The Most Influential Role Model

Leaders are look upon as role models as they guide us with their motivating, influence to accomplish tasks. There are a lot of leadership styles; when leading, it is based on the situation. When I was in the military, I encountered with many different styles of leadership. A leadership that I considered meaningful is a Transformational Leader. The transformational Leader in the military with their inspiring charisma of motivating, influence creates a visualized path that produces energetic characteristics that inhere to new changes, developments, and possibilities.; by demonstrating authority, the Transformational Leader in the military utilizes their power to inspire and motivate people into trusting and following their example; this as

Through Frederick Douglass’s, Sam Houston’s, and my own life, being fearless, determined, and dependable has helped us be great leaders. In all great leaders, character plays an important part, for it defines the way they will interact with people and situations. Leaders tend to have strong traits, courage and ambition, for example.

Leadership goes beyond management, for some, leadership is instinctual and pours over into your personal life. This paper will discuss a leader I admire in my personal life, and analyze their leadership style. I will discuss how that leader has influenced my leadership style, as well as how things like environment and the economy affect my leadership approach.

Throughout recent history, the definition of leadership has been the subject of a vast number books, articles, and essays. Countless authors have attempted define the ability to lead in a tangible way. They have scrutinized on how one becomes a leader and how one successfully leads. Because the ability to lead is so ambiguous and no one can follow a definable set of steps to become a leader, many authors have use examples of leaders to illustrate their views on the subject. And even in the limited scope of time that is the history of the United States, dozens of men and women have lead Americans through their words, beliefs, and actions. Whether they are appointed leaders such as President George Washington or Thomas Jefferson, or leaders of worthwhile cause such as Susan B. Anthony or Martin Luther King Jr., these leaders provide a blueprint that if examined carefully, can provide useful advice for those aspiring to become great leaders. And for Donald T. Phillips, the American leader whose life “still inspires and moves people from all walks of life” and provides an example of leadership that is without equal is Abraham Lincoln (Phillips). In his book Lincoln on Leadership: Executive Strategies for Tough Times Phillips provides 15 overarching leadership qualities that Lincoln followed all throughout his life. By describing how Lincoln exhibited each of these qualities thoroughly, Phillips then relates how potential leaders today can duplicate those same qualities in their

A true leader stands high on on the pillars of success: dedication, servitude, respectability, and honesty. The mark of a fulfilled life is not one who has collected many awards, not one who has an insurmountable amount of money and fame, it is one who has touched the most souls in his journey of life. A leader destined for greatness will touch many people along their journey to the top. In my short years on this Earth I have made it my mission from the start to leave a lasting impact on everyone I come in contact with and as a student of Howard University I will continue my mission without fault. From birth my parents noticed I had an insatiable thirst for knowledge, a heart of gold and an unconquerable ability to lead. In the 5th grade I was awarded the

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).

The success of a leader is often gauged on the legacy they leave behind. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines legacy as, “something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past” and a leader as, “something that guides or directs”. When put together, a legacy leader is someone that has had a significant impact or influence on others through their leadership. Over the duration of my military career, I have had many different types of leaders in all shapes and sizes. The leader that has had the most influence on my career as a professional and as a leader is Chief Warrant Officer 3 (Retired) Marc Brydges.

Over the course of my career I have had the opportunity to work for dozens of leaders that aided me in the development of my leadership style. As one would easily recognize not all leaders had a constructive impact on my career but rather provided leadership traits to avoid. One person that I have learned a considerable amount from is my father. My father instilled in me the fact that I need to work hard, complete the task at hand, dedicate time to the betterment of my people, and myself and have fun while doing all of this. Another person that introduced considerable leadership influence on me are my grandfathers. My grandfathers lived very different lives; one was a businessman, while the other was a US Army post-WWII veteran, yet they had a uniformed message. That message was continuously grow, be aggressive in studies and work, stay active, and finish what you started. Two additional influencers of leadership are CDR Michael Fredie and MCPO Darrick Dewitt. CDR Fredie is a natural leader, and lives the quote made famous by Theodore Roosevelt, “Speak Softly and carry a big stick; you will go far”. He has the uncanny ability to influence others to work harder through passion and inspiration. Whereas MCPO Dewitt is an authoritative figure that demands respect and continuously inspires his workforce to better themselves in pursuit of bettering the unit, rating, and service.

My father once told me that, “everything we do— be it in academia, at work, social or family life—we are guided by principles, beliefs and values that collectively form our ideology of life.” I believe that every leader, to a certain extent, is shaped through her individual personal experience. Although in some cases, we may not realize to what extent our personal assumptions and beliefs shape our ability to lead or be led.

Over the last five years, I have evolved into a transformational leader in both my leadership roles. As a leader, I have identified both strengths and weaknesses. The first strength of my leadership has always been to be a role model. I have always tried my best to lead by example. I have always been a firm believer that one’s actions always speak much louder than one’s words.

The strongest and best leadership has been my father, a retired US Navy Master Chief Petty Officer. Though there are culture differences between the Navy and Coast Guard, many of the leadership challenges I have faced are not foreign to him. He has been able to provide guidance and mentorship throughout my career; one of many traits I try to pass on to my subordinates. His dedication and devotion to duty also rubbed

Similar to Martin Luther King, I try to lead morally and ethically and always keep my eye on the prize. Beneficial to my leadership style are the education I picked up from King on communication and self-confidence, as they are powerful and the motivator to empower people to become followers. If I can hold on to faith, the same as King, when leading and moving followers in the direction of the common goal or purpose, I may inspire, even impact peers, followers, family, and friends. I learned leadership is not all about power, but to be persistent and exist by truth, faith, and hope for what you believe in. King may have inspired an impact that will be everlasting and unforgettable, and as a servant leader, when

The person that I perceive to be my primary role model would defiantly have to be my mother. I chose my mother as my primary role model because she has always inspired me to go further with my life. She taught me to become an independent individual. She also has always taught me to strive for success, to be known as the over achiever in class. As a child, growing up was really tough due to the fact that my parents are divorced with three children (Including myself). Whether it was money, transportation, and school, there seemed to always have been an issue or a budget. I always have seen my mother to be my role model because she has been independent and never gave up. She had dealt with three children, got her masters, tackled on a full

In my reflections as I prepared to write this paper, I came to the realization that leadership is much more complex especially since the paper requires that I focus on a few traits. In an effort to make it simple, I wrote down the traits that came to mind and in process had over 10 important traits but an even bigger challenge was on how to narrow them down to 3 or 4 and this is the place that required a good deal of reflection. Eventually, however, I had to prioritize them since in any case; it is not possible to get a leader that has all the traits. As I thought of the various leaders who have inspired me, I noticed that while they strived to provide the best leadership by focusing on their strong points, they still had their weaknesses. To me this provided a justification for at least identifying key desirable traits and thereafter working to improve them. I did manage to settle on four traits, which for me are indispensible if a leader or a leadership is to become effective.

Denis Waitley (1995) in his book, Empire of the Mind, encourages the reader to explore his/her beliefs on leadership. He asks the reader to be cognizant of how these beliefs manifest themselves in our lives, by stating, "What the mind harbors, the body manifests in some way" (p. 119). My beliefs about leadership are shaped by my experiences with my father. I have compiled a list of good leadership qualities from watching him interact with others over the years.