As a non commissioned officer in the pennsylvania army nation guard, i realize the importance and value of good leadership. A leader has to be able to understand and support their men, have initiative, be quick on their feet, and accept responsibility for their actions. The personal traits that i look for in a leader are courage, commitment, candor, competence, and integrity. Looking back, the man i see as a great leader that possesses these traits is ret. Colin powell is one of the greatest military leaders in this country’s history. He served this country for forty six years, going from the rank of second lieutenant to secretary of state under president george w.

Colin powell is one of the most admired americans, a leader whose prestige transcends party and ideology america s premier soldier statesman, 2006. He is one of the greatest military leaders the united states has ever had and has influenced the lives of many americans. After moving to new york to study, he joined the reserve officers training corps rotc and ended up graduating with the highest rank, a cadet colonel, and the top of the class america s premier soldier statesman, 2006. Even in his early years of life, powell was showing the qualities that would one day make him a great leader. Powell was commissioned a second lieutenant in the united states army, and in 1963, lieutenant powell was wounded by a punji stick booby trap a number of spikes in the ground covered for camouflage while patrolling the vietnamese border americas premier soldier statesman, 2006. During this second tour he was injured in a helicopter crash and despite his own injuries, he managed to rescue his comrades from the burning helicopter and was awarded the soldier's medal america s premier soldier statesman, 2006.

Powell led by example when in the field to gain the trust and confidence of his troops. Powell was assigned to the office of management and budget during the administration of president nixon. Powell also served the same role under president reagan america s premier soldier statesman, 2006. In the administration of president carter, powell was an assistant to the deputy secretary of defense america s premier soldier statesman, 2006. Powell then served as assistant commander and deputy commander of infantry divisions in colorado and kansas before returning to washington to become senior military assistant to secretary of defense america s premier soldier statesman, 2006.

In 1991, as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff under president bush, powell became a national figure during the successful desert shield and desert storm operations which expelled the iraqi army from kuwait america s premier soldier statesman, 2006. General powell continued as chairman of the joint chiefs during the first months of the clinton administration america s premier soldier statesman, 2006. Powell retired from the military shortly after and returned to private life and concentrated for the next few years on his work with young people america s premier soldier statesman, 2006. Bush appointed powell to be secretary of state but shortly after president bush's re election in 2004, powell announced his intention to step down as secretary of state america s premier soldier statesman, 2006. Powells main weakness, the fact that he is a reluctant diplomat, forced him to step down from this job. Colin powell has chosen to present and develop his leadership skills in the military arena.

From an early age in the training camp, he showed he is able to lead and has endeavored to ever since. He was the son of jamaican immigrants who stressed the importance of education and personal achievement america s premier soldier statesman, 2006. He wanted to make his parents proud of him so he worked hard to achieve the best.

Traits are defined as a trait or characteristic that is observable both within and outside work durbin, et. There have been studies carried out to find exactly what characteristics make a good or great leader. Although it does not take all of these traits to be an effective leader, most of the leaders studied had a number of these traits. The success of the leadership also depends on the situation and style of leadership. He needs to be trustworthy with the men and women he is leading so they are able to follow his orders with the knowledge he is looking out for them. He also needs to be trustworthy with the american public so they can trust the decisions he makes to protect the united states citizens.

As a leader of many people in life threatening situations, powell needs to be confident that the decisions he is making are in the best interest of his troops. He also needs to have confidence in himself to make the right decisions and stand by these decisions. Powell needs to be assertive when expressing his opinion on behalf of his troops and also when he is giving orders. He has said the day soldiers stop bringing you their problems are the day you have stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care colin powell, 1996.

If powell was not enthusiastic about what he is doing then the troops will notice this and trust levels may fall. This can also put the troops lives at risk as if they are not enthusiastic about going into battle then they can not only risk their own life but also the lives of the soldiers around them. High tolerance for frustration is the ability to cope with the blocking of goal attainment durbin, et. It is often the way in warfare that things dont always go according to plan or plans go wrong. It is important for powell to keep his cool in these times of high frustration to find solutions to problems or provide the right orders. If he let his emotions get the best of him, he may make decisions that are not in the best interests of his troops and the american people.

The situation dictates which approach best accomplishes the team's mission colin powell, 1996. This shows that powell believes there is no one best way to lead a team, but that you must be able to change your style to suit the situation. This, straight away, points in the direction of the situational leadership style. The hersey blanchard situational leadership model explains how to match the leadership style to the readiness of the group members durbin, et. It explains that the best style to use depends on the situation and the skills and capabilities of the team members. Communication in this quadrant is largely one way as the leader defines that task for the followers and then supervise them closely what is situational leadership? description, 2007.

Leaders still define the roles and tasks but communication is much more two way what is situational leadership? description, 2007. This shows that the leader in this quadrant is interested in feedback and ideas from the team. Powell would have used this style mostly when he was in the war zone with his troops. He would have given orders but would have also looked for information from his troops on various occasions.

They may see or know something he does not and sometimes it could mean the difference between life and death. This is when the leader facilitates and makes the decisions, but control is with the follower what is situational leadership? description, 2007. This is exactly as it is described the leader is largely there for support and motivation. This style would have mostly been used on the training field to see if the soldiers were able to take control if needed. Last but not least, the delegating quadrant is the low task low relationship quadrant durbin, et. The leader in this quadrant is still involved with decision making and problem solving, but control is with the follower and the follower decides how and when the leader should be involved what is situational leadership? description, 2007. It is important for a military leader to be in control and included on all aspects of what the plan is.

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He has developed his leadership skills in the military arena and has used many different styles over his career. ϻ� leadership assessment paper embry riddle aeronautical university 14 march 2014 abstract this assessment paper aims to enhance the knowledge of effective leadership within our armed forces and across our nation. ϻ� leadership assessment paper embry riddle aeronautical university 14 march 2014 abstract this assessment paper aims to enhance the. 1987 an operational planning model for the dynamic vehicle allocation problem with uncertain demands? department of civil engineering, warren b. powell princeton university, princeton, new jersey 08544, u.s.a received 17 january 1986 in revised form 10 june 1986 abstract the dynamic vehicle allocation.

Below is an essay on colin powell from anti essays, your source for research papers, essays, and term paper examples. Every man who has walked on earth makes an impact on society but only few make such a large impact as colin powell has. Society is built around the people who live in it, and our society is built around decisions that he has made. Throughout his life he lead the way through many situations for better or for worse, and now we face the results of those actions. First it is critical to realize that there isn’t just one society as a whole and that different societies get impacted in different ways by only a single action. Colin luther powell was conceived into this world on the date of april 5th 1937 in harlem, new york.