A Note on Leadership

First of all let me say that I feel all things here should be open to criticism and comment.  I also feel that since this is a Blog written by soldiers there is no place for the super politically correct world.  Things in a war zone are black and white with almost no grey in between.  That is why a lot of people can’t understand what happens here.  It is a world of absolutes. 

Leadership on the other hand is not.  A lot of people feel that leadership can be taught out of a book or series of classes.  I absolutely do not think this is case.  True leaders are born.  Some leaders are born to lead huge organizations of people and resources to greatness, others to lead small groups of people to finish the task at hand.  No what type of leader you are or follow, the events that shape and mold that person into the leader they are is a complex process.  I consider myself a leader of men.  I have my weakness and my strengths.  I have served under the leadership of people who I would have followed off a cliff if it served a purpose.  I have served under people who probably would have gotten me killed if the situation presented itself.  Either way the actions of these people helped me form my own ideas of what I feel an effective leader is.   

I joined the army in the 90′s.  It was different Army them.  The Drill Sergeants would ask you if you wanted their job and you were supposed to answer yes.  You were supposed to be driven to be so good that you were always going to surpass the man above you and take his job.  Ever soldier was supposed to grow into a leader that could get the mission done no matter what the odds.  This is an impossible idea, no matter how much we want everyone to excel at what they do it simply just can’t happen.  Some people were made to follow.  Let me also say that that just because you follow doesn’t mean you are not destined for great things.  It’s hard to get the mission done by yourself.  I never really considered my self a leader until I got into my late 20′s.  I have been a Sergeant for a long time.  I have done my duties as an NCO to the best of my ability.  As an E-5 I never really felt empowered as a leader and I’m not sure why.  I went to school, and I had outstanding NCOs’ as examples for me.  I never really felt empowered until I learned where my power came from.  I learned what my purpose was in the Army.   My job was the troops.  As well as my technical abilities my job was to be sure that the troops were disciplined and taken care of. I think this is were some very good leaders fail.  Some leaders focus solely on making people happy.  Other leaders spend all their time making sure every detail is perfect.  An effective leader finds a happy medium.  An effective leader can distinguish between work and play.  As far as soldiers go they need to smile but they also need discipline.  The Army as an organization depends on it.  How can a soldier sit for hours still and quiet waiting for his target without discipline?  On the other side that soldier need to be able to let go and smile once in a while when they are not on mission. 

 A good leader needs to look at his people.  They need to correct their deficiencies.  They need to be punished when the situation calls for it.  They need to be sure that instances that undermine authority are dealt with swiftly and effectively.  The leader also needs to be sure that their people are taken care of. A good leader needs to know something about their people.  They need to know what is going on in their personal life to some extent.  In all honesty they just need to care.  Asking someone how they are and listening to the response can go a long way towards respect, and dealing with that person in the future. 

These are just a few of the dimensions that I feel make a good leader.  There are many more and will vary depending on the mission to be accomplished.  One thing that must be true in all leaders no matter what you do.  You must lead by example.  You cannot enforce policy that you do not follow.  Nothing will undermine authority and demoralize faster than double standards or no standards at all.

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~ by SSG JJ on January 8, 2008.