Introduction
Leadership is a very essential element at all levels more especially in organizations or groups. Leadership entails directing other elements, through influence, to get things done. Leadership style on the other hand entails the manner and approach taken by leaders in providing direction, implementing plans as well as motivating people.
There are various leadership styles that are adopted by different leaders, each with its benefits and drawbacks depending on the situations in which they are applied. This piece of paper looks at the leadership of a male colonel in the U.S Army.
Much emphasis will be given to his leadership style and how his leadership influences the troops underneath him. Some of the criteria that will be used in evaluation of his leadership are power, leadership, motivation, and leadership styles.
The colonel in the U.S Army leadership
Triplet and Ferrell (2001), assert that a colonel in the United States army is an esteemed individual in the army and the society at large. A colonel is usually a higher-ranking field grade military officer. It is a position that is ranked below that of a brigadier general and above that of a lieutenant colonel.
There are various American colonels each having passed through different paths and achieved different things in their work. For the sake of this assignment, I will evaluate the leadership of one colonel in the United States Army. However, the name will be withheld for privacy and security purposes. He is male by gender born in 1929 and died in 1994 at the age of 65years.
In a nut shell, research shows the colonel was a good leader with all the attributes that ought to be in a leader. Although I did not experience the leadership of the colonel for a very long time, I can testify that I liked what he did as a leader especially in regard to treatment of his followers or the troops underneath him.
His leadership style attracted many and most people especially the young ones imitated him with the hope that they would be like him. Social responsibility was one of the factors that he emphasized and thus he was considered as a man who valued not only his work but also those he ruled.
Power
Leadership power is an extremely crucial element in an individual. It allows a leader to influence the people he or she manages so that they can do what is required in an appropriate manner. It is through power that leaders are able to execute their work in any given situation. A good leader should use his or her power effectively for the benefit of all the people involved and the group or organization they lead.
This is so because power could be both productive and destructive depending on how it is used. Different leaders achieve different levels of success or failure depending on many factors one of them being how they utilize their power in carrying out their work.
With respect to the colonel in the U.S Army, he had adequate power in his various capacities in the military career. As a colonel he was in charge of various military units or troops plus other tasks in military related institutions.
For instance, at one time, he served as Platoon director, Charlie Company where he was charged with various tasks and responsibilities to make the company succeed. He also worked as a commander in a support company, worked in the Army Special Forces and many other military organizations as an advisor.
The influence of a particular leader is dependent upon a wide range of factors for instance one’s personality and the attitude of those being managed (Notrthouse, 2009).
In his service in different career levels, the colonel in question exercised his power in the best way possible to bring about positive impacts wherever he worked. For this reason, the colonel was considered to be a good leader who utilized his professional power in a manner that was aimed at enhancing the army and the society it served.
There are various leadership powers for instance reward power, referent power, coercive power, legitimate power, and expert power. The colonel combined referent power and legitimate power in his duties as he coordinated the troops in his path.
It therefore follows that he made people work and behave appropriately with the believe that they would be rewarded. He also made his followers believe that he had desirable qualities worth emulating.
The colonel in the U.S Army used his leadership power for the attainment of best results in his career and more so, in an effort to see into it that the troops and the army at large excelled in its activities. He worked hard to ensure that the army’s goals and objectives were met.
A good example in which the colonel in the U.S Army used his leadership power positively is when he presented, to the army, a report that stipulated the benefits that the army would achieve in using a SAS direct action type unit.
To emphasize on the issue, he outlined the army’s vulnerability as a result of absence of such a unit. Although the report was not considered serious at first, the colonel in the U.S Army persisted until it was effected. This is an extremely useful attribute in any leader and should therefore be encouraged to ensure that positive moves are effected while the negative attributes are eliminated for overall success of a group or institution.
Leadership Style
Leadership could be carried out in different styles, for instance, social, task or balanced leadership approach. Task oriented leadership entails leading people based on assigning tasks appropriately while social style of leadership involves use of social aspects like motivation to make things happen.
Balanced leadership style on the other hand entails using a variety of aspects from different styles in an effort to balance leadership and hence achieve success. In carrying out his duties especially in coordinating the different troops he was charged with, the colonel tended to use a balanced leadership approach.
He utilized all necessary leadership strategies to ensure that the troops he led were successful and carried out their practices as a call of duty rather than out of force. Other common leadership styles include autocratic, bureaucratic, charismatic, servant, transactional, transformational as well as participative/democratic leadership.
In leading the troops, the colonel aimed at involving the members of the troops in everything he did, including decision making. For this reason, the colonel was an all round leader who despite being autocratic, he incorporated some democratic approach in his work.
Despite the fact that he always made the final decision, the colonel involved the troop members in all the tasks in which they were involved either directly or indirectly (Glanz, 2002).
Due to his leadership approach, the colonel in the U.S Army was able to achieve success in a variety of task. This is because success in a particular leader is attributed to how well he or she is able to influence the followers.
The use of autocratic and participative leadership style allows for effective achievement of the desired results in any given activity. It helps in making the followers feel well represented and appreciated and hence the need to cooperate in an effort to achieve the best results for the betterment of their individual well being as well as that of their group or organization as a whole.
Leadership Motivation
According to Baldoni (2005), Motivation is a very significant aspect and it helps keep people on the move to achieve more in whatever they engage in. In an effort to motivate and influence people to achieve goals and objectives, there are various strategies and interventions that could be adopted to allow for effectiveness.
They include; Provision of a favorable working environment which will facilitate success and assurance of job security. This helps people to feel appreciated and valued and hence the urge to work even harder to achieve the best results.
Looking for ways of satisfying people’s social needs is also a motivation effort that is usually considered to be extremely effective. This is because one’s life does not necessarily revolve around work. Enhancing job satisfaction is also a positive move that keeps people on the move and make them to have the willingness to work harder since they also benefit from their work.
Provision of incentives and rewards for good work done is another encouraging factor that keeps people motivated. Compensation is also a key aspect that is appropriate in keeping people motivated and should be provided irrespective of the costs involved. This is because motivation goes beyond allowing individual success to organizational progress
In his career, the colonel in the U.S Army seemed very concerned with motivation of the troops. He believed that as human beings, the people need to be motivated in order to carry out the difficult and sometimes life threatening military tasks.
For this reason, the colonel emphasized on the above named motivational strategies in an effort to enhance the performance of the troops he led. From the success he achieved, it is evident that leadership motivation is incredibly crucial in allowing for success. This is because human beings are affected by a variety of factors which ought to be maintained at a certain level to allow for success.
From the above evaluation of the colonel in the U.S Army, I believe that the leader tried to utilize effective leadership techniques in his work to a great extent. This is because he tried to engage all the parties involved in his work as much as possible to allow for overall success.
Although the leader has achieved a lot, if I were given a chance to change his attributes, I would advocate for broad mindedness in leading people. The leader ought to seek out diversity in all he does and utilize all the potential among the troop members.
The colonel in the U.S Army has greatly influenced me particularly in regard to leadership development. From his leadership, I have been able to realize that successful leadership calls for a lot of dedication.
It has helped me in adopting positive leadership approaches and doing away with any aspect that would affect my leadership negatively in one way or the other. The colonel has for a long period of time been my role model especially in regard to leadership.
Conclusion
From the above discussion, it is clear that leadership is crucial and the leadership styles also differ and hence the need to exercise a particular leadership style for specific situations. It is also worth noting that although some leadership styles seem to be highly effective than others, there is no style that could be said to be right in all situations and hence the necessity to make the right decision.
A leader should also motivate his/her people at all times to ensure that they cooperate and work accordingly. Power is also a crucial element in leadership as it determines how different leaders’ influence upon their followers. As for the colonel, he has proved to be an effective leader in all the work he was involved with in his life time.
He tried to lead people in the right way and to build good relationship with them to allow for efficiency. The combination of referent power and legitimate power, for example, made him successful in his career. His leadership style and motivation was also desirable among many people.
The colonel in the U.S Army was successful in his career and the success can be attributed to his leadership qualities and the manner in which he was able to influence his followers.
Reference List
Baldoni, J. (2005). Great Motivation Secrets of Great Leaders. New York: McGraw-Hill Professional
Glanz, J. (2002). Finding Your Leadership Style: A Guide for Educators. New York: ASCD
Notrthouse, G.P. (2009). Leadership: Theory and Practice, 5th ed. London: SAGE
Triplet, S.W. and Ferrell, H.R. (2001). A Colonel in the Armored Divisions: A Memoir, 1941-1945. UK: University of Missouri Press