Leadership: Nature or Nurture?

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Some believe that good leadership is a trait that people have from birth and that it cannot be learned. It can be argued that for a majority of Soldiers who are considered good leaders, they were actually forged through a wide variety of study, experiences, good self assessment skills, mentorship over a period of time and who also have strong resiliency tools. In this essay you will be presented with why the most important and most helpful block of instruction within phase one of the Distant Learning-Intermediate Level Education (DL-ILE) is the C131 Leadership Development and Assessment module. Leadership Development is essential for one’s success as an officer in the United States Army. Leadership development comes from a variety of ways that will be discussed in detail within this essay. Also, you will see the need of having good assessment skills to be a successful leader. The last trait needed to be a good leader that is discussed within the C131 module is the need to possess resiliency tools. The C131 Leadership Development and Assessment module is the most important module within the C100 series and arguably will provide the greatest assistance to the student in their duties as a field grade officer over the next ten years of their career.
Field grade officers are commissioned to lead, to be decision makers, to manage projects and/or personnel, and to command units. If you lack in the ability to lead or your leadership traits are weak you will likely fail as a field grade officer. As mentioned above it is believed by most that leadership is not something that you are born with but instead an attribute that is shaped through years of learning, self assessing, and critical mentorship throughout one’s career. Lear...

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...en years of their career. Supporting facts have show that good leaders are not born, but build from institutional training, self study, operational experience, self study, mentorship, self assessment, and strong resiliency skills. As defined in ADRP 6-22,”Leadership is the process of influencing people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation to accomplish the mission and improve the organization”.4 Purpose, direction, mission accomplishment, and improvement within the organization; this is why the C131 Leadership Development and Assessment module is so important.

Works Cited

1. Headquarters, Department of the Army, DA PAM 600-3 Commissioned Officer Professional Development and Career Management (Washington D.C., 2010), 7.

2. Idib., 8.

3. Headquarters, Department of the Army, ADRP 6-22 Army Leadership (Washington D.C., 2012), 7-1

4. Idib., 1-1.

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