What traits does the leader possess?
General Norman Schwarzkopf has an uncanny personal magnetism that enables him to work with a diverse group of people. It can be argued that his ability to lead a team to victory is the reason for his magnetic personality. He demonstrated his effective leadership skills through his various tours in Vietnam, and when he worked as the logistics coordinator for the Bush Administration. Schwarzkopf made his mark when former President Bush appointed him the overall commander of a military alliance created to defeat Saddam Hussein in Operation Desert Storm. His leadership skills enabled him to defeat the well-organized and battle-tested the Iraqi army in a military campaign that only lasted for a few months.
Schwarzkopf was a remarkable organizer. Military leadership has always been measured in terms of the leader’s ability to manage human resources in order to accomplish a particular mission. In this respect, Schwarzkopf demonstrated his superb management skills, especially when he organized and supervised the campaign against Saddam Hussein’s army.
Aside from organizational skills, Schwarzkopf also demonstrated superb people skills. Military leadership requires a certain degree of people skills because the commander is expected to lead a group of soldiers into battle. Without the capability to connect with another human being, it is impossible for the commander to inspire confidence from his troops.
Identify Schwarzkopf’s leadership skills?
Schwarzkopf’s effective leadership style is characterized by the application of “human skill.” According to the Katz model of leadership, the leader with human skills can leverage the power of the group. Thus, Schwarzkopf does not have to be the most brilliant tactician in the team. He does not have to be the most gifted member of the group. However, his value to the team was found in his ability to bring out the best from every member.
Schwarzkopf demonstrated a heightened level of sensitivity with regards to his capability, and the ability of those who served with him. He valued the perception and values of other people. He understood the importance of considering other people’s points of view. Thus, it is easier for him to defer to other people’s ideas if he believed that a compromise would not endanger the mission. He made sure to make small compromises if these compromises were justified by the creation of a high-performance team.
Schwarzkopf’s “human skill” capability was manifested through the contributions of motivated team members. According to Katz, leaders with a high level of human skill understand the value of people in the workplace. Schwarzkopf demonstrated a heightened sensitivity to his subordinates’ needs. He helped them overcome their struggles. He created an environment wherein the members of the team can express their feelings and ideas regarding a particular objective.
It must be pointed out that Schwarzkopf possessed a high level of “human skill” capability because he developed the competence to understand and appreciate other people’s cultures. This was made possible through the help of his father. Schwarzkopf’s father was also a career soldier. His father was appointed to several foreign assignments. When the young Schwarzkopf visited his father in different parts of the world, he had the chance to interact with other people’s cultures. As a young man, he realized that there were different world views. He also realized that a leader could accomplish great things if he knew how to work with others.
A deliberate attempt to understand and appreciate other people’s culture is not an easy task. It can be argued that normal people are ethnocentric. This means that they believe in the superiority of their language and culture. Other people’s belief system is perceived as odd. However, great leaders that are imbued with a high-level of “human skill” capability understand the advantage of working with a diverse group of people.
What is the leadership style of Schwarzkopf? Cite examples to prove leadership style.
General Schwarzkopf exemplified the transactional leadership style (Neck and Lattimer 330). Careful scrutiny of his methods and accomplishments leads to the conclusion that he valued group performance and compliance. This was made evident during the development of the strategy to defeat Saddam Hussein’s army. The main focus of the military alliance was to accomplish specific results within a specific time frame. Thus, the different factions of the military alliance had to work as one cohesive unit.
A high level of organizational performance was required because Schwarzkopf was not only the leader of U.S. soldiers. He was also the leader of military units that came from different parts of the globe. He was the overall commander of a disparate group of soldiers and officers that came from different countries. He was the overseer and commander of armies that came from Australia, Great Britain, Canada, France, Saudi Arabia, Netherlands, South Korea, Philippines, Portugal, and Spain.
General Schwarzkopf utilized a transactional type of leadership to accomplish complex goals (Neck and Lattimer, 331). His leadership style was characterized by the utilization of a framework that rewarded compliant behavior. Schwarzkopf had to deal with officers and generals with strong personalities. He worked with people who were great leaders in their own right. Thus, if one will look at the context of the Persian Gulf War, the transactional type of leadership was a powerful tool in Schwarzkopf’s arsenal. He succeeded in using the transactional leadership framework to generate significant results. In this type of leadership framework, the members of the group were motivated to work and contribute to the success of the team. They were motivated to give their best because their efforts were recognized by Schwarzkopf.
In the Persian Gulf War, Schwarzkopf understood the purpose of the military alliance. The soldiers and officers under his command were sent by their respective countries not to serve Schwarzkopf, but to serve their nation’s interest. All of them shared the conviction that Saddam Hussein was the enemy of freedom and democracy. When Saddam Hussein attacked Kuwait without provocation from the Kuwaitis, he was perceived as a bully by the international community. The members of the military alliance were gathered in one place because of the shared belief that they had to fight against tyranny.
Schwarzkopf understood this type of motivation. As a transactional leader, he persuaded the members of the alliance that they had to fight as a team. He also motivated them with the assurance of moral victory when they liberated Kuwait from Saddam Hussein’s army. Although Schwarzkopf understood that they had the moral right to fight against the Iraqi army, he also realized that the soldiers and officers who participated in Operation Desert Storm were hungry for recognition and promotion. Thus, he helped them accomplish those goals as well. In other words, Schwarzkopf gave credit to whom credit was due. He recognized the contributions of other generals and military officers. He made them feel that the success of the war was dependent on their actions and commitment to the mission.
Works Cited
Neck, Christopher and Charles Lattimer. Management: A Balanced Approach to the 21st Century. New Jersey: Wiley & Sons, 2014. Print.