For this week’s discussion we will utilize two blog posts from http://www.themilitaryleader.com/

1st: Patton’s Advice Has a Serious Flaw

2nd: You Are Being Watched – A Less in Example (this is the post the author references in the 1st post)

Consider the following quotes and questions. There are also questions at the end of the Patton’s Advice Has a Serious Flaw post to consider. You can use of these questions to help inspire your contribution or if you want to take the discussion in another direction.

“You are always on parade.”
~General George S. Patton, Jr.

-What do you think about the author’s premise that leader’s should embrace vulnerability? Are there times when this could potentially be counterproductive?
-Do you have an experience with a leader who kept a façade of perfection or created an atmosphere where his subordinates/followers were unwilling to tell them they were wrong?

“You don’t get to decide which lessons people take from your example or when they decide to learn from your behavior. You’re always “on” and you will likely never discover the true impact of your leadership. This is both the burden and the blessing of leadership…make it count.”
~From “You Are Being Watched – A Lesson in Example” at http://www.themilitaryleader.com

-How does this statement apply to a world of social media connected leaders and subordinates? Are we now in an environment where you are ‘on’ before you arrive at your first unit or even commission?
-See the attached message we recently received from our leadership; in light of recent events how do we teach/inform our subordinates that they are ‘on parade’ too?</p>

What do you think?

NOTE FOR NON-SYRACUSE ROTC CADET personnel: We welcome you feedback and input into our discussion. We decided to conduct our discussion here on the JO Forums to incorporate feedback from the active force and other ROTC cadets outside our program. You are welcome to respond to a question from above, respond to Cadet’s post, or post your own observations on the topic. We just ask you that keep your responses professional and remember you are interacting with current ROTC Cadets.