As humans, we are beings of intelligence; therefore we are capable of compiling thoughts into ideas and beliefs. Our intelligence is also truly tested when we are in agreement or in conflict with the beliefs of other people. What about a popular conception that becomes a misconception? What about a thought that is infamous because of the truth that it preaches? If I am the one out of the crowd, who sees this thought as the truth instead of a punishment, does that mean my intelligence is no more comparable to theirs? It feels like yesterday when I read the manuscript of the lecture delivered to the plebe class in WestPoint on October 2009 by William Deresiewicz. The lecture was titled Solitude and Leadership. The first thing Deresiewicz did was to acknowledge the controversy surrounding the relationship between the words “solitude” and “leadership” in the title. And indeed it is a controversy for those who did not understand this lecture. Some people justify their neglect of the idea passed across in this lecture with the conflict between the two head words in the title. I would have been part of the swarm of people who examine this lecture with a shallow mind. On the contrary, it was one of the most in-depth readings I had ever done and I had seen clearly the message …show more content…
If I didn’t I would have barely paid attention to the lecture. Before I read the manuscript, I could never see past the bad leadership. There was never more depth to the problem. The lecture provided depth. Before I was told that a leader was nothing without his followers. That a leader only acts on the decision of his followers. But the lecture helped me understand that you must not always be democratic, the leader must have solitude in his thoughts. He must be able to gather thoughts and make decisions without the influence of others. The leader should be able to guide his fellowship through his own morals not the immorality of
In the book, Apostles of Disunion, author Charles B. Dew opens the first chapter with a question the Immigration and Naturalization service has on an exam they administer to prospective new American citizens: “The Civil War was fought over what important issue”(4). Dew respond by noting that “according to the INS, you are correct if you offer either of the following answers: ‘slavery or states’ rights’” (4). Although this book provides more evidence and documentation that slavery was the cause of the Civil War, there are a few places where states’ rights are specifically noted. In presenting the findings of his extensive research, Dew provides compelling documentation that would allow the reader to conclude that slavery was indeed the cause for both secession and the Civil War.
In order for us to look at these principles we must first learn about some of the leaders talked about in this book. We first look at ...
A strong sense of self, in the words of William Shakespeare, is “To know what we are, but not what we might be.” In the book, A Separate Peace, by John Knowles, the main character, Gene, ¬¬struggled with having a strong sense of self. His lack of identity negatively affected his life. The major consequence of his absent sense of self was his burning envy and hatred toward his extremely athletically gifted friend Finny. Gene’s lack of identity and hatred toward Finny led him to shake a limb if a tree that Finny was climbing. Finny fell and broke his leg. He later died when the bone marrow escaped into his blood. Gene’s behavior caused Finny’s death but there is reason to believe that Finny would have died anyway. For example, Finny could have been killed in the army, Finny’s lack of caution caused him to break his leg again, and the branch would have broken since it was already weak causing Finny to fall and die.
I believe to be a successful leader it is important to not just focus on one particular style, but to incorporate many. If you take a few high points from each style and learn to mesh them together you should have a better understanding of leadership as a whole. This class has taught me that being a leader is a lot more challenging than people may think. Leaders have to wear many different hats in many different situations. To become an effective leader you have to work at it. It may come easy to some, but to others it is a skill that is shaped and molded over time. Different experiences and situations help mold leaders into who they become. I hope to use the different styles we have learned about to mold me into an effective leader in today’s society.
First of all, in the first Chapter, he made a clear definition about leadership. He wrote, “Leadership is the process of persuasion or example by which an individual induces a group to pursue objectives held by the leader and his followers.” In this precise sentence, he pointed that four indispensable parts in one organization: leader, team member, target, belief. He regarded leader doesn’t refer to an individual, but the leadership team, because no individual has all the skills to solve different difficulties.
Rost, J.C. (1991). Leaders and Followers are the People in this Relationship. In Wren, J.T. (Ed.). (1995). The Leader’s Companion (pp. 189-192). New York: Simon & Schuster.
The book Black Hearts by Jim Frederick is an in-depth narrative about the 1st platoon, Bravo Company 1-502nd Infantry 101st Airborne Division deployed to Iraq in 2005. The leadership failures documented in this book range all the way from the general officer level down to the lowest private. LT general Ricardo Sanchez failed to understand the climate his command group was entering as they were deployed into Iraq. From then on the entire leadership failures continued to compound upon each other with improper time to plan. It is customary to have a six month lead time to have a proper battle hand off when preparing to take over an AO from another unit. To compound this problem, the entire time the 502nd was in pre-deployment training, they were preparing for the rigors of urban combat. In reality, they were given six weeks to recon their new area of responsibility and were going to a countryside crafted by the heavens for guerilla warfare. As Colonel Ebel said in the book, “It is not going to be an easy road. They are not even sure of what they have in the area. It just feels bad. We can expect a real fight.”
I really enjoyed diving deep into Bennis’ mind of what it really means to have the qualities of a leader. Bennis strongest points relates a manager to a leader. It was an inspiring comparison that really opened my eyes on what I viewed a leader to be. I felt Bennis made his points clear and I never felt confused or unclear about his writing. In the world that I live in today, the meanings are tossed and turned everywhere leaving everyone confused on what it truly means to be a successful leader. After reading this, I feel encouraged to step up and actually make the most of situations that are tossed my direction. I feel this book gave me a whole new outlook on life and I feel rewarded I had the opportunity to read
Leadership is strength. Though it is strength, what makes a leader? Is a leader someone who is in front of the line in the game ‘follow the leader’? Technically yes because that is their name in the game, but this essay isn’t about a game. It is about reality. Is a leader made up of a variety of skills, talents, morals, and values? Or perhaps a leader is someone who tells people what to do? Or maybe a leader is someone who can make a difference? To an extent, a leader is built up of all of those possibilities. A leader is someone with a variety of skills, talents, morals and values, and someone who knows how to make a difference, and someone who can guide people into doing what needs to happen. Leadership can’t just be broken up
Before this course I had ample leadership experience starting from a young age with organized sports and most recently in military service, while I had a lot of time to hone a particular type of leadership style which was almost exclusively geared toward leading rough and tough young men. I soon learned that in this field that I would need to vary my leadership styles and methods because if I used my usual methods on a student
In conclusion, leadership is need every single day. Without this, there is no use and we would be nothing in this world. What would we do without leadership? I hope that in our future, we have powerful leaders, who will guide us in our daily lives. We need them to help this world. Especially, under the conditions that we are going through in our lives each day. If we don’t have leaders, then we are nothing in this world.
When people think of leadership so many things rush through their heads. For example am I a leader, am I apart of a group that has a leader, and what does being a leader mean? A common definition of being a leader is a person who leads or guides a group of people. So now knowing the definition of a leader who pops into your head; Phil Jackson, Mike Krzyzewski, Martin Luther King Jr.? All of these people are great leaders, but the real question is why are they so great? One very important thing that all these men have in common is they have a philosophy of leadership. This philosophy is going to help guide these men during turbulent times, or when they need guidance themselves. Nobody is perfect and everyone needs direction no matter how wise or gifted you are. I am no different, which is why writing this philosophy of leadership is going to be a fruitful experience for years to come.
This idea is shown through Cromer's words as well. Two quotes perfectly show what Said is trying to get across to the reader. Cromer states:
Even though our world is constantly changing as shown in the video, “Did You Know?”, the way our leaders lead has been fairly constant. The traits and qualities past leaders such as Abraham Lincoln and Martin Luther King had are the same traits the leaders we look up to today have. Good leaders are aware of our continuously shifting world and have learned to adapt to what works best for those around them. The book, Learning as a Way of Being, discusses how as leaders we must be prepared for the changes that are constantly occurring in our society. We need to always be open to learning new things and how to best adapt to the environment around us. The more experiences we deal with in the past, the more prepared we will be for the changes in the future.
After the self-assessments from the book, now I know what kind of leader I can be, what are the weakness I need to work on and how I can influence my team and the people outside my work environment. This course has taught me many different type of leadership style and one cannot be an effective leader but just following one specific style. To be an effective leader you need to assess the situation and act according to the situations.