The difference between a good and bad leader manifests itself in the habits and actions of that leader. Often, a good leader practices virtues that naturally draw others to them while constantly guiding their subordinates through physical and moral hardship. They uplift those around them, ensure the growth of their subordinates, and maintain a healthy climate of dignity and respect. Meanwhile, a bad leader creates a toxic environment, one that may be exclusive, harmful, or demeaning to nature. Bad leaders, such as those observed in The Kunk Gun, Alpha, and Platoon, engage in vices that harm their ability to effectively lead. Thus, bad leadership demonstrates what not to do when leading others, and provides a basis for what good leadership is. …show more content…
The vices of a commander can negatively impact the command climate of the entire unit and their mission readiness. For example, LtCol Kunk served as a battalion commander during the Iraq war, but his vices of pride, irascibility, and spitefulness create a toxic environment that discourages his men from fulfilling their roles as company commanders. As such, LtCol Kunk would display his irascibility through belittling his commanders; he would insult and break them down by treating them “with nastiness and impatience.” in situations “where corrections and coaching turned into shouted, expletive-laden humiliation and disparagement.” Additionally, the vice of spitefulness perpetuates a culture of uncertainty and worry, as subordinates lack confidence that the leader will treat them fairly based on past experiences. Thus, LtCol Kunk demonstrates this vice several times with his interactions with Captain Bordwell, as Bordwell did not know the specific number of supplies that he had. This caused a fallout between Bordwell and Kunk that could have been resolved at the
In order to better understand my leadership philosophy, you must first understand who I am. I spent 8 years active duty in the Marine Corps. Afterwards, I did a multitude of different civilian jobs while pursuing my Bachelor of Science Degree in Organizational Management and Leadership from Friends University. I have been married for almost 20 years and have two awesome boys, ages 1 and 5. I think family is imperative in keeping Soldiers grounded and in a good state of mental health.
Keeping a calm, cool, and collected attitude, even when curveballs are thrown, signifies a strong leader. When an egregious amount of errors or flaws occur during a project, a poor leader will be effected by it negatively and lose control of their team. A poor leader gets frustrated, angry, or even depressed during periods of struggles. An effective leader, notwithstanding, remains composed, and they will not allow even the worst of setbacks to affect their leadership style.
When I was on a post surgical floor I witnessed a scenario where leadership was ineffective. It involved an RN and the nurse manager for the floor who was responsible for assigning the patients to nurses. The nurse manager on this floor usually only had one or two patients and spent most of their time dealing with any problems that arose on the floor. One RN was very upset with her patient load and said it was unfair and wanted to have at least one less patient as she said all 5 of her patients were going to be a lot of work. The nurse manager dismissed the RN and said there were care aides on floor to help so she would be fine and told her to get to work. The leadership issues here were a lack of communication
One may wonder exactly what it is that qualities a strong leader possesses. A strong leader is determined, and strong willed. They must be of good judgment, and without bias. They cannot easily be persuaded, and they are firm, yet at the same time, a good lead must also empathize with his subordinates, and have the best interest at heart for said subordinates, at all times. However, with that being said, a good leader cannot be afraid to discipline his subordinates when necessary. Unmistakably, being a leader is a very difficult feat – one which not everyone can accomplish. A leader must be an authority, a friend and a counsellor, all at once. They must be responsible, and always take into account the disadvantages of a situation. Not everyone is suitable to be a leader, whereas, just about anybody can be a good role model.
Black Hearts is a great example of the reality on how severe bad leadership skills can ripple throughout a unit and impact its overall mission. This book serves as a guide for future leaders of America and will set the examples of what not to do in leadership positions. The lessons we can take from these soldiers can help us as potential leaders to become more competent and effective. The fact that this book focused on the hardships, poor decisions and sound judgment of the soldiers it helped emphasize on what was not the best choice of action and leaves a moment for you as the audience to think how you would of done it better. So right or wrong there was a lesson to be learned and the book did a good job including the reader. This book puts you in the shoes of a small group of soldiers from the 502nd Infantry Regiment and gives you an up close and personal take on the experience of the soldiers, from the bottom of the the ranks all the way up to the commander. 502nd Bravo Company 1st platoon deployed in the fall of 2005 into one of the most dangerous battle zones in Iraq known as the “Triangle of Death”. Thrown into the heartland of a growing insurgency, with undefined goals and a shortage of manpower, Bravo Company began piling up casualties at an alarming rate. They suffered many losses, as well as mental anguish. Because of the long and tragic deployment, a collapse in leadership began to unfold causing one of the most tragic, brutal, and infamous deployments in U.S Army history. There were many reasons that caused the deconstruction of leadership, and eventually, the actions of the soldiers accompanied by the lack of control, lead to the rape and murder of an innocent Iraqi girl and her family. This is a story about character...
Leadership describes a characteristic that often helps others that need guidance. A true leader exemplifies strong initiative and notably different from others. A leader starts something new for people to try out instead of old traditions. Being a good leader helps prevent bad things from happening. If a person conducts themselves as a follower that person places themselves at risk of participating in the wrong thing. Followers cause harm to many people in Shirley Jackson’s “Lottery”, the villagers follow their leaders by practicing the same old traditions that cause harm or even death. People need leaders instead of followers. Followers potentially get hurt by following the wrong leadership.
The purpose of this essay is to address how leaders become toxic after their arrival to SF units and how unit cultures or individuals either correct or contribute to that development. Toxic leaders exist in all organizations and Special Forces units are no exception. Some arrive as toxic leaders and some develop toxic leadership characteristics after joining the Regiment. The Special Forces Qualification Course (SFQC) does a good job of properly evaluating those leaders who exhibit toxic qualities and either correcting those characteristics or purging those individuals from the course. Those toxic leaders that manage to complete the SFQC and join the SF Regiment, by and large, are identified quickly and through proper evaluation and counseling
The importance of leadership is shown with the weaknesses in the character trait that can quickly appear with a lapse of military manor and a slip in judgement by the Drill instructor Staff Sergeant McKeon. The terrible incident that occurred in Ribbon Creek on April 8 1956 can be attributed to two major factors discipline of the recruits and the leadership of Staff Sergeant McKeon. The choice to take the march through the swamp lands was made with good intentions by a leader who was worried about the increasingly deteriorating discipline of his recruits. The other facts surrounding the incident show the reader the flaws in McKeon as a leader, one such negative trait is the fact that he made the choice to drink while on duty earlier in the day. The drinking was not found to be a direct cause or factor in the incident, as shown by the testimony of Dr. Atcheson who administered the sobriety test the night of the incident “Sergeant McKeon was not clinically under the influence of alcohol as far as I could determine” (Stevens, 1999, p 110); however, It shows his lapse in judgement as he disregarded a clear regulation, therefore failing to live up to his role as a leader and a NCO. The other factors that the reader can pull as examples of negative leadership traits is the choices McKeon made about his path to the creek, as he cut across the
In conclusion, being a leader may not be all that it is percieved to ...
Leadership is all about power and influence. Leaders use their power to get goals accomplished. A simple distinction is between two forms of power. Socialized power is used to benefits others and fulfill their needs. The other form is personalized power, power that is used strictly for personal gain. These two forms are not mutually exclusive, a leader can use their power to benefit society but also gain personally. However, leaders can become intoxicated by their power, engaging in unjust behavior simply because they have the power to and will get away with it. They focus on their own desires and are less able to see others' perspectives. A good leader should have good qualities to represent. Some of these qualities include honesty, their business and it's society are a reflection of their leader, having honest and ethical behavior and making it a key value will result in the team following that behavior. Another important quality is communication, being able to clearly describe what is needed to be done is crucial. If they can't relate their vision to their followers, they ...
Leadership is the action of leading a group of people or an organization. Leadership is leading a group of people or company to reach a result or further and the organization. A leader is supposed to be an example of how all employees are expected to act and what they should be striving for. Good leaders also don’t use their position within a company to take advantage of the company and its employees. A good leader is supposed to be able to perform their job with high standards, efficiency, and honor. However, for every good leader, there are bad leaders and the worse the leader the more detrimental he or she becomes to employees and the company they run. Poor leadership skills can ultimately ruin a company 's chance of success. The attitude
Leaders is an effective tool for summarizing and inspiring leadership, not in that it teaches tough strategies and manipulations, but that when looking at an overview of its content, Bennis and Nanus are essentially teaching human relations and human decency. All in all, this book highlights strategies for us all to be better in our lives and our everyday interactions.
Although there are many outstanding, albeit necessary qualities of a good leader, it is the leader’s beliefs in which greatness is given its first breath, fostered by action, and spread throughout the institution. A great leader believes in encouraging, not destroying; in setting the precedence instead of yielding to prominence ; in collaboration, not division; in giving, not taking; and in having high standards and volunteering to be the first of many to be held to them. A great leader does not take advantage of the people being lead, but instead, creates an advantage for the people by giving them the opportunities to lead. Only when people take ownership of an institution will passion be cultivated, action be taken, and greatness be achieved.
For many years, I have been told by teachers, family, and friends that I am a good leader. Until fairly recently, I had never truly thought about what it means to be a good leader and just took it as a compliment. Leadership is an intangible concept which cannot be properly outlined in a dictionary, but one which must be formed and explained only through one’s own philosophies and experiences.
Organizations have leaders who are effective and ineffective. Many of us want to be leaders but, do we have what it takes to be effective or are we going to be ineffective. Leaders are people who build their organization and employees up. Ineffective leaders are those who only care about getting a check. This paper will discuss effective and ineffective leaders. The effective and ineffective leaders I have had the pleasure to work with.