Magnificent Men Memo

From the vantage point of the present, it is easy to look back at the tenure of any great leader and draw conclusions about just what it was that made him/her great. We can examine the circumstances under which their leadership flourished; piece together what we know of their character and personality traits; delve into the factors that may have driven them; and dissect their leadership style all in an effort to pinpoint the source of their success. The ‘Great Man’ theory, popular in the 19th century and now thoroughly debunked, held that leaders are born, not made; suggesting that men like George Washington, Martin Luther King Jr., and Winston Churchill were born with the innate capacity to change the world (Landis,

The leader that I chose to research is Samuel Truett Cathy, the founder and chairman emeritus of Chic-Fil-A, Inc. Cathy has been featured in magazines like Forbes and Business Insider for his

Imagine, if you will, a place and time where some of the nation’s greatest minds and heroes joined their might and can-do attitudes to not only solve major issues, but to solve them together. In this fantasy, there are several good, perhaps even ideal, candidates for the positons, sadly limited as they would be, for not every great man or woman can be a part of some great thing simultaneously. I have narrowed the expansive list down to just ten individuals whom I consider to be the very best of the very best.

Over Homecoming Weekend I was given the honor and privilege to speak and listen to some of America’s greatest heroes. Distinguished servicemen and women from many of our wars, whom risk their own lives, took the time to discuss their experiences and what they learned translated into a very enlightening and imparted on me a perspective of leadership which many do not ponder. Although all the prominent members of the panels and discussion instilled in me a portrait of what it means to embody a good leader, General Peter Pace USMC retired, illustrated and exemplified everything a good officer and leader should. General Pace retired with over 40 years of service in the Marine Corps. Likewise, among his many other accolades he was the first Marine

The formula for a an extraordinary, noteworthy leadership has been debated by the likes of great men for thousands of years, men from every walk of life, on to every corner of the earth. Although this said formula has been contemplated, deliberated, and disputed frontward and backward, it ultimately comes down to what an individual may seek and deem significant enough for one to perform quality leadership.

In the Leadership Challenge, 4th edition, it is Kouzes & Posner (2007) intention to present a road map for individuals to follow on their leadership journey. The authors stress that “leadership is not a gene and it’s not an inheritance.” Leadership they assert is “an identifiable set of skills and abilities that are available to all of us” (p. 23). They make clear that the “great person” theory of leadership is “plain wrong.” Leaders are our everyday heroes who do extraordinary things on a regular basis (p. 23).

Great leaders have shaped the World we live in today and they are remembered for what they were able to accomplish during their lifetime. The history books are filled with leaders that changed the very nature of something by taking a different road or challenging the way everyone perceived things. Leaders would not be able to accomplish these daring feats without the help of their followers, the individuals in the background giving them their support (Schermerhorn & Uhl-Bien, 2014). Colleen Barrett was able to break through the glass ceiling and led Southwest Airlines (SWA) to become one of the most successful airlines in the industries (Dierendonck & Patterson, 2010). In the following pages will explore Colleen Barrett’s leadership

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

McFerrin’s accolades include: Chemical Industry Recipient of the Chemical Education Foundation Vanguard Award ‘09, Endowed Chairs in the College of Education and Chemical Engineering Department ‘05, Outstanding Texas A&M Alumni ‘08, Outstanding Texas A&M Alumni in Chemical Engineering, Outstanding Alumnus of the Dwight Look College of Engineering ‘13, Name to the Texas A&M Lettermen's Hall of Honor, inducted into the Texas A&M Corps Hall of Honor, Speaker at Aggie Women’s Club, Speaker at Texas A&M Aggie Muster, past Trustee and Chair of 12th Man Foundation at Texas A&M, Member of the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets Board of Visitors, past Chair of the Texas A&M Department of Chemical Engineering, endowed the Texas A&M Department of Chemical Engineering, Named the Dale Watts Outdoor Track Field, Named the indoor facility at Texas A&M, Named Parsons Mounted Cavalry Headquarters facility, and he has also authored two books: The Executioner-Implementing Intangible and his latest book co-authored with Brian Tracy, The Success Blueprint (D. McFerrin, personal communication, February 25, 2017). It was insightful to hear about leaders in top corporate positions still learning from each other. McFerrin sums up how to avoid difficulties in leadership is by listening. She says to ask those you work with about their story and by connecting with them, you will have mutual

Over the course of several decades, the depiction of leadership has changed. What was thought to be innovative and participative or transformational tactic to leadership has replaced the classical and autocratic or authoritarian approach. The step forward that not everything old is bad and not everything new is good was made somewhere along the way. It was determined that different leadership styles suited different situations, and it is the responsibility of each leader to figure out when to make use of an individual leadership approach or style. The two leaders selected for this assignment are Martha Stewart representing an authoritarian leadership style and William Shatner’s television character, James Tiberius Kirk from the starship Enterprise representing a transformational leadership style.

2. One great leader in my career I will always reflect upon as a significant influence to me: an old, grouchy QMC and was my very first Chief. He was quiet, socially awkward, and routinely hard to get along with since his demeanor was never known to be ‘friendly’. However, even with these setbacks, he did not remove himself from the contention as a leader as he most certainly was. He required much of his staff: long hours, attention to detail, inspection-ready uniforms, among others. It may seem ironic, but people were always ready and willing to work for him. The main reason I look to him as being a

I truly enjoyed reading the material for this week 's discussion. I found it fascinating to read how these people of passion were so revered as leaders. Something I found difficult while reading the stories of these various leaders was the details of what they did within their respective industries that made them successful. Although I recognize the importance of the details, I found myself continually fanaticizing about how the many different approaches would directly translate to the fire service. Because of the uniqueness of the fire service as an industry, I found it easier to relate to themes and concepts rather than the details. 'Strengths Based Leadership ' by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie For example Simon Cooper stated: "people create memories, not things. If we ask guests what color the carpet was in their guest room, they probably won 't know. The real value comes from the ladies and gentlemen (employees) who bring that hotel to life. Ten percent is the platform, but the rest is people. (Rath & Conchie, 2008, p. 43) As I read this I couldn 't help but think of the fact that our customers in the emergency response world (fire service) likely remember more about how we treat them than what uniform we wear or what kind of apparatus we arrive in, so long as we bring true caring and compassion to their bedside. In addition Cooper 's people over platform approach was obvious in this Rath & Conchie description: "then when he talked of the night-and-day difference that a

There are different leadership styles; a particular leader that will be discussed is Alan Mulally a CEO of Ford Motor. Alan faced many challenges and he impacted

Prior to attending the Business Internship course, my knowledge and understanding on successful business leaders was very limited. Although I had heard of countless success stories in business, I had never actually understood what it took to achieve such measures of success. However, it wasn’t until we had the privilege of hearing from four different business magnates in weeks 6 -9. Each of the business leaders gave an hour’s seminar and which was aimed at providing insights into their personal lives, working experiences and the core essence of 21st century business leadership.

1 Today is indeed a remarkable day. I therefore count it as a great honour to be among you to share some wisdom together. I thank the executive of the club for putting up this kind of forum. This is highly commendable and I salute your outstanding leadership! I also greet my audience with great humility, for while some are on their bed sleeping off destiny, you have rather chose to search for knowledge. It takes few men to rule the world, and the few I believe, constitutes this audience.