Leadership is one of the most important skills of an organization and has the greatest impact on subordinates’ values, beliefs, and commitment to excellence. Some believe leadership is genetic and can not be learned. On the contrary, I believe good leadership is learned and continually improved through life experiences. Therefore,leadership is a means by which others are influenced to accomplish a common goal by modeling integrity and selfless service, team building, and a shared vision.
The foundation of good leadership is integrity and selfless service to an organization. My belief is a good leader puts the needs of subordinates ahead of his or her personal needs and interest. Furthermore, I believe leadership requires trust and confidence of all subordinates in an organization. Making sound, moral decisions, regardless of the situation, may not win a popularity contest, but it does earn a leader respect of his or her subordinates. For example, one of your subordinate officers was due an evaluation, but he can not meet height/weight standards. A leader who holds this officer to the standard on his evaluation will earn respect and trust because subordinates know the leader will do what is morally and ethically right, regardless of a position or status. In addition to honorable character, subordinates observe their leadership to determine if it is a self-serving leader who misuses his or her position for personal gain. Leadership is motivating subordinates to meet or exceed the standard or goal with minimum resources. If the leadership is perceived as false or having self-centered motives, subordinates will respond negatively and ultimately impact the overall performance of the organization. I have experience that a leader gains respect, trust, and confidence of subordinates when he or she does what is morally and ethically right as well as makes sound decisions for the betterment of the organization and personnel.
The trust and confidence earned by leadership is the first step in building a cohesive team. In order to build a cohesive team, there must be communication of information and ideas from one person to another. I have found that communication among team members is extremely important in creating a cohesive bond within a team. It helps to identify strengths and weaknesses of the team. Each member of a team possesses talents that can be used in the organization. To build the best team, I believe in placing a team member in the right place to take advantage of his or her talents or capabilities. Therefore, the trust and confidence of the leadership is embraced by every member of the team; the leader develops trust and a winning attitude among team members. Leadership influences teams to learn from their experiences and develop pride in their accomplishments each time they meet or exceed the standard. Team building is a good investment of leadership because good teams achieve their goals with the least amount of resources. Moreover, as a team builds cohesion, it works together on a common platform of values, goals, and vision.
Leadership conveys a strong vision of the future for an organization. It communicates a sense of direction to subordinates in a manner that they will adopt the vision as one of their own. Leadership is not just having a vision of your own, but exercising the ability to get others to envision and inspire to achieve it. Subordinates must understand the end state of the vision and have trust and confidence that the vision is the right path for the organization. In order to gain this level of support from subordinates, I must keep my subordinates informed, commit to my vision, and persistently pursue the goals and objectives that will spread my vision throughout the organization. I make my vision a reality by demonstrating a personal commitment in every action. My leadership will motivate others to follow and commit the same level of conviction to achieve the vision.
Leadership is a means by which others are influenced to accomplish a common goal by modeling integrity and selfless service, team building, and a shared vision. Leadership is the ability to provide a clear vision, gain widespread support, and use it as a compass to guide the organization. The attributes of ethics, morals, and selfless service earns the trust and confidence of subordinates. This mutual trust and confidence are the critical links in building a cohesive team and attaining a shared vision which is the bedrock of leadership.
- MAJ Leon Hildreth, Student, Command and General Staff College, Fort Gordon Satellite Campus
- The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and do not reflect the official policy or position of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.
