Colin Powell's Influence On The US

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.

Being a follower does not seem ideal in an Army in dire need of good leaders. Becoming a good leader requires you to establish a foundation to build your leadership skills. Dictionary.com

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

The person that I am writing my essay about is Colin Powell because he is a retired four-star general from the United States Army. He has achieved many things in life and is still alive today at the age of 80. I also admire him because he has gone to 4 schools. He has gone to 3 colleges. They are the National War College, City College of New York, and George Washington University.

Colin Powell achieved many extraordinary goals in his lifetime. He was known as being a strong, successful man, and he still is today. Powell was a four star general in the U.S. Army. Colin Powell once said, “ What I really wanted was to do the best I could every single day. By doing my best every day, day after day, year after year.

Then, in 1991 Colin Powell was appointed to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President George H.W. Bush. In this position he excelled to a national figure during Desert Shield and Desert Storm, because of the speed of the operations forcing Saddam Hussein’s forces out of Kuwait (Biography.com, 2010). Once again, it shows the courage, competence, and commitment needed to fulfill the plan of the operations. He also was reappointed to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs under President Clinton. He remained in this position until he disagreed with President Clinton’s policy about homosexuals in the military. Powell later compromised with President Clinton with the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy (Biography.com, 2010). After this incident Powell

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

General Powell displays transformation leadership through individualized consideration. “IC involves dealing with others as individuals and considering their needs, abilities, and aspirations as you work together to further their development.” General Powell’s Army background influences the idea of taking raw iron and fashioning it into a sword; as noted in his quote “leaders are made, not born” implies leadership is a shaping process. Transformational leaders who display individual consideration tend to coach and mentor, excel in two-way communications, listens effectively, and personalize interactions with subordinates. Part of General Powell’s principle of empowerment is an investment in the leadership potential of team members. This investment is necessary in sustaining productive organizations.

In 2003, President George W. Bush and Secretary of State Colin Powell launched an invasion of the nation of Iraq. United States Secretary of State Colin Powell outlined the reasons Iraq posed a threat to international security in a speech he gave at the United Nations. Iraq’s nuclear weapons program concerned the Bush administration. Fearing Iraq might use this program to act aggressively in the region, and wanting to secure oil supplies and a friendly regime, the administration pursued a plan of action to remove Iraqi President Saddam Hussein from power (FLS 2016, 43). A constant secure supply of oil stood as a cornerstone of the military-industrial complex thriving in the United States and a friendly regime in such an oil rich country remained an important objective of President Bush. This directly conflicted with the desire of President Saddam Hussein of Iraq to remain in power.

Effective followership is an essential component of effective leadership in that, without good followers, the leader’s work is difficult and cumbersome. The role of the follower is many times understated. As illustrated by Kelley (1998), “effective followers are thinkers; energetic and assertive, self-starters, independent problem solvers, and carry out their tasks with these characteristics (p. 143). Effective followers also are characterized by their ability to perform tasks with little supervision, their intelligence, and ability to think for themselves. We are all followers, even those who consider themselves leaders; so to encourage this effectiveness in others; we must be role models for those under us, so that they may also be effective at following. Chaleff (2009) observed that “all important social accomplishments require complex

In his book “It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership,” Powell talks about his 13 rules he developed and continues to live by to this day. The rules range from checking you ego and staying optimistic. He gives different examples of his 13 rules with stories and tips that are both thought provoking and value focused regardless if the audience is military or civilian. In my review and analysis I will cover some of

Beginning in boot camp and continuing throughout my career, I’ve seen the Coast Guard promote the leadership model to be: “You” influencing “Others” to achieve a “Goal”. With all the different ways leadership can be defined, this simplistic model which has been permanently engrained in my thinking definition still rings true for me. As such, when defining my own personal definition of leadership, I align it to this same model. More specifically, while I support the fact that leadership involves influencing others to achieve a common end I propose that is not the whole story. Leaders must not be stagnant in their vision and must lend themselves to the possibility they may have to adjust their leadership styles depending on the goal. The best leaders are the ones that understand their own personality traits as well as those traits of the people they are trying to lead.