Billy Mitchell: A Critical Analysis of His Leadership
Billy Mitchell was a visionary airpower pioneer who demonstrated very effective leadership in field operations, but his inability to develop a guiding coalition limited his effectiveness in leading the major organizational change he so desperately desired.
General Mitchell was a famous, some would say infamous, airpower thinker who some regard as the father of the United States Air Force.1 Born into a wealthy family and the son of a Wisconsin Senator, Mitchell could have chosen a life of luxury. But Billy sought great adventure and chose the military life instead. He joined the Army at the age of eighteen, six years before the Wright brothers made their first historic flight
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Mitchell’s personality was well suited for leadership in a field environment. He was able to effectively utilize the coercive, authoritative, and pacesetting leadership styles that, according to leadership research, were well suited for executing his vision in stressful environments with highly motivated men.8 He engendered high levels of trust from those who worked under him and gained the respect of those who worked by his side, including the British, French, and Italian allied leadership.9
Relevance, the apex of the RTL model, is a direct result of a leader’s influence and occurs at the organizational, environmental, and personal levels.10 Mitchell showed relevance in all of these areas. First, from an environmental perspective, he brought together multiple organizations, air forces from Britain, Italy, and the United States, and integrated their personnel and equipment into a viable fighting force, which culminated in “the greatest concentration of air power that had ever taken place.”11 He had high organizational relevance, changing the persona of his combined force from one solely focused on
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 movie “Twelve O’ Clock High” is a case study in the application of leadership theory during World War Two. Gregory Peck portrays Brigadier General Savage, a United States Army Air Force officer thrust into a situation that requires a maximum effort both on the ground and in the air as he attempts to re-invigorate an undisciplined, anxiety ridden, and ineffective combat unit. Throughout the movie we observe Peck’s character employing a variety of leadership methods, but ultimately discovering that true combat effectiveness and cohesion is accomplished through a
This paper will briefly analyze the case study— Rebecca S. Halstead: Steadfast Leadership, and examine General Rebecca Halstead 's career history and how through her personal attributes, skills, experiences and challenges she developed into a successful leader and commander in the U.S. Army. Although General Halstead faced a number of challenges during her career, this paper will focus primarily on her leadership style and philosophy specifically with leading teams and dealing with difficult bosses.
The legacy leader I have chosen to write about is Brigadier General (BG) Richard T. Ellis (Deceased). BG Ellis was a true influential leader in the United States (U.S.) Army and intelligence community. This paper will discuss how BG Ellis showed leadership attributes and competencies covered in Army Doctrine Publication (ADP) 6-22 and Army Doctrine Reference Publication (ADRP) 6-22. It will also discuss how he influenced leaders and changes in the intelligence community. Finally it will cover how his actions influenced me in my military career.
William "Billy" Mitchell was born in Nice, France in 1879 to a U.S. Senator. He grew up in Wisconsin and enlisted in the Signal Corp in the U.S. Army at the age of 18. Due to his father 's influence in the government he quickly earned a commission as an officer. He served in Cuba, the Philippines, and Alaska until his eventual appointment to the general staff. At the time, he was the youngest member of the general staff at the age of 32. During this time, he became highly interested in aviation. He was one of the first people able to observe
General Arnold displayed the characteristics of a pioneer and Visionary Leader. He served in the capacities of a creator and in every sense; Arnold literally invented the modern U.S. Air Force (Bill Yenne, 2013). Our student guide on Team Dynamics tells us that a creator generates fresh and/or original ideas that defy generally accepted structures or roles (Barnes Center for Enlisted Education (BCEE), 2016). He is and was the first and only five-star general to command the service and he’s credited with developing the idea of airpower. His creative leadership traits enabled him to
There are several leaders that I have admired in my career over the years. One in particular that stood out was a Chief Master Sergeant in the Air Force who I served under. He was a very intelligent and vibrant leader who placed importance in military customs and core values. He was one whom I emulated in the military because of his task –motivated leadership style. He focused on the goals of the organization with the emphasis on service before self. The implications of his style of leadership lead me to believe that there was little to no relationships formed with lower ranking airmen. He was always able to get the job done because of the driven culture he represented. I learned a wealth of knowledge and information from this particular leader; I was able to create a balance by embracing his style of leadership and relating it with my style, transformational leadership. I believe it was successful, because of my efforts to focus in on the mission and create a balance in inspiring, influencing, and motivating Airmen across the globe.
As depicted in the above paragraphs, MacWhite displayed three Special Operation Imperatives in a clear manner: understanding the operational environment, anticipating long-term effects, and ensuring legitimacy and credibility. I agree that other imperatives such as operating with and through others and ensuring long-term sustainment could also be added to the list, but I wanted to provide a contrast to the actions of Sears and those of MacWhite. His proactive and constant search to understand the operational environment gave MacWhite the tools to better
In this paper, I will be explaining what a legacy leader is and the impact one specific leader had on my career and the Army. In December of 2011 I reported to Joint Base Lewis-McCord and was assigned to 1/17 IN BN part of 2nd Striker BDE Combat Team. I had arrived at a unit that was preparing for a hard deployment to Afghanistan after a vigorous training cycle. I had walked in to my office to meet the team I would be leading into a combat zone that had zero experience, except for SSG Frazier that had a “been there done that” attitude. SSG Frazier was not as focused as a leader should be when prepping for a deployment with new Soldiers. The area that our unit would move to was the area that the Taliban was founded by Mullah Omar in Zhari District Southern Afghanistan (RC South). I had to quickly adjust to a high operation temp of a unit getting ready to deploy with little to no experience. After meeting SSG Frazier, I decided to meet the BN Commander and CSM to get a better understanding of the mission and expectation from the leadership. When I
The greatest generation had many great leaders arise during World War Two. A great example of one these leaders was Captain Winters from Easy Company in the Band of Brothers series. Leadership is defined as the process of influencing an individual or group to achieve a goal, but what does this really look like? For an example of this we can analyze Captain Winters leadership through the lenses of the leader, the followers of Captain Winters, and the overall situation he was in throughout the episode. These three lenses will make up how we perceive Captain Winters leadership.
The timeliness and accuracy of decision making comes over time. Seasoned leaders respond to issues with a calculated cool because of years of experience. A key to military officer development are its structured leadership opportunities. General Savage spent many hours in the copilot seat before he sat in the pilot seat. A key to his decision making process is the introspection he developed from watching and being mentored by officers senior to him.
1. The purpose of this memorandum is to provide a brief synopsis of the leadership philosophy of Second Lieutenant Joshua Dunn.
The topic of this leadership case study is Ernest Shackleton. This paper will identify the development of Shackleton's leadership skills, provide examples and reflections of his abilities, and relate how he played an essential role in one of history's greatest survival stories. This study of Shackleton's leadership is set loosely within the framework of the five practices of exemplary leadership set forth in The Leadership Challenge by Kouzes and Posner, and will focus on the benefits produced by his management of team morale and unity (13).
As a successful Fortune Fifty company, Lowe’s depends on great leaders to help the organization achieve its financial and organizational goals, motivate its extensive workforce, and build a culture where employees share and cultivate the purpose of the organization. While many great leaders, including Wheatley, Cashman, Peters, and others have written on the subject of leadership, the success of Lowe’s Companies has demonstrated that since 1946, it has been the home of many great leaders. By interviewing recognized leaders in key positions at Lowe’s, I hope to learn several valuable aspects of effective leadership, which I plan to incorporate in my personal leadership style.
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