What makes a truly great leader?

Still a high school perspective

Good looking - no. Good looking is in the eye of the beholder. Have all the great generals been good looking? all the presidents?

Popularity - maybe. If a person is popular because he or she has personal characteristics that correlate to leadership ability - like an ability to relate well to others - then yeah. If a person is popular because he is the star football player, then not necessarily.

Strength, I sincerely hope that what you experience when you head off to college next year will give you a broader perspective on leadership.
 
Everyone has come up with some excellent qualities.

I think a good leader is one who earns the respect of those he is leading. I also think a good leader needs to be confident enough to make tough choices and do what needs to be done to accomplish the task.
 
Goodness gracious, I'm not trying to convince you people that a good leader HAS to be attractive and cool hahaha! I'm simply trying to get a discussion started.... Notice how I said in my original post that I'm sure this changes in the real world!

I'm more trying to call attention to what my generation mistakenly believes is leadership, versus what it really is....
 
Strength and Honor said:
Goodness gracious, I'm not trying to convince you people that a good leader HAS to be attractive and cool hahaha! I'm simply trying to get a discussion started.... Notice how I said in my original post that I'm sure this changes in the real world!

I'm more trying to call attention to what my generation mistakenly believes is leadership, versus what it really is....
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I see where you are coming from. I never ran for an office in high school because I saw how superficial it all is. I thought I would do well in that type of position but never pursued it. Instead seeking leadership in my sports. Part of the reason why I'm so excited to leave high school as well! In the Army I hope my soldiers aren't judging my leadership based off my looks; but I do hope my wife will appreciate them:thumb:. The biggest thing that I've tried to do is find my strengths and attempt to make them stronger, as well as locate my weaknesses and learn how best to make them into strengths, because in the real world, our tactical know how and integrity is what is going to win our troops over to following us willingly then will trying to be one of the guys. I highly recommend you read, Platoon Leader: A memoir of Command in Combat its written by James R. McDonough. That changed the way I saw my future role as a PL and as an officer and really defined for me better the relationships between Officers NCOs and enlisted men, a great read all around.
 
Ligustinus, I took a look at that book and think that it's something that my son would enjoy reading, so I ordered it. Thanks for your post.
 
2018Class said:
Ligustinus, I took a look at that book and think that it's something that my son would enjoy reading, so I ordered it. Thanks for your post.
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Anytime! If you want to see some more good books on military matters I recommend the reading list that USMA has on their history website this URL http://www.usma.edu/history/SitePages/Military History.aspx
will give you enough reading for a lifetime! look on the left hand side for the OFFICERS READING GUIDE. I've had my christmas wish-list off this list the last few years and have learned a lot about the military and about what kind of officer I want to be. Another great reading list is at the end of The Unforgiving Minute by Craig M. Mullaney. These lists have guided me well on my path towards the Army, and I hope they continue to.
 
Strength and Honor said:
But I think my man point was.... As humans who are undoubtedly influenced by peer pressure, aren't we more likely to follow someone who is good looking and popular opposed to someone who isn't?
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Maybe in your current situation...I think you'll find as you get older and progress through ROTC, your view will change.

There is a guy on cadet staff at my school that reminds me of the trench coat mafia every time I see him, but I value his opinion much more than some of the other "cool guys" because of what he brings to the table.

Leadership is defined (roughly) as - the ability to direct and influence others to accomplish a task, providing purpose, direction, and motivation. It's a good bit of psychology. Getting others to accomplish something by telling them what to do, why they should do it, guidance on how they should do it, and the drive to do it.
 
Excellent points, Ligustinus, and thanks for the lists.

Thinking of all the leaders I know, I can think of some incredible people I have the honor of knowing.

There are the popular so-called leaders that were discussed earlier in the thread, the people who were chosen to lead simply because of superficial traits.

Then there are the leaders. These are the people I have a deep sense of respect for and truly admire. These are also the people I think my peers have a true respect for. My peers, I think, recognize that there are the popular kids who everyone wants to be friends with, and then there are the leaders, whom they want to follow and look up to.

I have a friend who is now a plebe at USNA. He has always been both well-liked and admired, mainly due to his leadership. I've always looked up to him and thought to myself, "I wish I could be half the leader he is."

He leads by example. He always included everyone in the room in the conversation, always went up to someone who was standing by their self and asked how they were doing, etc. Just a personable type of guy. Everyone else who normally wouldn't be down to Earth and nice to everyone would see this guy being a good person and follow suit. Furthermore, he has always worked incredibly hard at everything, which I think inspired others to work hard.

I think one of the things I've always liked best about him is that he has the ability to make one feel at ease when talking to him and his being genuinely interested in whatever he would talk about. I think those are important traits for a leader to have. While a military officer shouldn't be best buddies with his enlisted counterparts, I think it's important for the enlisted men and women to be able to feel comfortable talking to their platoon leader.
 
I watched a video by Elliot Hulse once and was very moved by his words. He argued that conviction was a very important role in great leaders. He strengthened his point, so I believe, by pointing out that Hitler and MLK Jr. both used conviction to drive their causes, granted the ideals were very opposite.

This video does more justice than my words, I recommend watching it and letting it soak...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TNuhIqqccI

Edit: changing ambiguous phrasing
 
I watched the video that you linked about conviction.

I can't decide what I feel about it. While it definitely had some very good facts to support a good leader needing to have conviction, it also included a little too much personal opinion in regards to politics that took away from the point that was trying to be made regarding conviction.

JMPO
 
Proof positive "looks" don't count when considering leadership ability... Omar Bradley, George Patton and Chesty Puller. These are three of the greatest leaders of WWII and not a one of them could ever win a beauty contest! Oh, and the minute they left high school, not one of them was "cool". They were all just kids looking to fit in somewhere... and they found their calling. There's no doubt about that!
 
But that was in the days of no T.V. when looks played little role.... Think of the Nixon/Kennedy debates as an example that enforces, at least in the T.V. era, the role that good looks plays
Edit: I'm not saying that you need to look good in order to be a good leader though, don't get me wrong
 
ABF said:
Proof positive "looks" don't count when considering leadership ability... Omar Bradley, George Patton and Chesty Puller. These are three of the greatest leaders of WWII and not a one of them could ever win a beauty contest! Oh, and the minute they left high school, not one of them was "cool". They were all just kids looking to fit in somewhere... and they found their calling. There's no doubt about that!
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BigBus7 said:
But that was in the days of no T.V. when looks played little role.... Think of the Nixon/Kennedy debates as an example that enforces, at least in the T.V. era, the role that good looks plays
Edit: I'm not saying that you need to look good in order to be a good leader though, don't get me wrong
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I don't think we can really compare these though. Omar Bradley, George Patton, and Chesty Puller were military leaders appointed by one man for a job, presidents are elected and do a different job so need different skills. So while good looks may help in one leadership role, in the military (which I feel this question mostly pertains) it doesn't really matter.
 
I agree that looks in a way are part of being a great leader, but not in a way others may see it.

Can you respect a leader that is on the "big boy" program as much as the one that isn't? Do you not make comments about how the Velcro on their flight suit is extended all the way out? Or the size of their ABU ?

A great leader would never be in that situation. They understand even the smallest aspects matter. Now if we are talking about acne or high cheek bones, than I agree looks don't matter.

In the 20+ years the Bullet served, I think Bullet would say he served under 3 great leaders at best. Everything people are posting here belong under the qualities, but many of you have yet to live in the military lifestyle yet, and because of that you are missing one large factor regarding a great leadership.... how they view family. Do they believe they are issued by the military?

Great leaders understand that the family is the backbone of any military member. If something is wrong at home, there will be an impact at work.

Ex: Gen. Gould was Bullet's boss long ago. He performed Bullet's O5 ceremony. He knew his Dad in NJ was too sick to attend in DC, and called that a.m. to congradulate his Dad on Bullet's accomplishments. Our DS broke his arm and Gould wrote a hand written get well note to our then 13 yr old on his 3 star stationery. When Bullet 3 years later was asked to commission a poster here at the AFA,, it was done at the Supe's home (Gould), when he saw Bullet, the 1st things he asked about was our family, and remembered that the 13 yr old he wrote a note to was in AFROTC, and how his career was going.

That to me is a quality of a great leader. This life is not easy. It is 24/7/365. Caring about the family might not be in the official requirements, but it is needed if you want good morale. Good morale is a sign of a great leader.

I think what people are confusing looks with is what many people call charisma or personable. Great leaders are chameleons that understand how to react with different types of people to get their mission completed. They know when to use a soft approach compared to a hard touch, they know when it is appropriate to be one of the guys, and when to be the boss. They place their ego at the door.

~~~ The fact is no amount of training can make a great leader, some of it is inherent. Either you have that X factor or you don't.

I believe in the military, and I can say that the ones that made O7+ all had that X factor.
 
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Leadership

I've followed this post on and off for weeks, it's been interesting.

Someone once told me that leadership was simply, having a vision and inspiring others to follow it.

How you look, what you wear, where you came from, is irrelevant if you have a big enough vision and can inspire others.
 
nofodad,

I chuckled at your post....

" I've followed this post on and off for weeks, it's been interesting"
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The thread is only a day old.

I don't disagree with your premise that inspiration matters most, but I think it is naive to believe that social aspects are not part of the equation.
 
Pima said:
nofodad,

I chuckled at your post....



The thread is only a day old.

I don't disagree with your premise that inspiration matters most, but I think it is naive to believe that social aspects are not part of the equation.
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LOL I chuckled too. The purpose of those Thread was 2 fold. It is serving both purposes well. I have gotten some excellent points and opinions to whether truly great leaders are born or made AND there are only 5 more days to EA's (hopefully).

The best part is I didn't wake humming the song 12 days to EA (to the rhythm of 12 days of Xmas) or even 5 days to EA.

Thanks to everybody who chimed in ...keep em coming
 
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