Characteristics of a Leader

[Admin]

[size=14pt]1^st Ranger Battalion
NCO School
Able Company[/size]

"A good objective of leadership is to help those who are doing poorly to do well and to help those who are doing well to do even better."
-Jim Rohn

[size=12pt]Building Excellence[/size]
Leaders do not command excellence, they build excellence. Excellence is "being all you can be" within the bounds of doing what is right for your unit. To reach excellence you must first be a leader of good character. You must do everything you are supposed to do. Organizations will not achieve excellence by figuring out where it wants to go, then having leaders do whatever they have to in order to get the job done, and then hope their leaders acted with good character. This type of thinking is backwards. Pursuing excellence should not be confused with accomplishing a job or task. When you do planning, you do it by backwards planning. But you do not achieve excellence by backwards planning. Excellence starts with leaders of good and strong character who engage in the entire process of leadership. And the first process is being a person of honorable character.

Waste no more time arguing what a good man should be. Be one.
- Marcus Aurelius

[size=12pt]Character[/size]
Character develops over time. Many think that much of a person's character is formed early in life. However, we do not know exactly how much or how early character develops. But, it is safe to claim that character does not change quickly. A person's observable behavior is an indication of his character. This behavior can be strong or weak, good or bad. A person with strong character shows drive, energy, determination, self-discipline, willpower, and nerve. He sees what he wants and goes after it. He attracts followers. On the other hand, a person with weak character shows none of these traits. He does not know what he wants. His traits are disorganized, he vacillates and is inconsistent. He will attract no followers.

A strong person can be good or bad. A gang leader is an example of a strong person with a bad character, while an outstanding community leader is one with both strong and good characteristics. An organization needs leaders with both strong and good characteristics, people who will guide them to the future and show that they can be trusted.

Courage - not complacency - is our need today. Leadership not salesmanship.
- John F. Kennedy

[size=12pt]Professionalism[/size]
In effective units prepared for the battlefield, each soldier is a respected professional. Others believe that he can get the job done and can be trusted. Professional soldiers are mature and share the values of their profession and their unit.

[size=12pt]Maturity[/size]
A mature soldier develops physically, socially, emotionally, and spiritually. Social maturity provides the willingness to work with others in cohesive teams. Emotional maturity gives stability to deal with the stress of combat. Spiritual maturity gives the soldier hope and purpose to face the dangers and uncertainty of combat. Signs of maturity that are important in combat-ready teams include self-discipline, initiative and judgment, and confidence. Self-discipline enables clear thinking and reasonable action in the moment of combat with its isolation, high leadership casualties, continuous stress, and need for independent actions. Self-disciplined soldiers realize that success and survival depend on working together, and they are able to undergo extreme hardship to achieve team goals. In peacetime, self-discipline helps the team engage in more difficult training, develop trust more quickly, and handle more tasks with ease. Initiative and judgment are essential in both peacetime and combat. On the battlefield soldiers need initiative to operate within the intent of there commander and to move decisively in accomplishing their mission. However, initiative does not mean ?do something even if it?s wrong.? It must be tempered by good judgment-the ability to size up a situation quickly and to know what is important and how to accomplish what needs to be done. Soldiers with initiative tempered by good judgment act on their assessments quickly and decisively with little or no supervision. They accept responsibility and take thoughtful action to operate successfully and to execute difficult missions, Another ingredient of successful teamwork is confidence. To remove doubt and anxiety in combat, the soldier must first have confidence in his own professional ability. Then he must be confident that his fellow team members, as well as other supporting soldiers, can do their jobs effectively. For example, when a forward observer calls for ?danger close? fires, the soldier needs confidence in the accuracy of the forward observer and of those delivering the fire.

[size=12pt]Soldier Values[/size]
The development of four basic values in each soldier can help strengthen the acceptance of the values of the Army ethic. These soldier values are candor, competence, courage, and commitment.

Candor is honesty and faithfulness to the truth. The combat-ready team develops only when its members realize that honesty is absolutely essential. Team members must be able to trust one another and their leaders. Without truthfulness, this will not occur. When soldiers see their leaders or peers lying in AAR reports, or other unit situations, they wonder if they can be trusted to be truthful in a crisis. The question arises ?Will they be honest about the wartime situation?? There is no time for such second-guessing in combat.

Competence is imperative for the combat-ready team. Soldiers accept one another and their leaders when they are satisfied with their leaders? knowledge of the job and ability to apply that knowledge in the working situation. Nothing deteriorates teamwork quicker than the perception that soldiers do not know how to soldier and leaders do not know how to lead. Further, the soldier?s competence is the basis for the self-confidence critical to feeling accepted by the team. Courage, both moral and physical, is displayed by soldiers in cohesive, combat-ready teams. They understand that fear in combat is natural and to be expected. This helps them retain control and accomplish their objectives in spite of the risk. Moral courage helps the combat-ready team to do the right thing in a difficult situation, even when some might strongly feel that the wrong is more attractive. Both physical and moral courage requires that soldiers do their part lest they lose face with their buddies. Courage on the part of one or two soldiers is contagious and becomes a way of life in the cohesive, combat-ready unit.

Commitment to the unit occurs when soldiers accept and demonstrate the values discussed above. When soldiers show that unit accomplishment takes priority over personal inconveniences, when they willingly spend extra time to get the job done for the unit, when they spend time developing their competence to be the best possible soldier to make their unit combat-effective, they are demonstrating commitment to the unit. The values discussed are more than nice-sounding words; they apply in sections, squads, and in platoons and companies.

[size=12pt]Attributes[/size]
Attributes establish what leaders are, and every leader needs at least three of them:

Standard Bearers establish the ethical framework within an organization. This demands a commitment to live and defend the climate and culture that you want to permeate your organization. What you set as an example will soon become the rule as unlike knowledge, ethical behavior is learned more by observing than by listening. And in fast moving situations, examples become certainty. Being a standard bearer creates trust and openness in your men, who in turn, fulfill your visions.

Developers help others learn through teaching, training, and coaching. Never miss an opportunity to teach or learn something new yourself. Coaching suggests someone who cares enough to get involved by encouraging and developing others who are less experienced. Soldiers who work for developers know that they can take risks, learn by making mistakes, and winning in the end.

Integrators orchestrate the many activities that take place throughout an organization by providing a view of the future and the ability to obtain it. Success can only be achieved when there is a unity of effort. Integrators have a sixth sense about where problems will occur and make their presence felt during critical times. They know that their men do their best when they are left to work within a vision-based framework.

Goddamn it, you will never get the Purple Heart hiding in a foxhole! Follow me!
- Captain Henry P. "Jim" Crowe, USMC, Guadalcanal, 13 January 1943. (key words - follow me, NOT "go")

And as always:
[size=14pt]Prior Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance

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