C–9

“Leadership: what are the qualities of a leader? Discuss.”

Military leadership is the process of influencing others to accomplish the mission by
providing purpose, direction, and motivation. Command is the authority a person in
the military service lawfully exercises over subordinates by virtue of his rank and
assignment or position. The basic responsibilities of a leader are: the accomplishment
of the mission and the welfare of soldiers.

The most fundamental and important organizational technique used by military is the
chain of command. The chain of command is the sequence of commanders in an
organization who have direct authority and primary responsibility for accomplishing
the assigned unit mission while caring for personnel and property in their charge. The
military leader is a professional; this is important in the military for two significant
reasons. First, the military leader is a public servant responsible for the defense of the
nation. Second, the military organization is often responsible for the life of its
soldiers. A good leader must have a thorough knowledge of command essentials. The
command essentials are: command policies, authority, responsibility, chain of
command military discipline and conduct. The four leadership indicators are: Morale,
Esprit de Corps, Discipline, and Proficiency.

Here are the 23 leader qualities:

Bearing, Confidence, Courage, Integrity, Decisiveness, Justice, Endurance, Tact,

Initiative, Coolness, Maturity, Improvement, Will, Assertiveness, Candor, Sense of
Humor, Competence, Commitment, Creativity, Self-discipline, Humility, Flexibility,
Empathy/Compassion.

Bearing, Intergity, Justice and Tact in my opinion are the most important:

Bearing is an individual’s posture, overall appearance and manner physical

movement. It is an outward display to others of the state of your inner feelings, fear
and overall inner confidence.

Integrity is the utter sincerity, honesty and candor. It is the avoidance of any kind of
deceptive, shallow, or expedient behavior.

Justice is the fair treatment of all people regardless of race, religion, color, sex, age,
or national origin.

Tact is a sensitive perception of people, their values, feelings, and views which
allows positive interaction.

Moreover one of the essentials of leadership is to seek responsibility and take

responsibility for your actions. Defined, this means to take the initiative in the
absence of Orders and accept responsibility for your action.