage (Moore & Galloway, 1992, p. 315).
Leadership
Led by Example
Lt Col. Hal Moore always led his men from the front. He was utterly engaged with the enemy just like his fellow comrades were. This must-have set a good example for the rest of his men. Seeing their top-ranking offer crawling with them and fighting together instilled them with the courage that drove them into victory over their enemy. The leading by example character trait helped to create and enhancing team ethic within his men.
By working with his men side by side, Lt Col. Hal Moore was able to develop a relationship with all that he could engage with. To him, this was a time that he could observe how his men were performing their duties; he could thus give credit where it was due, criticize, and advise the others on ways to improve the way they were executing responsibilities.
Inexperienced men thus benefited from his encouragement, something that a successful leader should have. By leading his men in one of the toughest assignments of the war, Lt Col. Hal Moore was tasked with the burden to help his soldiers overcome any fear that could lead to their demise on the enemys hands. He recognized the regrettable consequences of fear on the battlefield and quickly came up with ways of concurring that fear; he asserted that recognizing fear makes it go away as fast as it appeared to engage (Moore & Galloway, 1992, p. 170) and it gives courage room to develop.
Strategies
Lt Col. Hal Moore was able to develop winning strategies that saw his men overpower a multitude of their enemies. This strategy included the use of restraint before retaliating against an enemy power. As noted earlier in the paper, Lt Col. Hal Moore was keen to come up with strategies before ordering his men to fire back to the enemy, which one could argue help contain the number of American casualties in the Battle of la Drang. At the beginning of that tough assignment, Lt Col. Hal Moore further followed the following strategy to ensure that all of his men were ready to engage (Moore & Galloway, 1992, p. 33).
First, he ensured that all soldiers in his group had been transported in the area of assignment. Secondly, each group had been assigned their location, which they occupied upon arrival. Third, he located the command station at the center of all regiments; this ensured the fluent flow of information from the station to peripherals. After the arrival of all personnel, Lt Col. Hal Moore officers did not start to attack immediately; he waited for some time and then had the groups attack in sections rather than all at the same time engage (Moore & Galloway, 1992, p. 86). This ensured there was personnel guarding the center and ready to help overwhelmed collogues.
Preparation
It would be ironic to claim that Lt Col. Hal Moore was aware of what awaited his men before they were airlifted for the assignment. Soldiers are however trained to deal with situations even tougher than those in the Battle of la Drang. Though his soldiers were ready for what befell them, it is arguable that the most preparation for the confrontations was done right there on the battlefield; this preparation involved perseverance and determination to succeed. The preparation for perseverance was done through the development of the aforementioned strategies. Another preparations strategy that was developed by Lt Col. Hal Moore involved immediate capture of the unarmed enemy that ended up providing information regarding the number of enemy soldiers and their location on the battlefield.
This enabled Lt Col. Hal Moore to prepare his men for what they were to deal with during the battle, which enabled the soldiers to prepare psychologically. During the entire battle, Lt Col. Hal Moore never took any measure without preparing his soldiers for what will come next. Towards the end of the Battle of la Drang, Lt Col. Hal Moore made sure to prepare his soldiers for the incoming gunships that would shoot at close range; he requested soldiers to mark the boundary of their areas with colored grenades for easier recognition. This helped curtail American casualties from friendly fire.
Army Field Manual FM 22-100
Army definition
The Field Manual FM 22-100 defines leadership as the ability to help a group of individuals to attain certain goals through the provision of purpose, improving motivation, and showing directionall of which must be in line with the organizations mission (FM 22-100, 2006, p. 1-1).
The leader is thus supposed to be the person who understands very well the mission of the army, the ways, and means of attaining the armys goals, and is exemplifies qualities that can help followers reach goals bestowed upon them through orders. Lt Col. Hal Moore is one kind of military leader that exemplified such qualities. He well understood what the army wanted to accomplish, he had skills to make that happened, and also had the necessary abilities to lead a group of men into attaining the tasks bestowed upon them through the orders provided by their superiors. As a leader, Lt Col. Hal Moore was able to motivate his followers during a challenging time of their career, which resulted in attaining the goal of subduing the enemy.
Type of leader
Army leaders should be knowledgeable enough regarding the importance of character in soldiers lives, whether in combat or in barracks. It is this character that keeps soldiers disciplined enough so they are ready for combat or any assignment at all times. The characters that were exemplified by Lt. Col Hal Moore are the best examples of the ones to be found in members of disciplined forces. Army leaders who portray such characters further help young soldiers to learn, when means the passage of discipline and good character throughout the generations of disciplined forces. Successful military leaders also are focused on the long-term effects of their actions on the battlefield.
They never concentrate on immediate benefits to be of their victories. Understanding that soldiers work revolves around restoring peace helps visionary army leaders to take actions that will lead to a peace that will exist beyond the end of current hardships. Therefore, they never rush to make decisions but in calculated moves that lead to long-run benefits to their regiments, the army, and civilians. This is shown in the way Lt. Col Hal Moore executed decisions in the Battle of la Drang.
Relation
Successful army leaders understand the value of their fellow soldiers in helping their organization to attain goals. They understand that soldiers are selected from a large pool of individuals and only the most determined and qualified ones make it to the position of becoming members of the disciplined forces. This means that no soldiers abilities are taken for granted because all know their duties and responsibilities. It is known throughout the army that soldiers are always ready to serve at any given point in time; all they need to be given his orders. This leads to a culture of responsibility and discipline that has continued to characterize soldiers lives.
Opinion Paragraph
Lt. Col Hal Moore was truly an excellent leader during his time. He was a man that brought his own morals, and beliefs with him. Lt Col. Hal Moore was a modestly honest man and in good relations with his soldiers.
It can be claimed that todays military personnel who know about Lt. Col Hal Moore would have loved to have him as my command. Soldiers would have followed him into battle just like his men have. He was a born leader committed to his troops. It is evident that todays military forces have a problem with corruption among ranking officers. An appeal regarding eradication of corruption in the military should thus be made among todays military leaders; they should be more or less like Lt. Col Hal Moore because such character would have a big impact on how the military acts now.
Conclusion Paragraph
This research project report has covered various characteristics of Lt. Col Hal Moore, including his personal influence on his soldiers. After you have read this paper you will see and appreciate the loyalty, and courage that was reflected towards his soldiers. Not only was Moore a great leader how he led was inspirational through anyone that meet or knew him. His preparations for battle showed the love for his men knowing that he would spend countless hours learning of his enemy and even of battles like the one he was in. As you become familiar with Moore throughout this paper you will see how he reflected the Army Field Manual FM 22-100. Hal Moore was a great leader that inspired everyone that knew him.
Bibliography
Moore, H. & Galloway, J. (1992). We Were Soldiers Once -and Young: Ia Drang, the Battle that Changed. Corgi: London.
Schmidt, A. (Producer), Wallace. R. (Director). (2002). We Were Soldiers. CA: Paramount Pictures.
United States Army. (2006). Military Manual FM 22-100. Washington DC: United States Army.
According to Rao (2010) president Barrack Obama has exhibited different theorised leadership skills since he was sworn in as the 44th president of the United States of America. Such include Charismatic leadership and cross-cultural leadership.
He has also captured different leadership theories which include the leader-member exchange theory, contingency theory as well as team leadership theory. Of all this however, it his charismatic/transformational characteristics that seem to define his style of leadership more aptly.
Of all American presidents, John F Kennedy is remembered as the most charismatic leader that the country has ever had. During his presidential campaigns, Obama was likened to JF Kennedy owing to something rare and special that the president possessed (Bennis & Zelleke, 2008, p. 1). Opinion analysts were quick to point out that there was a specific kind of personal magnetism that attracted people to the president.
As charismatic/transformational leaders speak, they are able to woo strangers and make them believe in some kind of a shared meaning. Through proper articulation, they are able to create a vision that is shared by most people in an audience. Kellerman (2009) states that Max Weber was the first sociologist who attempted to give meaning to the word charisma.
Accordingly, Weber used the word to describe a form of leadership where a leader had extraordinary skills that ensured that he always had followers in his thrall. More to this, the charismatic form of leadership given meaning by Weber was powerful, symbiotic and had leaders and their followers engaged and dependent.
Kellerman (2009) draws a similarity in president Obamas form of leadership and what Weber defined as Charismatic leadership. For starters, the author observes the loyal following that Obama commands (especially right after his election) is evidence enough that he has captured their imagination through his spoken word and his articulation of a vision they all share in.
Another example of how he managed to capture people attention was the campaign fundraising where the ordinary Americans contributed small amounts individually until his campaign coffers were almost overflowing.
Rao (2010) states, Charisma is a sparkle in people that money cannot buy. It is an invisible energy with visible effects (p.1). In Obamas Case, the sparkle and invisible energy as defined by Rao pushed him to the presidency and continues allowing him some loyal following albeit the fact that some are being disappointed by the slow progress of reforms in his government.
Characteristics
Visionaries
One of the outstanding characteristics of charismatic/transformational leaders as pointed out by Rao (2010) is that they are visionaries who believe in change. This means that they are anti-status quo. True to this characteristic, Obama assumed power on the promise of change.
In fact, his campaign theme was change we can believe in and one of the presidents administration pet projects was change in the health care system in America. According to the White House (2010), the health care reform would ensure that all Americans can afford healthcare.
Magnetic personalities
The second characteristic of charismatic/transformational leaders as identified by Rao (2010) is their magnetic personalities, which appeals to the masses due to the enthusiasm and energy that such leaders reflect.
Among the presidents other reform agendas is financial reform. Having taken office when the economy was facing a financial crisis, the presidents propositions to reform this sector are just as welcome among the economist as it is among the ordinary citizens. Watson (2010) for example observes that Obamas advocacy for a regulatory bill which seeks to build a new foundation for economic growth in the 21st century was well received by the American people who have suffered under the economic recession (p.1).
Good communicator
It is no secret that the president is a good communicator and also exhibits a great wealth of emotional intelligence. According to Serat (2009), emotional intelligence is the ability, capacity, skill or self-perceived ability to identify, assess and manage the emotions of one self, other peoples emotions, and group emotions (p. 2).
According to Posten (2009), Psychologists observing president Obama during his campaigns for presidency contend that he has a wealth of emotional intelligence. Accordingly, the president is able to interact and get along with other people more easily than other presidential candidates in Americas history have ever been.
Other presidents who had high emotional intelligence as identified by Posten (2009) include Eisenhower, Truman, Carter, Theodore Roosevelt, JF Kennedy and Ronald Reagan. Among the qualities that are considered when rating ones emotional intelligence are; empathy, self-control and self-awareness, all which Posten states that the president has in abundance.
Empathy
An example of when the presidents empathy was evident to all and sundry was when he saved the chief justices face after the CJ flubbed on the oath of office during Obamas swearing in ceremony. Later, Obama commented that the CJ had helped him on a few stanzas . His self-control was evident during the campaigns since he managed to remain calm despite the mudslinging and the negative connotations that were sometimes given to his camp (Serrat 2009).
Rao (2010) further points out that charismatic leaders network with people and build bridges (p.1). Looking at President Obamas political rise, one cannot help agree that this is indeed true about him.
Recording Obamas journey in politics, Brown (2008) states that in addition to his oratory skills that convinces many Americans that he is a capable leader, the air of self-assuredness that the president wears is also an added bonus. The president has a seemingly imperturbable belief in his own rhetorical and intellectual gifts (p.1).
Accordingly, even the party where he sought his presidential nomination believed him and thus showed their willingness to invest in an inspirational president rather than one who showed great potential in administration. Like a superstar, he knows that his success or failure very much depends on how the ordinary people as well as those in high government positions respond to him (p.1).
Respect for others
Another characteristic of charismatic leaders which is evident in Obama is the ability to respect others and appreciate them regardless of how insignificant their contributions to the leaders position or welfare may be. Brown (2008) notes that people who knew the president on a personal level attested to his ability to appreciate people even those he had only just met.
His ability to appreciate people and make personal contact with them, either by simple handshakes or simply enquiring about their welfare made a lasting impression among many people who appreciated his sense of humility.
It is Cass Sunsteins (quoted by Brown, 2008) analysis of Obama however that explains the presidents ability to relate with people aptly. I thought he liked people, and people liked him. I thought early on, this was someone who could unify the country across political lines. There was something about his lack of dogmatism, and his problem-solving ability and the ability to connect with him (p.3).
Rao (2010) also points out that some charismatic leaders are self-promoters especially because they have a firm believe in themselves and the potential they possess. As Brown (2008) points out, the presidents journey can be considered by some as confident, while some can define it as cocky.
Brown for example notes that while visiting Western Jerusalem before he assumed the presidency, Obama had pressed a note that read help me guard against pride on Jerusalems Western Wall. On other occasions, the president has been quoted stating that his wife had served to remind him, that just like other people, he had his own imperfections despite his successes.
Conclusion
During his campaigns, Obama was a crowd puller. Americans who trusted him regardless of his relative inexperience in politics are a testimony to his abilities to woo people towards his vision. As Kellerman (2009) put it, no other person in most Americans lifetime has succeeded as Obama did in giving an impression of being authentically charismatic.
As a result, the president was able to forge a bond with his followers that transcended reservations that may have had about his inexperience in politics and even his race, which admittedly had always played a role in American politics.
A year and some months in the presidency, the bond that the president had created among the electorate may have waned in some areas, but his ability to inspire Americans still surfaces whenever he takes the public podium. His success with the healthcare bill is just one example of what his leadership style has succeeded in helping him meet some of the campaign pledges.
Leadership is significant for every organization, and the Army is not an exception. It is so because leaders are responsible for addressing the existing challenges and achieving the stipulated goals. These people also provide mentorship to younger and less experienced individuals, contributing to their better adaptation. The phenomenon under analysis is complicated since it consists of and draws attention to many issues. Thus, this paper examines the foundation of Army leadership, focusing on its levels and leaders characteristic features.
To begin with, one should define the concept under consideration. According to the US Department of the Army (2019), leadership denotes an activity to make people accomplish the mission. Such a broad definition does not mean that the Army does not need the issue. This phenomenon is essential for the organization because it unifies its warfighting abilities. Leadership also motivates and inspires people to make them achieve the desired outcomes. It is necessary to mention that the Army has three levels of leadership.
Various leadership levels are required to ensure that all soldiers and officers understand the organizations expectations. According to the US Department of the Army (2019), there are direct, organizational, and strategic leadership levels. Firstly, direct leadership occurs during face-to-face contact between leaders and their subordinates. Secondly, the US Department of the Army (2019, 1-23) states that organizational leaders exercise leadership through subordinate leaders. Thirdly, a strategic level involves civilian and military leaders who determine the development of the Army. Even though strategic leadership seems to address more significant issues, one should not underestimate the importance of lower levels.
There is no doubt that the foundation of Army leadership begins in its smallest elements. Coleman Jr. (2011) admits that leadership comes from the team, section, and squad. It is so because young soldiers who require supervision spend much time in these structural units. Consequently, team, section, and squad officers should draw specific attention to provide them with the required assistance. This state of affairs makes these low-ranking officials apply leadership principles to cope with the task. Furthermore, one should state that not every person who makes others achieve the desired outcome is an Army leader. One should emphasize that Army leaders should have specific qualities and meet particular requirements, which will be described below.
Firstly, it is worth emphasizing that a persons character has an impact on how they lead. It means that leaders should have particular moral qualities to affect and inspire their subordinates. That is why the US Department of the Army (2019) lists specific characteristic features that successful leaders should have. They include Army values, empathy, two types of ethos, discipline, and humility. These issues demonstrate that leaders should meet multiple requirements to succeed in their activity. For example, these individuals should be loyal, understand others emotions, express obedience toward fulfilling lawful orders, and so on. However, the character is not the only phenomenon that an effective leader should have to affect subordinates efficiently.
Secondly, presence plays a significant role in how effective a leader is. This phenomenon explains that leaders are successful and influential if their subordinates perceive them as having such traits. It means that individuals should invest in developing their presence in the Army. One should explain that presence does not only mean that a person should be seen. The given issue stipulates that leaders should bring qualitative changes to the organization. Army leaders have multiple variants to show that they meet this criterion. For example, it refers to demonstrating competence, having sound health, projecting self-confidence, recovering from stressful situations quickly, and others. In addition to that, it is not reasonable to forget about leaders mental capabilities.
Thirdly, the Army draws specific attention to leaders intellect that relies on knowledge and brainpower. People have different intelligence levels, meaning that some of them can show better results in this area. That is why various people can be leaders of different quality. One should explain that leaders intellect is a complex phenomenon. According to the US Department of the Army (2019), it includes mental agility, innovation, sound judgement, expertise, and interpersonal tact. These competencies are significant because they allow individuals to adapt to changing conditions, form sound opinions, and many others. This information means that those Army leaders who have decent intellectual abilities tend to succeed in leading and motivating others.
In conclusion, the essay has demonstrated that leadership is of significance for the Army. Through motivation, this phenomenon ensures that all military personnel aims at achieving shared goals. It is worth mentioning that three leadership levels explain how thoughts move from leaders to their subordinates. Furthermore, it has been mentioned that successful Army leaders should bear specific qualities and meet particular requirements. The idea is that character, presence, and intellect are of significance for the Army. These three phenomena are essential since they ensure that leaders can influence others and cope with the existing challenges. Consequently, the foundation of Army leadership is a significant issue that includes many fundamental aspects.
References
Coleman Jr., Arthur L. 2011. Team, Squad, Section Leaders: Foundation of Army. Fort Hood Sentinel. Web.
United States of America Department of the Army. 2019. ADP 6-22. Army Leadership and the Profession. Web.