Activity – kjhansen – The Center for Junior Officers

kjhansen replied to the topic Syracuse University MSL 302: Leadership Discussion in the forum Junior Officer 8 years, 3 months ago

What I find really interesting about this discussion is that we are given two sides of the same coin. On the one side, the quote by General Patton emphasizes how a leader must never let their image falter, always making sure to do the most you can whenever you can for the subordinates under them. This is used to promote effort, motivation, cohesion and strive which is undeniably good.
One the other side, the other article aims to shoot down General Patton’s quote, aiming to make sure current and future leaders do not themselves become overly committed to the “perfect parade” idea in leaders. That leaders are not actually perfect, and that they must be open to ideas and not create an environment where there are no forums.
From these two articles, it’s clear to see that leaning too much one way can lead to disastrous results. Vulnerability must be embraced but not to the extent that a leader’s position and power can be dismissed for it. Being to open to ideas and others opinions can unintentionally allow subordinates to step over and out of place when they are not supposed to. It can be great to hear new and fresh ideas, but leaders must also be able to listen to themselves and make sure they are making the right decision from what they believe. 
Subordinates look to leaders because they’re supposed to do and that’s why they were chosen. As soon as a leader makes it obvious that they might not have an answer, it opens the leader up to dissent. 

It really comes down to being open to ideas at the correct time, while sticking to what you believe in at others.