Analysis Of Colin Powell's ' Dream Doesn 't Become A Reality Through Magic '

A great leader who I admire is Colin Powell. He was born on April 5th, 1937 to immigrant parents, Luther and Maud Powell, from Jamaica. He was raised in the south Bronx and graduated from Morris High School in 1954. While studying geology at a community college he decided to join into the Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) program. He graduated from the program in 1958 and was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Army. He married his wife, Alma Vivian Johnson in 1962 and they have three children together.

Colin Powell’s “It Worked For Me in Life and Leadership” (2012) is a riveting book that discusses in great detail the simple but often-fundamental leadership principles that have been consigned to oblivion by most people and leaders. The evocative book provides a basis on which one can evaluate their strengths and weaknesses in leadership in all dimensions, particularly at the work place and suggests other areas of improvement that the reader can asses to ensure proper development. Through careful, frequent and honest evaluations from both self and others, it is possible for a person to become the best version of himself or herself; in turn, this contributes to a well-rounded leader.

The importance of furthering education doesn’t stop there. Leaders should be enrolling in college, and counseling their subordinates to enroll in college as well. In order to become competitive within the Army’s ranks, education plays a huge role. As Major Tim Martin stated “A formal education is an important contributor to the development of leadership qualities and attributes that are crucial in the growth of a military professional (Martin, 2001).”

Most people recognize Colin Powell as one of the most admired and popular leaders of our time. Often times in leadership you will not always be popular or admired, so what makes this leader different? It was those core values ingrained in him at early age by his parents that would shape him as a future leader (Koltz & Powell, 2012). As with any great leader he’s had his fair share of trials and tribulations, but like an infantry officer he continued to press forward. Colin Powell has been a visionary and ethical leader since the early days of Persian Gulf to Washington’s corridors (Roth, 1993). Throughout my research he has become a personal inspiration for me due to his ability to inspire and motivate those around him. Let’s take a brief look into his background to provide a better understanding of his leadership style.

General Colin Powell did the Commencement speech at Howard University on May 25, 1994. He did the speech after a cloud of controversy had happen at the university. A racist Black Muslim made a speech at Howard University. Howard policy is that anybody can express his or her freedom of speech on there campus. As you can figure out, the white community did not think of that very well. Connie Chung did a report saying that Howard University was a racist institution. All of this pressure was coming down at once. Howard said that they did not agree with the Black Muslims beliefs but will let them speak and express their opinions.

Colin Powell had a lot of choices and achievements in life were some of the choices good or bad? He had made some good choices like going to college and some of the choices he had made were not so good. But not just did he have good choices he also had achievements like overcoming a lot of injuries from the army or like being a four-star general in the army

But his mom also knew that military school was the change in environment that he needed. Being in military school thought the author a lot. The author was able to learn strong leadership roles he was “-a platoon sergeant, a cadet master sergeant, and the youngest senior noncommissioned officer in the entire corps.” (115) In achieving these high status positions in his military school we can see the growth in leadership that the author was able to learn through the strong male role models that he looked up to there.

This was the author, Wes’ mother’s last attempt, when she sent him to Valley Forge, a military school, where she hoped Wes would be surrounded by people who could help him to succeed. At first, this was a very difficult process because it attempts to undo years of learned behavior, but one day on the way back from lunch, he stopped and noticed the way nineteen-year-old Cadet Captain Ty Hill was leading his cadets and he realized, “This was real respect, the kind you can’t beat or scare out of people. That’s when I started to understand that I was in a different environment…where leadership was honored” (Moore 96). After this he understood what he had to do to succeed, writing about his commanding officers and teachers saying, “They made it clear that they cared if I succeeded and eventually so did I” (Moore 115).

What does success mean to you? I think the idea of success is affected by the social system. In America and Hong Kong, which are capitalistic societies affected by the American Dream, success means money and fame. In other societies, success might have different meanings. Some people said money and fame is the true meaning of success, but I think that the true meaning of success is to follow the interest of your own and being good at it, but not money and fame. Overemphasizing on these two factors can only lead to negative effects. Therefore I think the definition of success in capitalistic countries should not be focused on money and fame, because it restricts

The General did not excel or apply himself in school. As a teen, he was sent home from summer camp for leaving the camp are and having a beer. He was sent home for the stunt, but was later found out from one of the Priest, that he had owned up to the mistake. He had taken responsibility; this is a leadership trait that he took through his long years of Military life, along with his tenure in the diplomatic world.

One of my favorite saying in the Army is "failure is not an option." I was born in Haiti and moved to the United States at the age of seven. I joined the military in 2009 and eight years later here I am. Though I'm not where I want to be, I am not where I used to be. I got married at the age of 20. It was devastating when my husband and I got divorced after five years of marriage. I am currently raising my two kids, going to school and working full time. My strength of not giving up has me believe that in life you should not allow the cannot to be your final destination. So far in this class, I have learned my work preference is being open-minded. Determination, perseverance, and drive as my personal trait play a role in my work preference. Let's not forget about my attributes of persistence. It embodies who Vanessa Banks

As a Non Commissioned Officer in the Pennsylvania Army Nation Guard, I realize the importance and value of good leadership. A leader has to be able to understand and support their men, have initiative, be quick on their feet, and accept responsibility for their actions. The personal traits that I look for in a leader are courage, commitment, candor, competence, and integrity. Out of these the most important one to me, is integrity. A man’s word is his bond and the most important leadership trait there is. Looking back, the man I see as a great leader that possesses these traits is Ret. General Colin Powell. Colin Powell is one of the greatest military leaders in this country’s history. He served this country

General Powell highlights 18 lessons learned in leadership that are applied to successful companies, and how they are applied to leadership in his presentation to the Outreach Program, and the Sears Corporate Headquarters. These approaches can be applied not only in business but life in general. I will highlight three of the lessons that have impacted my career in the military

Transformational leadership describes a leader moving followers beyond immediate self-interests through idealized influence (charisma), inspiration motivation, intellectual stimulation, or individualized consideration. Transformational leaders are change agents. They influence the mission and objectives to make way for a brighter future for the organization. Followers are motivated to do more than is originally expected because of their feelings of trust and respect for the leader.

Rarely are we able to have face to face contact with great leaders let alone have enough time to hear their stories on the battlefield and what secrets lead them to success. A young future military officer may not have the opportunity to meet such great leaders or have the time to interview them but what they do have is time to read. Pete Blaber’s “The Mission, The Men, and Me” exposes his on the ground account of the operations he has commanded and further explains the many guiding principles that lead him to much success in all his endeavors, personal and military. Future officers