What Has The History Of Leadership Taught Us

Leadership is a facet of management. It is just one of the many assets a successful manager must possess. The main aim of a manager is to maximize the output of the organization through administrative implementation. To achieve this managers must undertake the four functions of management: planning, organization, leading and controlling. In some cases leadership is just one important component of the leading function. Predpall (1994) said, "Leaders must let vision, strategies, goals, and values be the guide-post for action and behavior rather than attempting to control others". In some circumstances, leadership is not required. For example, self-motivated groups may not require a single leader and may find leaders dominating. The fact that a leader is not always required proves that leadership is just an asset and is not essential.

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,

Many people would not hear the words “good leader” and “Adolf Hitler” in the same sentence. Nor would anyone usually say that Mahatma Gandhi was an aggressive leader. Both past leaders show many similar leadership qualities, but the way they broadcasted their ideologies diverges severely. Many world leaders possess the qualities of authority, but none can quite be a perfect commander. In fact, there is no such thing as a perfect leader. No commander can perfectly lead a division into battle, and no chief can perfectly manage his tribe. For every strength of a good leader, a flaw exists. There is no impeccable image of a leader.

Leadership is, and always has been, a vital aspect of social and economic constructs. It is essential to the survival of societies, industries, organizations, and virtually any group of individuals that come together for a common purpose. However, leadership is difficult to define in a single, definitive sense. As such, theories of leadership, what constitutes a great leader, and how leaders are made have evolved constantly throughout history, and still continue to change today in hopes of improving upon our understanding of leadership, its importance, and how it can be most effective in modern organizational cultures.

As a professional leader, role models are an important source of inspiration and development. The ability to deliberately aim to improve as a leader is equally important. In the Army, the Leadership Requirements Model found in doctrine provides the framework necessary to make those deliberate improvements. This framework presents the opportunity to analyze our leadership role models using the Leadership Requirements Model and assess how that leader has contributed to the Army or the Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) Corps. Additionally, it is important to apply the same analysis to how that role model has influenced our own leadership. Lastly, with these considerations in mind, leaders can project into the future and determine what kind of legacy they wish to leave. The purpose of this analysis is to explore these opportunities and the relationships between doctrinal leadership, a legacy leader, and my own leadership and legacy. My father, retired Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2) Nelson Stydinger, had a significant influence on the profession during his own service. He also represents my most important leadership influence throughout my career and his record informs the type of legacy I would like to leave as an Army leader.

We all hope to have, and understand, the characteristics that an amazing leader possesses. There are many great leaders, spread throughout our history. Malcolm X, George Washington, and Martin Luther King Jr. are just a few people who were blessed with what it takes to step up and become true leaders. By example, some of the other fantastic qualities of leadership also make up two remarkable people: Nelson Mandela and Suleiman the Magnificent. They exhibited many leadership-like characteristics, like them being feared yet admired by their people, or people from other countries, or the fact that they were also very intelligent, and tactical.

As many countries developed over time, changes have occurred that benefited the citizens of each nation. However, there is one important element that is needed to establish laws, peace, and harmony in each country. This element is known as leadership. Leaders around the world have contributed to the success and evolution of all of our nations, proving to be a huge responsibility. Residents are dependent amongst leaders, who are in charge of protecting their citizens at no cost. Without the presence of them, chaos and corruption would establish, which could ruin relationships and trade with other nations. In history, great leaders have been praised and admired. The characteristics of three great leaders, who are Suleiman, Nelson Mandela, and Queen Elizabeth I, have exhibited the qualities of being a great leader. These traits include causing admiration and inspiration, demonstrating intelligent knowledge, and guiding residents and themselves to solve conflicts that may cause death.

As many countries developed over time, changes have occurred that benefited the citizens of each nation. However, there is one important element that is needed to establish laws, peace, and harmony in each country. This element is known as leadership. Leaders around the world have contributed to the success and evolution of all of our nations, proving to be a huge responsibility. Residents are dependent amongst leaders, who are in charge of protecting their citizens at no cost. Without the presence of them, chaos and corruption would establish, which could ruin relationships and trade with other nations. In history, great leaders have been praised and admired. The characteristics of three great leaders, who are Suleiman, Nelson Mandela, and Queen Elizabeth I, have exhibited the qualities of being a great leader. These traits include causing admiration and inspiration, demonstrating intelligent knowledge, and guiding residents and themselves to solve conflicts that may cause death.

A good leader possess important characteristic traits that separates him from followers. Such as staying focus. Being a leader you cannot major in minor things. You have to think beyond what is expected. You have to show a vast amount of confidence and also integrity. One trait that makes a leader stand out from the crowd is the ability to lead by example. A leader instill confidence and have a clear vision on life. As a women leader, I feel that it is important to not only tell people that you are a leader but also be able to show them and interact with them with swag. When she walk into a building with grace and a light that shine bright. However, a true leader stands out at these things mentioned, making all the difference in driving to be successful.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, leadership is the power or ability to lead other people, the act or instance of leading. I believe that Leadership is an art, the art to get others to follow and accomplish a common goal or task in a harmonic manner. A leader can be shown in all kinds of shapes and forms. To be a great leader many people believe it consists of modeling the way, inspiring a shared vision, enabling others to act, and encouraging the heart. Over the course of me learning how to become a better leader and being in leadership roles, I’ve learned that all these are very necessary to be a great leader.

As Warren Bennis, Founding Chairman of The Leadership Institute at the University of Southern California, once said, “Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” This can be interpreted to mean that one can be classified as a leader if he or she can put a plan into action. A leader is often like a visionary, and forward thinkers are needed in society. A visionary has a vivid imagination who makes dreams come true. They provide a backbone in society, helping to plan what is to come in the future that would be most beneficial. Without a leader that has the qualities of a visionary, no civilization has a bright future. Julius Caesar, Roman general-turned-ruler, was a historical visionary who fit Warren Bennis’ description of a leader. Possibly one of the most well-known Roman figures, Caesar extensively pushed Rome to one of its best eras, despite Caesar himself having a bit of a dark side. Even though Caesar seized power in the Roman Empire and named himself “Dictator For Life,” Julius Caesar was a great leader. He helped to expand the empire into France, as well as glorifying Rome through architectural projects and reforms. Overall, ?

Not everyone can be a leader, but the people who can have certain qualities that make him or her great. Some are strong, bold, and brave. Some are smart, caring, and clever. But in every instance, there is something that separates a leader from the common man.

Leadership is about creating a vision for that function and gaining peoples commitment by strategic direction.

Before this class, I had a very primitive and vague definition of leadership. Not only did I define it as per my views and ideologies, but I also said that each individual has their own definition of leadership. My initial belief was that leadership does not have a clear cut definition, but there were well defined leadership traits which made an individual. I also initially believed that personal traits did not translate into leadership traits with no strong correlation. After going through the various modules this class offered, it is safe to say that I have significantly redefined leadership and underwent a strong personal assessment. This paper talks what I took back from each of the class activities, assignments and how my self-assessment compares to the perception of others.

Leadership is defined in Webster’s Dictionary as the “action of leading a group of people or an organization.” Leadership is also the ability to set trends, inspire, motivate, and sway others to produce desired results. There are different styles and ways of performing leadership and a good leader has the ability to take ordinary people, put them all together, and hopefully yield successful results. For organizations to have sustained results from their performance there must be a good balance of business insight, technical and interpersonal skills, and good team dynamics. A leader must know how to use all these areas as well as trust and communicate with their people in