Dustin's leadership philosophy

Dustin's Leadership Philosophy

As many of you know, I am currently enlisted in the U.S. Army. I leave for basic two weeks after I graduate and have a Combat MOS, 11x, which is Infantry. I am trying out for Airborne Ranger, which is a special operations unit, like S.E.A.Ls and Green Beret. The thing that stands out about Rangers is that they are known as a highly disciplined force that serves as a role model for other soldiers. Their motto is “Rangers Lead the Way” because they are often the first unit to enter combat. They are looked up to as amazing leaders and someone you want to follow. And that is important in the military, because the decisions that your officer makes can affect your life and the lives of others. If I one day make a bad decision as a leader, it could potentially cost the lives of my men and my own as well, as well as being a failed mission. So it is important that I am a good leader. And some of the ways I want to be a good leader is to lead by example, be one of the troops, and implement their ideas.

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Lead by Example

I can’t expect my troops to do something that I wouldn’t do myself. That is unfair to them. So I will lead by example. I won’t ask them to do anything that i wouldn't do myself. I will take point when going into combat zones, and won’t put anyone in a dangerous position that i wouldn’t want to be in myself. I will push myself hard to give them motivation, and someone to look up to and follow. As a Ranger and a leader, I will have troops looking up to me, and following my example. I need to give them a good example to follow. Towards the end of the movie Gungho, Hunt Stevenson started working on cars with his Japanese counterpart. By them doing this, they set an example for the other workers to follow. During the leadership unit in class, we learned that a healthy environment makes a better worker, and having a leader that leads by example creates an healthy environment.

Be one of them

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You can’t be an effective leader if you're not one of the troops. You need to be able to associate with them and understand what they are going through. I will talk to them, spend time with them, eat with them. I will be one of them. There are many great leaders in our history. Some of the ones the stand out are the ones that associate it with the troops. Alexander the Great, King Leonidas, and many other well known leaders were known to always be associating with their troops. Talking to them, chilling with them, and having a good time. People are more likely to follow someone if they can relate to them, and its hard to relate to someone who is never there and is very stand-offish. In class we watched the movie Gungho. In it, Hunt Stevenson, the main character, is an effective leader, and his men respected him and did what he says. This is because he is one of them. He spends his free time with them and listens to their problems. And when he starts to spend less time with them, he becomes a less effective leader. I will use this concept in the future. I will spend time with my troops outside of the barracks and be a friend to them. This will make me a much more effective leader.

Taking their ideas.

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There is a reason that there are many leaders in one organization. It is because of the old saying that two heads are better than one. And the more heads that you have, the more ideas you can come up with. There is a reason that America is a democracy. Because it is effective. People like leaders that use their ideas. It makes them feel important, and valuable. And if they feel that way they will perform better. During the Teams Challenge Course field trip, some of us, including myself, stepped up as leaders. However, we heard and implemented the ideas of other people in the group as well. This helped make everyone feel part of the team and allowed to contribute. If you don’t hear and use your troops ideas they feel useless and unneeded and therefore are less effective as a fighting force. In the management class, we learned about the three types of decisions making styles; Autocratic, participative, and free-rein. My leadership philosophy makes me a participative decision maker. My troops are involved in decisions, which is democratic.

Using these leadership philosophies I will be a better leader. By leading by example, being one of them, and using their ideas, I will lead my troops to victory and a successful mission.