As defined in chapter 1, leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve a common goal. For a leaders to effectively lead a group of individuals, they should have qualities traits such ability to motivate others, excellent communications skills, be able to think fast in difficult situations, and be able to understand their followers needs. To a civilian, a leader takes the form of bosses at work, politicians on TV, or local government. In the case of civilian leadership there is a sort of disconnect between the leader and those being led. Civilian leaders are rarely expected to step in and work directly alongside their subordinates. Instead, they often lead from afar and in doing so run into issues with their employees often doubting why they are in charge.
As John C. Maxwell writes in his book The Five Levels of Leadership, there are five types of leaders, and their abilities directly influence what their subordinates are capable of. In level one, position, employees follow the leader because they have to. These are leaders in name only, they have a title but do not have the leadership skill to back it up. In level two, permission , people follow because they want to; these leaders rely on personality and their relationships with their employees to achieve …show more content…
Both the armed forces and successful civilian businesses utilize Path-Goal Leadership. Under this leadership theory, leaders define goals for their subordinates, clarify their path, remove obstacles, and provide support to ensure that the goal is met. In the marines the application of this theory is clear, commanding officers are expected to make objectives and any relative information clear to their team, and then apply this knowledge to reach a successful