Napoleon Leadership Style Analysis

Every Leader is defined by his or her qualities and characteristics. These can determine how effective a leader has become. This statement has been true throughout the history of mankind. However, there are only a handful of specific qualities that can truly determine if someone is an effective leader.
To be an effective leader one must be inspirational. This is evident in Washington Crossing the Delaware by Emanuel Leutze. The painting depicts George Washington leading his men across the Delaware to take on the British. Washington is right at the front of the boat leading the way and inspiring his men to fight with him. He is not watching from the sidelines or leading from a throne across the sea. By seeing their leader fighting by their

side the soldiers became so inspired that they would do anything to help his cause. There are multiple instances of leaders doing this exact same thing. Back in the 1960’s Martin Luther King Jr. led a revolution against segregation and racism. During this time King led the famous March on Washington. This was and still is one of the largest political rallies for human rights in United States history. King was at the front of the march as he led hundreds of thousands of Americans to Washington D.C. He would then go on to give one of the most famous speeches in history – his I Have a Dream speech. Just as George Washington was front and center for the crossing of the Delaware, King was front and center for the March on Washington. Martin Luther King inspired change throughout the entire nation. Both of these men possessed this quality, but they are not the only ones that did. Even thousands of years ago in the times of Ancient Greece leaders had this quality. One specific leader that had this was Leonidas of Sparta. He led a small force of 300 soldiers to meet the grand Persian army led by Xerxes. These men followed Leonidas even though there was no guarantee that more men would come to help them fight. They did not do this simply because he commanded it, but because he took charge of the situation and inspired them to fight. His men saw that he had no fear in his heart, so they began to feel the same way.
Being inspirational is not the only trait that can make a leader an effective one. One other trait that makes a leader effective is if they have a strong resolve. Source H talks about how President Obama has been a polarizing person since he took office. People are very split on what they think of him. The article states: “He’s a bad leader because of what he’s done with the economy, the war and health care.” Since many people dislike what President Obama has done he must have a strong resolve to make sure that he is an effective leader. Just like Obama there have been several different leaders that have had a strong resolve so they can be effective leaders. One such leader was the third king of the Persian Empire – Darius the Great. During the late 500’s and early 400’s BCE Darius led an invasion of Greece. After several battles with the Greeks the first Persian War culminated in the Battle of Marathon. At this battle the Persians suffered a crushing defeat. After this defeat Darius’ resolve shined through. Instead of whimpering away he regathered his troops to prepare for another invasion of Greece. Unfortunately, Darius died while this was going on. However, Darius’ resolve made it so his son Xerxes would be able to carry out the deed of invading Greece. Of course there were many other leaders in history that had a strong resolve. However, one leader that stands out among the rest is Abraham Lincoln. He went into office just after South Carolina had seceded from the Union. Eventually, 10 states followed South Carolina’s lead and left the Union. Now the United States of America were no longer united and Lincoln had to fix it. If Lincoln did not have an incredible resolve he may never have been able to make the country whole again. He was able to win the Civil War and successfully pave the way for the United States to be reformed.
While there are many traits that make an effective leader, there are some that can make a leader ineffective.

One of those traits is if a leader is egotistical. Source I is primarily focused on one person – Donald Trump. The document says: “Donald Trump we’ve seen on the political stage has fallen deeply into the narcissist’s trap –he has become someone who indeed seems self-isolated, distrustful, and deeply angry.” In other words Trump is an egomaniac. Sometimes this can actually make a leader effective; however, in many cases leaders that are like this are ineffective. One example of this is Napoleon Bonaparte. Napoleon was the Emperor of the French for about 10 years. During this time Napoleon’s ego led to him trying to garner more power. This included an invasion of Russia, which eventually led to the War of the Sixth Coalition. This Coalition included the Russians and British among others. Napoleons thirst for more power led to his defeat and eventual exile by the British. His ego led to his downfall as he eventually tried to escape from exile, but died due to his poor health, which was caused by his exile. Napoleon is not the only case of a leader’s ego causing his downfall. Another leader who exemplifies this is Ted Turner. Yes Turner is a successful businessman and billionaire, but one of his business ventures came crumbling down due to his ego. In 1988 Turner purchased a wrestling company call Jim Crockett Promotions, which he renamed to World Championship Wrestling. Turner’s new company went head to head with Vince McMahon’s World Wrestling Federation. They competed in a battle of egos that became known as the Monday Night Wars. Instead of trying to make a successful wrestling company Turner just wanted to beat Vince McMahon. Eventually, WCW went bankrupt and was later sold to McMahon. Just like Napoleon, Ted Turner’s ego led to the downfall of his new company. Despite both of these men being good leaders at times, they were both egotistical, which

eventually led to their downfalls.
Throughout history there have been many good leaders and also many bad leaders. No matter which leader they had been they were all defined by their own special qualities and characteristics. Each leader’s individual qualities are what determined if they were an effective or an ineffective leader. These qualities can make Martin Luther King similar to Leonidas or make Napoleon similar to Ted Turner. It does not matter what time period a leader is from because they are all defined by their characteristics.