How Is John F Kennedy An Ethnical Leader

Synthesis Essay – John F. Kennedy
SMSgt Patrick S. Simmons
Air Force Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy
February 8, 2015
Instructor: HptFw Rainer Lichtsinn
John F. Kennedy President John F. Kennedy stated “However dark it looks now, I think that ‘westward, look, the land is bright,’ and I think that next summer it may be.” President Kennedy was speaking about his Civil Rights Bill. President Kennedy was a visionary and ethnical leader during his presidency, fighting for equal rights for all Americans and creating programs to better the quality of life for people around the world. In this paper I will review how and what President Kennedy did as a visionary and ethnical leader. Then I will reflect on President Kennedy’s leadership
and how it relevant to me, explaining how it will impact my actions, decisions, and behaviors as I lead my unit. President Kennedy’s leadership ability and vision was vital to transforming America.
Visionary Leader President Kennedy’s vision started early in his political career.
He was always a strong supporter of civil rights to include the Montgomery bus boycott, Greensboro sit-ins, and the emergence of Martin Luther King Jr. When running for president in 1960, Kennedy helped free King from jail. Author Alan Brinkley (2012) believes that this is what helped Kennedy gain support of Africa-Americans and powered his presidential election. Once elected to the White House, President Kennedy was very careful how he proceeded with civil rights due to a fear of backlash from white southerners. He concentrated on tackling discrimination in employment and voting, signing executive orders and enforcing civil right laws that President Eisenhower administration failed to enforce. President Kennedy was fearful of the consequences if he tried to implement his vision without the support of the House of Representatives and Senate. He was afraid school desegregation would doom aid-to-education (Brinkley, 2012). King and Kennedy shared the same vision for equal civil rights but with Kennedy tip-toeing around the issue, King grew frustrated, feeling that the president wasn’t fully supporting the civil rights movement (Brinkley, 2012). Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education [BCEE] (2014c) explains that one of the factors that inhibit the “Transformational Process” is lack of support and involvement from leadership and that top leadership is essential for successful diversity issues. With King’s growing frustration, he set out to challenge segregation in one of the largest cities in the south, Birmingham, Alabama. National televised violence erupted that gained the attention of the nation. After nearly two years of tip-toeing around the issue and not fully implementing his vision, Kennedy fully dedicated himself to making the change (Matthews, 2011). Kennedy introduced legislation to end racial segregation in all areas of America. An argument could be made that Kennedy
could have prevented much of the violence in the south if he would have implemented this legislation sooner. But from my research, he needed the historical events of Birmingham for support. Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education [BCEE] (2014a) explains that when leading change, success hinges on choosing the appropriate timing to implement the change. This was the appropriate time for Kennedy and America to make the change for civil rights in America. It was an ethical decision to change America.
Ethnical Leader President Kennedy’s ethnical leadership was vital to the changes in civil rights in America. He overcame the “ethical trap” of “worry of image” by introducing the new legislation (BCEE, 2014d). President Kennedy displayed critical thinking and the eight essential intellectual traits during this timeframe, particularly the traits of “Intellectual Autonym” and “Fair-mindedness” (BCEE, 2014b). Other examples of President Kennedy’s ethnical leadership were his creation of two programs for third world countries that was aimed at improving the quality of life of people around the world. These two programs are Peace Corp and the Allegiance for Progress on Latin America (Brinkley, 2012). Brinkley (2012) stated that he believes that these two programs also prevented the spread of communism around the world. Ethical traps create confusion and uncertainty but leaders must make the decision that is best (BCEE, 2014d). President Kennedy made the best decisions for the world by creating these programs and helping those around the world. President Kennedy’s ethnical leadership including decision-making and behavior had a lasting impact that is still seen around the world today. I hope that the leadership that he displayed over 50 years ago can impact my actions, decisions, and behaviors as I lead my unit into the future.
Personal Relevance President Kennedy’s actions, decisions, and behaviors that contributed to him being a visionary and ethical leader for civil rights in America and improving the quality of life for people around the world is important to me. Currently in my section I have two openly gay individuals that work for me. Previously, one of them was passed over by previous leadership for a promotion to “crew boss”, responsible for leading a small team on the ops floor. The promotion was given to someone else that had less experience and time-in-grade. Previous leadership had justified it by explaining that the individual selected for the promotion had re-enlisted and committed to the Air Force, while the openly gay individual had stated that they planned to separate from the Air Force at the end of their enlistment. I want to be a visionary and ethical leader like President Kennedy was. I want to have critical thinking skills and make the tough, right decisions like he did. I want to have the vision to lead and make changes for my unit, while not discriminating against others, making the ethical decisions. I hope that his leadership toward racial issues and poverty around the world will positive impact my actions, decisions, and behaviors as I lead my unit and the Air Force in the future.
Conclusion
In this paper I reviewed how and what President Kennedy did as a visionary and ethnical leader. Then I reflected on President Kennedy’s leadership and how it was relevant to me, explaining how it will impact my actions, decisions, and behaviors as I lead my unit. President Kennedy was a visionary and ethnical leader during his presidency due to his fight for equal rights for all Americans and creation of programs that bettered the quality of life for people around the world. President Kennedy stated “There comes a time when a man has to take a stand and history will record that he has to meet these tough situations and ultimately make a decision.” I hope that I can make the tough decision and be a visionary and ethical leader like President Kennedy. References
Brinkley, A. (2012). John F. Kennedy: The American Presidents. New York: Times Books
Matthews, C. (2011). Jack Kennedy: Elusive Hero. New York: Simon and Schuster
Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education. (2014a). LM06-2 Change Management. Maxwell-Gunther, AL: Author.
Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education. (2014b). CF03 Critical Thinking. Maxwell-Gunther, AL: Author.
Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education. (2014c). LM03 Diversity. Maxwell-Gunther, AL: Author.
Thomas N. Barnes Center for Enlisted Education. (2014d). LM01 Ethical Leadership. Maxwell-Gunther, AL: Author.