A reflection in Strategic Leadership Before coming to USAWC I think that my experience and knowledge gained during the twenty-five years of service is an important quality to possess. At one point I thought: “A few years until retirement, and probably no special secrets for me to discover during the academic year. I can only confirm existing knowledge, gained some new and meet an interesting people before returning home". Much to my surprise, already after the first reading and discussion at the seminar, I realize that this will be more interesting than I had hoped. The first lessons were related to leadership and I was wondering what's new here. I thought I knew a theory about leadership. After all, I am an author of a document about the leadership in SAF.
But, the first readings, seminar dialogues and discussions are shedding new light on my thinking about leadership in general, my knowledge and experience, traits, values and shortcomings. Thanks to the readings and discussions in outstanding environment I become aware of what one colonel told to me: “This is going to be the best year of your career”. It looks like he's going to be right. Next academic year is a great opportunity for me to build strategic leadership competencies and achieve outcomes of USAWC’s curriculum.
According to given task and my aspiration in the future, I will attempt to express my reflection in two of four mission specific outcomes based on GEN Powell’s autobiography: strategic leaders and
During his distinguished military career, General Colin Powell exemplified what it means to be a great leader. In a briefing given to the Outreach To America Program, General Powell outlined 18 principals that all leaders should strive to encompass. After reviewing his brief, three of these principals stuck out “Being responsible sometimes means pissing people off”, “The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them” and “Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier”. These three principals resonate with my personal experiences in the military and in leadership.
In the assigned readings there three viewpoints about leadership are presented: transformational leadership; the warrior ethic; and a blending of transformational and warrior leadership. All three bring forth a number of differing opinions and perspectives on leadership and how it pertains to the CAF.
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
Leadership of any form must begin with leadership of ourselves. Freshman year has taught me many things that have caused me to grow significantly as a person. Admiral McCraven also portrays some of those principles and more that can help me grow in the years to come in his speech titled, If you want to change the world, start off by making your bed. Some of the lessons include little things matter, standing up for yourself, solving problems, and encouraging yourself.
Being a leader is not considered a job or position. Becoming a leader is not a talent, job or position. Although, leadership can be rewarding and difficult at the same time. In today’s society, “the kind of leadership necessary to move social movements forward is very different from the type of leadership required in a military setting, especially on the battlefield. A more sharpened focus on leadership processes versus individual leader traits and behaviors deepens our understanding of the complexities and interactive nature of leadership” (Komives, Lucas and McMahon 2013, 46). My goal is to understand how to face the complexities in life as a leader to communities, universities, organizations, the workplace and the world. As a leader,
As an officer in the United States Army, it has been imperative for me to understand every facet of leadership and why it remains important to be an effective leader. During this course, I have learned some valuable lessons about myself as a leader and how I can improve on my leadership ability in the future. The journal entries along with the understanding of available leadership theories have been an integral part of my learning during this course. For all of the journals and assessments that I completed, I feel it has given me a good understanding of my current leadership status and my future potential as a leader. All of the specific assessments looked at several areas in regards to leadership; these assessments covered several
“It is unequivocally clear that leaders are not like other people” (Kirkpatrick and Locke, 1991, as cited in Northouse, P. G., 2016, p.22). I have always thought that I was not like other people; I see the world through a different lens. This difference, which sets me apart from my peers, has sometimes restrained my progress; however, after studying my differences and seeing them as strengths, I can now focus on these strengths that make me a unique, passionate, progressive leader. In reflecting on my leadership skills, I will analyze the results of the leadership questionnaires, as presented in Peter Northouse’s book, Leadership:Theory and practice (7th ed.), connect those result strengths with the
This paper expounds on three of Colin Powell’s 18 Leadership Principles. Extensive thought went into the explanation of how and why lessons four, twelve, and seventeen pertain to the author of this paper and his own leadership style. Elucidation goes into why learning from others, especially those that are professionals and proficient at what they do, is important, why being an optimist changes the way that teams operate, and why having a balance between work and fun can be the difference between productivity and lack thereof. This paper has also allowed the author the opportunity to examine what he can learn from the three leadership principles in relation to his current experience as a Noncommissioned Officer and his new challenge as a Warrant Officer in the United States Army. Leadership Principles and How They Pertain to Me
Before taking the leadership class I viewed leaders and managers the same and I was thinking that only a few people at the top of an organization can lead. However I was wrong and today I view leadership as the challenge and responsibility of every individual with potential to make a difference. Today, I view leadership as a social influence. It is initiating and guiding and the result is change. Leadership is more art than science and more skill than knowledge (Manning, p.61).
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.
The first lessons were related to leadership and I was wondering what 's new here. I thought I knew a theory about leadership. After all, I am an author of a
It would appear that my original theory regarding the applicability and practicality of this capstone was accurate. This course has managed to successfully supplement the knowledge I had previously acquired in other courses. For example, I was familiar with and understood the basic principles of leadership. However, this course has taught me that the ability to lead is not an exact science, but an art and determining how to proceed when faced with uncertainty or a highly volatile situation is an exceptional challenge.
"Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something you want done because he wants to do it." Dwight D. Eisenhower This quote from Eisenhower rings true on many levels. During my career in the military and the private sector, I have been subjected to many different styles of leadership, good or bad. In my leadership roles I have attained, I tried to model leadership abilities by taking bits and pieces of previous leader’s styles and forming them into my own model. This has proven to work well as dealing with people from all different walks of life there is no one size fits all approach. In writing this paper, I will detail my own leadership platform drawing from the course material and various other sources. The goal of this paper is to show a solid understanding of the course teachings and perhaps give the reader a new found perspective on leadership.
As an educational leader, I have encountered several new and existing school policies. I never thought deeply about the various processes and the stakeholders involved in policy formulation and implementation. This semester I am engaged in the course Managing Educational Policy as School Leaders (EDLM 6005). This is Semester III, 2016/2017. My course coordinator is Dr. Timar Stephenson. Dr Stephenson was my course coordinator once before and was very helpful whenever I needed clarification or when I had a difficulty. I am thrilled to embrace the new ideas and learning opportunities embedded in this course since it teaches issues which I experience at work. Dr Stephenson, during his introduction reminded his entire class that success in this course would only be realized through hard work, dedication, and commitment. Therefore, it is imperative that I have the right attitude as I navigate this course. The course involves seven weeks of intense work. I am pleased to have a wonderful group facilitator by the name of Rhonda Joseph who has already given us a BBC to explain the requirements of the course and our first two modules.
Just want to say I genuinely enjoy each and every one of you. I do want to respond to last nights email.