A Leader Who Inspired Me

There are numerous definitions of the word “leadership” and it can mean many things to many people. For the purpose of this assignment I feel the best definition of leadership is “…the art and science of motivating, influencing, and directing airmen to understand and accomplish the Air Force mission in joint warfare."1 When taking over a new command it

The path to a personal leadership philosophy is made up of three parts. Each individual aspect is a facet of a complete whole. Much like a timeline that includes a past, present and future, my personal philosophy consists of a foundation, action, and growth. If you do not understand where your foundation of leadership came from, you will have problems acting in a leadership capacity. Also if don’t pay attention to how you are acting as a leader you cannot know in what ways you need to grow. Why should I spend the time and effort in developing myself as a leader? The Gunner’s Mate rating has a strength of just over 600 members. Maritime Force Protection Unit Kings Bay has 31 Gunner’s Mates assigned to it. I have a full five percent of the Gunner’s Mates in the Coast Guard that I lead. During my four year assignment at MFPU Kings Bay, approximately 55 Gunner’s mates (9.2 percent) will have been under my leadership. I see that as an enormous responsibility. As a young Gunner’s Mate I saw my senior leadership as people capable of effecting great change on the rating. Now today I am in the position to have that same impact.

Leaders are look upon as role models as they guide us with their motivating, influence to accomplish tasks. There are a lot of leadership styles; when leading, it is based on the situation. When I was in the military, I encountered with many different styles of leadership. A leadership that I considered meaningful is a Transformational Leader. The transformational Leader in the military with their inspiring charisma of motivating, influence creates a visualized path that produces energetic characteristics that inhere to new changes, developments, and possibilities.; by demonstrating authority, the Transformational Leader in the military utilizes their power to inspire and motivate people into trusting and following their example; this as

As an officer in the United States Army, it has been imperative for me to understand every facet of leadership and why it remains important to be an effective leader. During this course, I have learned some valuable lessons about myself as a leader and how I can improve on my leadership ability in the future. The journal entries along with the understanding of available leadership theories have been an integral part of my learning during this course. For all of the journals and assessments that I completed, I feel it has given me a good understanding of my current leadership status and my future potential as a leader. All of the specific assessments looked at several areas in regards to leadership; these assessments covered several

There are a variety of ways to define both leader and leadership. There is not, however, a clear definition of how to become one. There is no set list of mandatory traits, either innate or learned, that a person must embody to be considered successful or proved a failure. What I feel it takes is the right mix of strengths and weaknesses in a given situation to demonstrate effectiveness. No one person has abilities without accompanying deficiencies. It’s all in the way they are balanced. The balance in the way one uses his or hers’ abilities will ultimately determine the type of leadership one has throughout time. To support these claims I will examine a well-known leader throughout the military, General James “Mad Dog” Mattis. This essay

My personal experiences of leadership started when I was younger, roughly 7 years old, I was elected the captain of my travel soccer team. At the time I didn’t think much of it, nor did I have any extra duties that I was explicitly told that I needed to perform. Later throughout the season, I started to notice my teammates mimicking my styles and techniques and I highly enjoyed this feeling of being looked up to. I didn 't realize until years after that the recognition and pride I felt was leadership. This privilege of being captain was the first time I had realized that people weren 't necessarily following my actions because I was extraordinarily skilled, but because I provided this role model status with my confidence and encouragement. Some of the most valuable leaderships traits that I acquired and fortified are:

Believe me, being a leader is not an easy job. If you can accomplish all these things then you can be a true leader. From my own experience, being a captain is not easy. Even I struggle with these qualities. The pressure of being a leader of is overwhelming, and takes hard work to accomplish. “Leaders are made, they are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal that is worthwhile,” by Vince

When I think leaders who have impacted me the most, there are many that come to mind. I think of whom I have served with, former United States Presidents, and people who are first responders. I think of many others in history and others who have fought battles not associated with wars. I contemplated for days on whom I felt impacted me the most with their legacy. I decided to choose a leader whom I have known my entire Army career; SSG Lacy L. Behl (Brown). It was not an easy decision to select SSG Behl because I have known many leaders in the Army that have outstanding legacies that positively impacted my career. SSG Behl has always been there for me. She has shown me the strength of her character (through her actions in her military career and throughout her civilian life) when she faces challenges head on. She has a commanding presence and does right for her country, her family and herself. She is the example I strive to embody daily for the soldiers I serve with.

In class we defined leadership as using relationships to influence others. Before I came to the Academy I believed that a person could only lead their peers or subordinates. I did not believe that a subordinate could lead their superior. In high school I had many opportunities to develop my leadership with peers and subordinates. I was an officer of National Honor Society, and using that influence and my prior knowledge of NHS activities from the year before I was able to practice my leadership with my peers. I learned how to communicate in a manner to convince them to take action quickly, but not in a way that would seem overbearing or condescending. Furthermore, I was able to be a small group leader for a number of middle school retreats at my parish. In working with sixth grade boys I learned how to deal with insubordination and chaos, and with both of these groups of people I began to understand what was needed in a relationship between a leader and a follower. Our relationship had to be characterized by sincerity and respect. In both of these activities, those that I was leading could have easily stepped back and not paid attention to anything I was asking them to do. I had to convince them that I was absolutely dedicated to what I was trying to do, and that I had their best interest in mind. When leading middle school retreats I had to be a role model and show I valued my relationship with

Throughout my life and my military career I have experienced various leadership styles, from civilian employers to military Officers and Non-Commissioned officers alike. Each had their own approach to leadership, some I found to be effective and others I did not. I have attempted to create a leadership philosophy based on a fusion of the leaders I have encountered and my own personal experiences.

Leadership is not only the ability to manage others and accomplish tasks, but also the ability to inspire others to gain the desire to do their best. I often help, and share knowledge with subordinates and peers alike in their pursuit of higher responsibilities. Because I lead by example, I have been able to help multiple Airmen become more mature, skillful, and motivated to take initiative to achieve higher responsibilities in their careers.

All have had their challenges, but the biggest one that has molded my leadership ability from the start was when I was a Platoon Commander. My sophomore year, I took charge of my first platoon; where I directly influenced 18 cadets. The few beginning months were disastrous. I tried to be their friend rather than a model they could look up to. This caused a very undisciplined platoon, which I immediately recognized. Once I hit the realization of my mistake, my attitude was changed entirely. I became stern, my presence known, and my platoon grasped that there would be consequences for disorderly behavior. I began to find my stride, my voice, and confidence. My platoon would begin to respect me, and I would give mine to them in return. These group of cadets would go on to win drill and academic competitions, and be the next set of officers the following year. Learning how to raise cadets to be the future leaders was difficult, but has been extremely rewarding. Seeing my cadets influencing their own has become one of my proudest moments, and has shaped how I would continue to be a leader junior and senior

Leadership can be defined in many different facets. To me the definition of leadership is, “Displaying the ability to inspire and empower others through the example of one’s own self actions”. Too many times we hear, “Do what I say”, instead of, “Do what I do.” A successful leader’s actions speak louder than words ever will. My first day in the Coast Guard following boot camp graduation, I experienced firsthand on how a leader should not act nor conduct themselves. Though alcohol was the main contributing factor on what occurred that evening, looking back, it was more of the lack of maintaining our core values that ultimately resulted in that Chief losing the title as Chief of the boat and being forced to retire.. That moment left a negative impression on me and it took a horrific car accident that landed me in the office of whom I consider as my most influential leader I have had in my career. Master Chief Richard Wolfe was someone that led by example. He helped broaden my vision and let me see my own potential. He always inspired me to not only better myself, but ensured that I challenged myself to learn something new each day. He would often say, “Challenges are just opportunities in disguise”, and it wasn’t until I advanced to Chief Petty Officer to truly understand what he meant. Far too often we get caught up in the present instead of focusing what is on the horizon and that is how complacency becomes the new norm.

My idea of leadership is being able to inspire others, motivate, set a vision, communicate, respect others, and of course, lead by example. A leader must have an honest understanding of who they are, what they know, and what they are capable of. To be a successful leader, you have to be able to convince your followers, not just yourself or your superiors, that you are worthy of being followed. In my opinion, this can build confidence in their followers to have faith in you, in order to be able to lead. I strongly believe that good leaders are made rather, and not born. If you have the desire and willpower, you can become an effective leader. Good leaders are developed through a never ending process of self-study, education, training, and

We all have the opportunity to learn from all manners of leadership. The good leaders and the bad leaders will have an effect on our styles leadership styles and how we choose to engage with the people we meet. I have learned just as much from those some would consider being a “bad” leader as much as I have learned from the “good”, and based my practice on those experiences. To me, leadership will always mean that you are willing to learn from all your experiences and apply them into practices that enhance your Navy and your Sailors. There is no lesson too big or too small that cannot assist in your daily assessments and influence the leaders you follow and mold the future leaders of the Navy