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Napoleon Bonaparte Transformational Leadership Essay

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Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military leader who conquered most of Europe in the early nineteenth century. After a coup in 1799 he crowned himself emperor in 1804. He abdicated the throne after the French attempted to invade Russia in 1812 and exiled, but he returned to power a few years alter only to resign once again after a crushing defeat at the battle of Waterloo and exiled to the island of Saint Helena and died at age 51. Bonaparte was known as an astute, ambitious, and extremely skilled military strategist as he waged war and expanded his empire. In behavioral Theory, as a militaristic leader Bonaparte would be considered a team manager. An example would be in the way he would give a series of complex commands but allowed his …show more content…

Referencing situational theory, Bonaparte was excellent at reading his soldiers and the people as both a military leader and a politician. He knew what to say and to whom to say it, to accomplish his tasks: “A leader is a dealer in hope.”. He developed enough of a relationship with his subordinates to identify and adapt what methods of leadership he needed to be successful, whether that was a ruthless dictator, the seen leader, or the strategist. Furthermore, Bonaparte displays many characteristics of an adaptive leadership style. Bonaparte displayed confidence in himself and his leadership as both a military commander and a politician through charisma and displays of riding on the front lines with his army as he led. Resiliency is displayed in the act of his exile, which he returned from and retook his power. Openness and curiosity is present in the way he continued to read and study about the places he moved in to conquer, including militaristic strategies and tactics. He shows his drive through the sweeping overthrow of the monarchy and European territories. Bonaparte was an advent risk taker, the actions of a coup and crowning himself King are just two of many examples. He was a proactive Lieutenant, which lead him to climbing the ranks quickly, and always planned for every contingency and problem that could go wrong during a campaign, no matter how small or insignificant it seemed

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