Colin Powell's Leadership Style And Transformational Leadership
Leadership Assessment Paper
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
14 March 2014
Abstract
This assessment paper aims to enhance the knowledge of effective leadership within our Armed Forces and across our nation. First, I will provide information on General Colin Powell’s (Ret.) life and style of leadership that he has presented through our nation. Second, I will present a personnel leadership self-assessment of how I view myself. In conclusion, the paper will show a comparison and contrast between the leadership style of General Colin Powell’s (Ret.) and myself.
Keywords: General Colin Powell, leadership style, leadership assessment, self-assessment, transformational leadership, situational leadership, and comparison and contrast.
COLIN POWELL As we all know leaders can be effective …show more content…
or ineffective at times within an organization. Leadership is a process of influence between leaders and subordinates where a leader attempts to influence the behavior of his or her subordinates to achieve the organizational goals. An organization’s success in achieving its goals and objectives depends on the leaders of the organization and their leadership style. If a leader adopts the appropriate leadership style he or she can affect the employee’s satisfaction, commitment, and productivity to their job.
General Colin Powell Leadership Style General Colin Luther Powell, born on April 5, 1937 in Harlem, New York. He has had an extraordinary career as one of the most influential leaders of our country. As a child of working class Jamaican immigrants, during the depression era, he embodies the strength of values, hard work ethic, steadfast discipline, and exceptional standards of a true leader. Powell has served as an American statesman and a solider of the United States Army, which he later retired as the four-star general. He was the first African American to serve in the White House as the Secretary of State, while under U.S. President George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2005. During his time in the as military, Powell “the reluctant warrior,” also served as National Security Advisor, the Commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff which he was also the first and only African American to hold the high position the Department of Defense. Powell often argues that ideas matter. They can either buildup or bring down an empire. He believed that leaders must consciously work to stay in touch with the best ideas of the people they lead and always be on the lookout for great ideas. As we all know within an organization there is always a communication issue where one department has no idea what their skilled counterparts in another department is doing. In short he promotes a clash of ideas. Powell was known as “the reluctant warrior” during his military career because he rarely advocated military intervention as the first solution to an international crisis. He usually proposed diplomacy and containment to minimized military involvement. He made no room for his leadership to be compromised by friend or foe when making decisions. “Leadership can’t be a popularity contest. Trying not to offend anyone, or trying to get everyone to like you, will set you on the road to mediocrity. Why? Because leaders who are afraid to make people angry are likely to waver and procrastinate when it comes time to make tough choices. “Leaders who are more about being liked than about being effective are unlikely to confront the people who need confronting. They are unlikely to offer differential rewards based on performance. They won’t challenge the status quo. And inevitably, by not challenging tradition, they hurt both their own credibility and their organization’s performance” (Harari, 2002 p.18). “Powell’s leadership style is considered to be aligned with The Hersey – Blanchard Situational Leadership Model. Throughout his career, Powell has displayed methods of contributed leadership suited to the standards his team members. This style of situational leadership is made up of four components that Powell illustrates.
Directing. High task – low relationship: Defining tasks and supervising closely as displayed throughout his military career.
Coaching. High task – high relatIionship: Focuses on communication and the ability of receiving feedback and ideas from his team. This style of his was more prominent within the war zone with the troops.
Supporting.
Low task – high relationship: The members of his team withhold more control within the decision making process although Powell would be the final say. His style is focused largely on support and motivation.
Delegating. Low task – low relationship: Involved within the decision and problem solving of the issue but followers are more empowered by his active role within the situation. This was a least important focal point within his leadership style since it was vital that Powell remain in control at all times” (Gallie, 2008). Although Powell was a Republican, he endorsed President Obama in 2008 which he received much criticism for turning his back on his own party. His reasoning was the he believed that President Obama was a true man of the people and that he was a better option to repair the U.S. frayed relations with its allies overseas. He further explained, that McCain would have been a good president, but would not been able to transform this nation with his continuous leadership style. He felt that President Obama was “a transformational figure” who would be an “exceptional” leader with the right administration.
Leadership
Self-Assessment “Never become so consumed by your career that nothing is left that belongs to you and your family. Don’t all your profession to become the whole of your existence,” stated by General Colin Powell (Harari, 2003 p. 46). This quote has stuck with me since I read it a few weeks ago and it gives me a lot to think about as leader in the military as well as my own personnel life. I truly love what I do as an Aviation Maintenance Officer in my community, but I have paid a price that I am not willing to pay in the future. I am not saying that I am not going to lead as I always do, I’m just taking a different approach in how I lead. I was born in the Deep South where people have not caught up with the real world of today, some still do not have internet. I remember when I was a little girl I worked in the blueberry fields picking blueberries in the hot sun and once I was a teenager worked in the local mom and pop restaurant after school and in the summer to earn extra money. Although I worked, it was an understanding that in our household everyone would get their high school diploma no matter the situation. My parents could not afford to send me to college and my grades were not up to the average they should be, so I decide to join the military. I was determined not to subject myself to work in the local grocery store as a cashier, a janitor at the school, or take up a trade as correctional officer. I always felt that I had more to do with my life and many things to experience and I could not do that if I had chosen to stay idled in my home town. I guess that is why I have a strong need to achieve. I work really hard toward achieving personal goals as well as professional goals. I do believe in leading by example and treating others as I want to be treated. When my Sailors are working hard and enjoying their job it makes me feel good because I have allowed them to do their job at the best of their abilities. I strongly enforce the rules and regulation to be followed and emphasize the importance of not allowing anyone to compromising their leadership towards decisions. My mentor has always told me that my name is all I have in this profession and I should always ensure it stands for something important. I often set my goals in manner of stepping stones throughout my career, which comes with a certain type of judgment. During my earlier years as an enlisted sailor in the Navy I felt that if I did as told to do by my leaders I would stay out of trouble and the spotlight, but was I wrong. Yes! That is a lesson that I learned as a follower quickly through some uncomfortable situations that I felt were questionable at the time, but I did not change my course of action because I feared the outcome. My self-assessment towards leadership shows that have the need to achieve through power. This is true overall, but I do believe that at some level the power should be relaxed for the good of my organization and the people. I delegate to my middle management often on matters that can be handle at their level. They are my good leaders and the Subject Matter Experts in the specific fields and I trust that they know their jobs. This is when I utilize my social power to help my subordinates who are looking for ways to improve their professional growth and personnel achievements. As a leader, I understand that I have to gain the trust of those who work for me and when I show an interest in their career path they tend to move mountains for me. Be very careful of them moving mountains because they tend go about it the wrong way, they tend not hear the details of the task because of they trying to please you. I have adopted another of Powell’s principles in being vigilant in given them exact details of what I want them to do. I possess the traits of transformational leadership and it is visually noticeable. I am absolutely the person in the group who has the control of the situation and I convey a clear vision of the group's goals, ensure that everyone know exactly how passionate I am about the job, and I have the ability to make the rest of the group feel recharged and energized. “Transformational leader effects apply to entire organizations as well as to individual followers of the leader. Some studies have found that transformational leadership positively correlates with higher organizational performance” (Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F., p. 331).
Comparison and Contrast between Leadership Styles General Colin Powell (Rt.) is a very accomplished and decorated soldier with exceptional leadership values and traits. As an African American leader, he has overcome many obstacles throughout history. Though the injustices and obstacles he faced during his time did not hinder him from becoming a successful military solider and political leader. The perception has been that Powell transcended racial barriers and was not identified by a racial descriptor but by his accomplishments, knowledge and military strategies. He has inspired future leaders to choose not to be defined by their race or gender, but by their own achievements alone. There is a very noticeable difference between Powell’s leadership and my leadership, he has strong leadership towards directing and coaching and I have strong leadership towards supporting and delegating. The similarities that we both have is the ability to work in a group setting with others gathering information to make the final decision as the leader. Like Powell, I see every member in my organization as a partner who brings their experience and expertise to help me to achieve the organization’s goals. I firmly believe that the achievements of my followers reflect and aid in the achievements of me being an effective leader. A leader must understand their scope of responsibilities and the role they play in any situation.
References
Harari, O. (2002) The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell, New York, NY McGraw-Hill
Gallie, B. (2008) General Colin Powell’s Leadership and Traits. [online] Retrieved from: brandongaille.com/general-colin-powells-leadership-style-and-traits
Harari, O. (2003) The Powell Principles, New York, NY McGraw-Hill
Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2013). Leadership: Theory, application, & skill development (5th ed.). Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage
Concepts & Ideas
20 Points
Points Earned
18/20
Additional Comments:
Interesting, demonstrates sophistication of thought.
Overall, you’ve addressed the major concepts in this document.
You are able to clearly link your selected leader and add in a few links back to your assessment results.
Definitions were provided but not consistently provided. Please remember that you want your reader to completely understand the terms/concepts and that means that you will need to offer definitions “consistently”.
Central idea/thesis is clearly communicated, worth developing; limited enough to be manageable.
Paper recognizes some complexity of its thesis: may acknowledge its contradictions, qualifications, or limits and follow out their logical implications
Understands and critically evaluates its sources, appropriately limits and defines terms.
.
Organization & Coherence
20 Points
Points Earned
18/20
Uses a logical structure appropriate to paper's subject, purpose, audience, thesis, and disciplinary field.
Sophisticated transitional sentences often develop one idea from the previous one or identify their logical relations.
Please be sure to use transition sentences for all sections of the document. Doing so, allows your reader to move better from one section to the next section.
It guides the reader through the chain of reasoning or progression of ideas.
Support
20 Points
Points Earned
19/20
Additional Comments:
Uses evidence appropriately and effectively, providing sufficient evidence and explanation to convince.
Please visit your APA guide to review the latest APA requirements. This will assist you with formatting for future assignments.
Be sure that your reference page is in true APA format. The title “References” should be centered on the 1st line of the reference page.
Style and Writing Mechanics
40 Points
Points Earned 40/40
Additional Comments:
Chooses words for their precise meaning and uses an appropriate level of specificity. Sentence style fits paper's audience and purpose. Sentences are varied, yet clearly structured and carefully focused, not long and rambling.
Almost entirely free of spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.
Total
100 Points
Points Earned
95/100
Overall Comments: I enjoyed reading your observations supported by the various sources. Please be sure to read the comments laced throughout the document. Please understand that all oversights and corrections are not noted but the commentary will allow you to understand the final score for this assignment.
Embry Riddle Aeronautical University
14 March 2014
Abstract
This assessment paper aims to enhance the knowledge of effective leadership within our Armed Forces and across our nation. First, I will provide information on General Colin Powell’s (Ret.) life and style of leadership that he has presented through our nation. Second, I will present a personnel leadership self-assessment of how I view myself. In conclusion, the paper will show a comparison and contrast between the leadership style of General Colin Powell’s (Ret.) and myself.
Keywords: General Colin Powell, leadership style, leadership assessment, self-assessment, transformational leadership, situational leadership, and comparison and contrast.
COLIN POWELL As we all know leaders can be effective …show more content…
or ineffective at times within an organization. Leadership is a process of influence between leaders and subordinates where a leader attempts to influence the behavior of his or her subordinates to achieve the organizational goals. An organization’s success in achieving its goals and objectives depends on the leaders of the organization and their leadership style. If a leader adopts the appropriate leadership style he or she can affect the employee’s satisfaction, commitment, and productivity to their job.
General Colin Powell Leadership Style General Colin Luther Powell, born on April 5, 1937 in Harlem, New York. He has had an extraordinary career as one of the most influential leaders of our country. As a child of working class Jamaican immigrants, during the depression era, he embodies the strength of values, hard work ethic, steadfast discipline, and exceptional standards of a true leader. Powell has served as an American statesman and a solider of the United States Army, which he later retired as the four-star general. He was the first African American to serve in the White House as the Secretary of State, while under U.S. President George W. Bush administration from 2001 to 2005. During his time in the as military, Powell “the reluctant warrior,” also served as National Security Advisor, the Commander of the U.S. Army Forces Command, and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff which he was also the first and only African American to hold the high position the Department of Defense. Powell often argues that ideas matter. They can either buildup or bring down an empire. He believed that leaders must consciously work to stay in touch with the best ideas of the people they lead and always be on the lookout for great ideas. As we all know within an organization there is always a communication issue where one department has no idea what their skilled counterparts in another department is doing. In short he promotes a clash of ideas. Powell was known as “the reluctant warrior” during his military career because he rarely advocated military intervention as the first solution to an international crisis. He usually proposed diplomacy and containment to minimized military involvement. He made no room for his leadership to be compromised by friend or foe when making decisions. “Leadership can’t be a popularity contest. Trying not to offend anyone, or trying to get everyone to like you, will set you on the road to mediocrity. Why? Because leaders who are afraid to make people angry are likely to waver and procrastinate when it comes time to make tough choices. “Leaders who are more about being liked than about being effective are unlikely to confront the people who need confronting. They are unlikely to offer differential rewards based on performance. They won’t challenge the status quo. And inevitably, by not challenging tradition, they hurt both their own credibility and their organization’s performance” (Harari, 2002 p.18). “Powell’s leadership style is considered to be aligned with The Hersey – Blanchard Situational Leadership Model. Throughout his career, Powell has displayed methods of contributed leadership suited to the standards his team members. This style of situational leadership is made up of four components that Powell illustrates.
Directing. High task – low relationship: Defining tasks and supervising closely as displayed throughout his military career.
Coaching. High task – high relatIionship: Focuses on communication and the ability of receiving feedback and ideas from his team. This style of his was more prominent within the war zone with the troops.
Supporting.
Low task – high relationship: The members of his team withhold more control within the decision making process although Powell would be the final say. His style is focused largely on support and motivation.
Delegating. Low task – low relationship: Involved within the decision and problem solving of the issue but followers are more empowered by his active role within the situation. This was a least important focal point within his leadership style since it was vital that Powell remain in control at all times” (Gallie, 2008). Although Powell was a Republican, he endorsed President Obama in 2008 which he received much criticism for turning his back on his own party. His reasoning was the he believed that President Obama was a true man of the people and that he was a better option to repair the U.S. frayed relations with its allies overseas. He further explained, that McCain would have been a good president, but would not been able to transform this nation with his continuous leadership style. He felt that President Obama was “a transformational figure” who would be an “exceptional” leader with the right administration.
Leadership
Self-Assessment “Never become so consumed by your career that nothing is left that belongs to you and your family. Don’t all your profession to become the whole of your existence,” stated by General Colin Powell (Harari, 2003 p. 46). This quote has stuck with me since I read it a few weeks ago and it gives me a lot to think about as leader in the military as well as my own personnel life. I truly love what I do as an Aviation Maintenance Officer in my community, but I have paid a price that I am not willing to pay in the future. I am not saying that I am not going to lead as I always do, I’m just taking a different approach in how I lead. I was born in the Deep South where people have not caught up with the real world of today, some still do not have internet. I remember when I was a little girl I worked in the blueberry fields picking blueberries in the hot sun and once I was a teenager worked in the local mom and pop restaurant after school and in the summer to earn extra money. Although I worked, it was an understanding that in our household everyone would get their high school diploma no matter the situation. My parents could not afford to send me to college and my grades were not up to the average they should be, so I decide to join the military. I was determined not to subject myself to work in the local grocery store as a cashier, a janitor at the school, or take up a trade as correctional officer. I always felt that I had more to do with my life and many things to experience and I could not do that if I had chosen to stay idled in my home town. I guess that is why I have a strong need to achieve. I work really hard toward achieving personal goals as well as professional goals. I do believe in leading by example and treating others as I want to be treated. When my Sailors are working hard and enjoying their job it makes me feel good because I have allowed them to do their job at the best of their abilities. I strongly enforce the rules and regulation to be followed and emphasize the importance of not allowing anyone to compromising their leadership towards decisions. My mentor has always told me that my name is all I have in this profession and I should always ensure it stands for something important. I often set my goals in manner of stepping stones throughout my career, which comes with a certain type of judgment. During my earlier years as an enlisted sailor in the Navy I felt that if I did as told to do by my leaders I would stay out of trouble and the spotlight, but was I wrong. Yes! That is a lesson that I learned as a follower quickly through some uncomfortable situations that I felt were questionable at the time, but I did not change my course of action because I feared the outcome. My self-assessment towards leadership shows that have the need to achieve through power. This is true overall, but I do believe that at some level the power should be relaxed for the good of my organization and the people. I delegate to my middle management often on matters that can be handle at their level. They are my good leaders and the Subject Matter Experts in the specific fields and I trust that they know their jobs. This is when I utilize my social power to help my subordinates who are looking for ways to improve their professional growth and personnel achievements. As a leader, I understand that I have to gain the trust of those who work for me and when I show an interest in their career path they tend to move mountains for me. Be very careful of them moving mountains because they tend go about it the wrong way, they tend not hear the details of the task because of they trying to please you. I have adopted another of Powell’s principles in being vigilant in given them exact details of what I want them to do. I possess the traits of transformational leadership and it is visually noticeable. I am absolutely the person in the group who has the control of the situation and I convey a clear vision of the group's goals, ensure that everyone know exactly how passionate I am about the job, and I have the ability to make the rest of the group feel recharged and energized. “Transformational leader effects apply to entire organizations as well as to individual followers of the leader. Some studies have found that transformational leadership positively correlates with higher organizational performance” (Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F., p. 331).
Comparison and Contrast between Leadership Styles General Colin Powell (Rt.) is a very accomplished and decorated soldier with exceptional leadership values and traits. As an African American leader, he has overcome many obstacles throughout history. Though the injustices and obstacles he faced during his time did not hinder him from becoming a successful military solider and political leader. The perception has been that Powell transcended racial barriers and was not identified by a racial descriptor but by his accomplishments, knowledge and military strategies. He has inspired future leaders to choose not to be defined by their race or gender, but by their own achievements alone. There is a very noticeable difference between Powell’s leadership and my leadership, he has strong leadership towards directing and coaching and I have strong leadership towards supporting and delegating. The similarities that we both have is the ability to work in a group setting with others gathering information to make the final decision as the leader. Like Powell, I see every member in my organization as a partner who brings their experience and expertise to help me to achieve the organization’s goals. I firmly believe that the achievements of my followers reflect and aid in the achievements of me being an effective leader. A leader must understand their scope of responsibilities and the role they play in any situation.
References
Harari, O. (2002) The Leadership Secrets of Colin Powell, New York, NY McGraw-Hill
Gallie, B. (2008) General Colin Powell’s Leadership and Traits. [online] Retrieved from: brandongaille.com/general-colin-powells-leadership-style-and-traits
Harari, O. (2003) The Powell Principles, New York, NY McGraw-Hill
Lussier, R. N., & Achua, C. F. (2013). Leadership: Theory, application, & skill development (5th ed.). Mason, Ohio: South-Western Cengage
Concepts & Ideas
20 Points
Points Earned
18/20
Additional Comments:
Interesting, demonstrates sophistication of thought.
Overall, you’ve addressed the major concepts in this document.
You are able to clearly link your selected leader and add in a few links back to your assessment results.
Definitions were provided but not consistently provided. Please remember that you want your reader to completely understand the terms/concepts and that means that you will need to offer definitions “consistently”.
Central idea/thesis is clearly communicated, worth developing; limited enough to be manageable.
Paper recognizes some complexity of its thesis: may acknowledge its contradictions, qualifications, or limits and follow out their logical implications
Understands and critically evaluates its sources, appropriately limits and defines terms.
.
Organization & Coherence
20 Points
Points Earned
18/20
Uses a logical structure appropriate to paper's subject, purpose, audience, thesis, and disciplinary field.
Sophisticated transitional sentences often develop one idea from the previous one or identify their logical relations.
Please be sure to use transition sentences for all sections of the document. Doing so, allows your reader to move better from one section to the next section.
It guides the reader through the chain of reasoning or progression of ideas.
Support
20 Points
Points Earned
19/20
Additional Comments:
Uses evidence appropriately and effectively, providing sufficient evidence and explanation to convince.
Please visit your APA guide to review the latest APA requirements. This will assist you with formatting for future assignments.
Be sure that your reference page is in true APA format. The title “References” should be centered on the 1st line of the reference page.
Style and Writing Mechanics
40 Points
Points Earned 40/40
Additional Comments:
Chooses words for their precise meaning and uses an appropriate level of specificity. Sentence style fits paper's audience and purpose. Sentences are varied, yet clearly structured and carefully focused, not long and rambling.
Almost entirely free of spelling, punctuation, and grammatical errors.
Total
100 Points
Points Earned
95/100
Overall Comments: I enjoyed reading your observations supported by the various sources. Please be sure to read the comments laced throughout the document. Please understand that all oversights and corrections are not noted but the commentary will allow you to understand the final score for this assignment.