What Leadership Means, and Why It Matters in the Singapore Armed Forces

You can ask ten different Soldiers what an Army leader is, or what they believe a good Army leader is. It will not matter the rank, time in service or the maturity level of that Soldier because more than likely you will get ten different answers. Everyone has their own opinions on what an Army leader is, or what they believe a good Army leader is. By definition leadership in the Army is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization (ADRP 6-22, 2012). There are three leadership competencies that make an Army leader; leads, develops and achieves.

Leadership is “the fusion of heart and mind, selfless action, encourage betterment of others, and to make a difference. It is the process of influencing

Leadership is the process of influencing individuals or a group of individuals by providing purpose, direction with the support of others, and motivating those individuals with the purpose of accomplishing a certain obligation which is helpful to all individual that is involved.

Leadership development in the military is critical to its mission and objectives. Understanding and embracing leadership will foster an agile culture and facilitate attainment of strategic goals. People desire quality leadership to assist with achieving their goals, albeit personal or professional development. Having a clear vision and the motivation to perform at high-levels influences others to work synergistically together to achieve organizational goals. Insomuch, employees value being treated respectfully, fairly, and ethically. Leaders serve people best when they help them develop their own initiative and good judgment, enable them to grow, and help them become better contributors.

What is leadership? Leadership by definition is the ability of an individual or organization to guide other individuals, teams, or organizations. Without leadership many would just follow one another's actions like blind sheep. Many of the powerful shifts in American history were started by men and women who made the decision to guide and instruct one another rather than being a follower.

There are many ways to define leadership, but perhaps the most laconic as well as accurate definition is presented in Peter G. Northouse's Leadership: Theory and Practice book (Northouse, 2013, p.5): "Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal". Individuals, engaged in leadership, use influence to solve challenges, which the groups under their leadership face, in order to succeed in their common goals.

Every group, team, or organization has a leader. That leader has to have certain qualities to be well respected and followed by his or her following. Not only does the leader have qualities and responsibilities to maintain but also the group’s members. Both the leader and individuals in the group must have respect, fear, and honesty among each other to be a productive group.

Leadership is the ability of an individual or and organisation, to influence other individuals and its team to achieve a desired outcome. Influence is a very under-rated aspect of leadership. No individual would follow a person who does not have

Leadership has always been a topic of social interest and one that many have found difficult to define. Throughout history there have been various forms of leaders, each with vastly different styles and purpose. In short, leadership is a series of interactions between leaders and followers in the attainment of a greater goal. Dating back to the earliest records, military success has always been attributed to exceptional leadership (1). The better led force is almost always victorious over a less adequately led one; for this reason leadership has been has always been maintained as a forefront in all branches of the military. In the U.S. Army, “leadership is defined as the ability to influence others by providing purpose, direction, and

Leadership is the ability or authority to guide and direct others towards achievement of goal without force that leaves them feeling empowered and accomplished. Besides, leader has a significant impact on ethical decision making. This is because leaders have the power to motivate others and enforce the organization norms and policies as well as their own viewpoint. Leadership involves establishing a clear vision, sharing that vision with others, providing the information, knowledge and methods to realize that vision, coordinating

A leader needs to “believe” in oneself and have the confidence that whatever you say will excite and what you do can motivate others. You must be optimistic about what you do, do have some relevance for being in existence. Believe it or not, “leadership begins with you”.

The basic premise for leadership is the process of influencing other people to follow your lead in order to accomplish a goal. It is about the relationship between the leader and the followers. A good leader tries to motivate people to bring about positive changes revealing a common objective without using coercion or manipulation. Leadership is not about control, but permitting interaction and communication between the leader and the individual followers. With empowering others, leaders build a foundation of collaborative thinking and encourage an atmosphere of personal involvement; a leader can strengthen the respect and loyalty of his or her followers. Leaders can affect this process by applying their own personal characteristics, such

Over the years, a great deal of time, and research has been dedicate to the study of leadership. Even with extensive data on the topic, many still disagree on what leadership really means. Hence, leadership is a word that has many different meanings and different researched theories associated with it. On a basic level, leadership involves having and establishing a clear vision, sharing that vision with followers, respecting followers, and leading an organization with excellence while ensuring that everyone is part of the team. Leadership is also a method by which a leader uses his or her influence towards getting a group of followers to take ownership or buy into a vision.

Leadership is an approach for a leader to guide, motivate, supervise, manage, and influence others in different situation to reach a goal. According to the Pettinger (2007), the leadership can be explained in several situations. First, the leaders have the responsible to provide vision and direction to the followers. Second, the leaders shall energise and motivate the followers. Third, the leaders shall set and enforce absolute standards of behaviour, attitude, presentation and performance.

In the textbook Leadership is defined as ‘the process of influencing an organized group toward accomplishing its goals’ (Hughes, Ginnet & Curphy 2015, p. 5). Leadership involves leader, followers, and situation.