As a commander of …show more content…
the United States allied forces in World War 2, Eisenhower had proven himself as an effective and exemplary leader. Some of the leadership characteristics that Eisenhower developed from his upbringing include discipline, ambition, competitive spirit and unconditional love. During his time at West Point Academy, he demonstrated an important characteristic of any leader, patience (Ambrose). In his young military career, Eisenhower was tossed into a very powerful situation with the allied forces in London. He worked closely alongside Winston Churchill in making decisions regarding the war. (PBS citation).
Both superiors and subordinates agreed that Eisenhower’s most significant quality was his ability to be trustworthy (Ambrose). Not everyone thought highly of his ability to be a soldier, but his humility was unquestioned. British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery once said, “His real strength lies in his human qualities” (Ambrose). I would describe Eisenhower as a 7,3 on the Leadership Grid. He appears to maintain a style of leadership that is concerned with tasks and efficiency, but does still believe in developing a relationship with others due to his integrity and trustworthy nature.
On June 6th, 1944 the allied forces stormed the beaches of Normandy (Ambrose). This invasion turned the tide of the war and led to the liberation of Paris. Eisenhower was in charge of planning an attack that would require the use of over 150,000 soldiers. (History.com, 2009) I can’t imagine a man not possessing true leadership capabilities being able to command that many soldiers and to use them effectively. I think Eisenhower understood the power and influence he had in his positions associated with the military. He knew he had the ability to affect others’ beliefs, attitudes, and course of action.
It’s evident that Eisenhower had solid technical skills. He displayed great knowledge regarding operations within his specialties. Eisenhower not only graduated from West Point but consistently showed improvements to earn several promotions during his military career. As mentioned earlier, many of those that worked close to Eisenhower agreed that he had a keen grasp on humility and was easy to work with. It appears that his human skills were as strong as his technical ones. Eisenhower’s knowledge about the products, tasks, people, and resources that made up the allies involvement in World War 2 went a long way into making him an effective leader.
Eisenhower’s career experiences eventually led him to run for the republican nomination in the 1953 presidential election.
He spent time in political positions for some time after the war and had already earned a prestigious reputation. At the Republican Party’s national convention that July, Eisenhower won the nomination on the first ballot. His slogan for his campaign was “I Like Ike,” Ike was his nickname (History.com, 2009). He ended up beating out Adlai Stevenson to become the 34th president of the United States (History.com, 2009). Eisenhower possessed qualities and characteristics that many citizens of the United States found fitting to be the president during an era following the Second World War.
Some of the leadership qualities Eisenhower demonstrated during his presidential campaign were seen through the tasks and initiatives he took on. For example, Eisenhower created the Interstate highway System, the single largest public works program in U.S history (History.com, 2009). His innovation brought about a whole new model of transportation and a new meaning of efficiency. Eisenhower cared deeply about the nation he was …show more content…
leading.
During Eisenhower’s presidency, segregation proved to be a huge test of his character (Ambrose).
Going back to his roots, Eisenhower stood strong on his values and beliefs and did not do much to advance forward for civil rights. You could say that his adaptive leadership qualities were not strong. It’s possible that his strong military background made it hard for him to focus more and domestic problems versus foreign ones. He did not give much public support to the famous integration case Brown v. Topeka in 1954. A man by the name Orval Faubus saw this as an opportunity to make Eisenhower look bad. Faubus was from Arkansas called a court order to integrate Central High in Little Rock (Ambrose). “He called out the Arkansas National Guard and placed it around the high school, with orders to prevent the entry into the school of about a dozen Negro pupils.” (Ambrose). Eisenhower proved to handle this situation with poise by calling in the 101st Airborne and sent them to Little Rock. Both the National Guard and the 101st cooperated and ensured peaceful integration (Ambrose). Eisenhower did not particularly like using the military to handle these issues and did not plan to use it in such a manner again.
Eisenhower’s most effective accomplishments could be seen in his foreign policies. For example, “Under the rising threat of Soviet nuclear weapons technology, Eisenhower and Secretary of State John Dulles did succeed in strengthening NATO and in creating the Southeast Asia Treaty
Organization (SEATO) to combat communist expansion in that region” (History.com, 2009). Although the United States were experiencing a ‘red scare” during this era, he strived to improve cold war relations with the Soviet Union. Eisenhower knew the reality of having a bad relationship with the superpowers of the world.
Another one of his triumphs with foreign affairs was demonstrated just five months after he took office when he was able to make peace in Korea. Even after the fact that many people pushed for him to order a first strike (Ambrose). This again shows Eisenhower’s ability to stay true to his character and values that made him such a strong leader in the first place. He did not want to be responsible for starting any other wars. Eisenhower’s policy on foreign affairs was considered one of his greatest advancements during his presidency.
You can’t argue that Eisenhower is one of the United States greatest military leaders. Leading a force of over 150,000 allied soldiers into the heart of Nazi-occupied Europe, Eisenhower commanded the U.S to freedom. He was an inspiring and effective model of leadership that carried over into his presidency. Many of his qualities were learned but many were also rooted within his upbringing and life experiences. He had vast knowledge of the military but his human skills could not go unnoticed. His deep faith in others and highly trustworthy personality made him one of the most respected leaders in our nations history.