Leader You Admire

A leader that I truly admire is a real life person that has been immortalized as much in real life as well as multiple books and a miniseries is Major Dick Winters. Major Winters was a member of the U.S. Army who server during WWII as an officer who moved up through the ranks to become company commander of Company “E”, 2nd Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division. He was a natural leader who believed that his great service was due to the men that served under him, and his success as a war hero could not have been obtained unless the men under him believed in his cause. Major Winters was proven to be selfless in his actions and decisions time after time and beat the thought to be unobtainable goals during his command throughout the war.

He participated in all 3 major jumps by the 101st Airborne during WWII and lead his men based on the relationship theory where as he motivated and inspired his troops by helping the group members see the higher good of the task. He understood that not one man alone could accomplish such a task, and it would take the hard work and dedication of every member that served under him to obtain such goals. Major Winters inspired his team to work to their highest potential and dragged them through what has been described by many as hell to succeed in a world altering course of events.

I have never met Major Winters or have never commanded men in anywhere near a theater that he has, but I admire the way he motivated and inspired his men and try to utilize his theories when I lead a group. I feel that every member of the team must see their leader be as dedicated to the cause as the person ordering the job, and they must see you have the enthusiasm that your management has in completing said goal. I try to personally relate to every member in my group and get to know them as well as possible to see what roles fit them the best and what inspiration I can use to motivate them to work at their highest potential. I feel that a group is only as strong as their weakest member, and try to exploit every members strength why using other members to cover each other’s weakness. If a group has members that are not functioning as well as other, then they need to be properly motivated or replaced to ensure the success of the entire group.

Another aspect that I like to apply to any group that I lead is the mentality that I will be ready and available to do any job I order someone else to do. I like my member to see me get down and dirty working the unfavorable jobs to motivate members to believe that no matter how painful the job is it still needs to be done. I never want a member of my team to say I am willing to order someone to do the dirty work without scooping the first hand of muck myself. There is a time to lead and there is a time to lead by example, and I believe the best way to lead by example is to make sure no member of your team feels that the person in charge has not spent their time doing the so called “dirty work”.

“True satisfaction comes from getting the job done. They key to a successful leader is to earn respect – not because of rank or position, but because you are a leader of character.” That is a direct quote from Major Winters in regard to leading and getting the job done. You must strive to complete the task at hand and always be the one out there first leading by example. If the people serving under you, regardless if you are on the battlefield or in a conference room, do not have confidence and respect for you then you will be at the helm of a very unsuccessful team.

I strive to be a leader that not only demands the respect from the people under me, but will have the respect from everyone under me due to my caring and compassion for the people that work for me. I will never give a job to someone that I have never done myself or a job that I will not be willing to do at the very moment. Leadership is delegating tasks no matter of their worth or severity to the people under you to make sure the main goal is achieved. If I am willing to give the order then that means that I have either done the job myself or will be standing next to person given the task doing the job with them.

Reference:
10 Principles for The Selfless Leader (From An American Hero) – Terry “Starbucker” St. Marie. (n.d.). Terry Starbucker St Marie. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from http://www.terrystarbucker.com/2011/05/29/10-principles-for-the-selfless-leader-from-an-american-hero/ Welcome to the Official CMOH Website of Major Richard Winters. (n.d.). Welcome to the Official CMOH Website of Major Richard Winters. Retrieved June 16, 2014, from http://www.majordickwinters.com/major.html