This file is copyright of Jens Schriver (c) It originates from the Evil House of Cheat More essays can always be found at: --- http://www.CheatHouse.com --- ... and contact can always be made to: Webmaster@cheathouse.com -------------------------------------------------------------- Essay Name : 1121.txt Uploader : Jim Peters Email Address : Language : english Subject : Philosophy Title : Leader ship philosphy Grade : B School System : Liverpool Highschool Country : USA Author Comments : Great essay, just needs a little grammar revision to be perfect!! Teacher Comments : Some grammar errors Date : 11\12\96 Site found at : can you believe I found this site by luck -------------------------------------------------------------- For animals it is instinctive, while for others it is taught. Perhaps some do not even realize they are doing it. Whether it is a flock of birds following each other for food, or a general motivating his troops into war, Leadership is the foundation for a cohesive, and prosperous unit. In my opinion a leader demonstrates three very distinct characteristics. A leader, successful or not, must commit to a life time of continuous self improvement, ascertain a high level of communication, and exhibit some compassion and understanding to his unit. A leader must always try to improve, physically, emotionally, and intellectually. In my opinion, a leader that is physically fit will find mission accomplishment easier to fulfill. In baseball many games are lost by one or two runs. Many of the hitters just do not have the strength to hit home runs. Obviously if those same hitters that hit routine fly balls, instead, hit home runs, those games conceivably could of been won. This perfectly illustrates how physical strength leads to a successful mission. In battle, an emotionally strong leader will rarely find himself and his troops in death bags. For example, recently a navy soldier fell off a ship into the water. Even though death seemed inevitable, the soldier managed to stay alive due to his high emotional composure. With intellectual improvement, the leader will be able to achieve tasks that he thought impossible and excel at those that were once effortless. The main purpose of college is to educate students in specific areas. For me, building a chair is hard enough, yet one day my task might be creating genetical clones. This will be accomplished by learning and improving myself intellectually. With commitment to improving, a leader, in my opinion, will only be able to grow stronger. This will earn him respect form his unit, and ultimately lead to success in the future. Whether communication is verbal or non verbal, in my opinion, it is an essential aspect of leadership. Leaders that have good verbal communication will be able to give precise and accurate instructions, resulting in mission accomplishment. An example is when Captain Nolan had given his class a picture to draw on the board. His class, the unit, failed mostly because he did not give clear enough instruction about drawing the picture the exact size seen on the note card. Non verbal communication is also a key ingredient for a successful leader. In battle there might be times when verbal communication of any kind will breach the safety of your unit. Therefore a skillful leader must be able to command his troops without speech. Baseball has its very own unique non verbal communication, signs and signals. This lets the manager direct his team very efficiently without his opponent knowing his strategy. Communication essentially provides the links that hold the unit together. In my opinion, if a leader is compassionate his unit will be self motivating, cohesive, and successful. A leader with compassion and understanding will bring high morale to his unit. This results in an increase of motivation from his troops to accomplish the mission. For example, a manager that is not too hard on failure will have a team more motivated for success, while on the other hand a manager that emphasizes failure, usually by executing poor communication skills, will have a disorganized, demoralized, and unproductive team. Today sports writers give a name to this quality in a team, aggressiveness. In my opinion, a team is more aggressive or willing to take chances when his manager is more forgiving if he fails. These chances successful or not have a direct bearing on the outcome of the game. This is how teams, in my opinion, are able to go from last place to first within a year. A unit remains cohesive when everyone trusts each other. This trust is built with compassion to the unit. In turn the unit itself will show the same compassion within. A great example of this is professor allowing curves on his exams. This keeps the class from giving up because the students know they still have a chance to pass. That motivation in turn shows up within the class. Now the students will help tutor each other feeling a goal is within reach. In short by allowing a curve, the professor has everyone motivated to the goal, passing the test. A leader that is compassionate and understanding will better relate to his unit which directly results in mission accomplishment. In my opinion, a leader, successful or not, must commit to a life time of continuous self improvement, ascertain a high level of communication, and exhibit some compassion and understanding to his unit. Those three characteristics are the very least a leader should master. In my opinion a leader is not born a leader but nurtured into one. As General Carl E. Vuono once said, “ The competence of our future leaders and their leadership abilities are determined by our ability to educate and train them.” --------------------------------------------------------------