Leadership Philosophy In The Servant By Lt. Colonel Gundlach

Leadership philosophy is a theory that is a basis for how we act and an attitude or mindset. This theory and mindset are deeply rooted in personal principles and is exemplified by behavior where your thoughts, words and action must match to engender trust and confidence. When I was a 16 year old high school student, I enrolled in the Marine Corps Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) which was a new class. The “teacher” was a retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel Gundlach with over 30 years of service to the Marine Corps. Lt. Colonel Gundlach was my first exposure to authentic leadership. The example he set were life changing and I unknowingly defer to them quite often in my day to day life. We will examine my idea of who a leader is and the critical qualities that a person must possess to be effective and successful. This will be set in the context of my personal philosophy and how that philosophy was developed and strengthened throughout
Both Weiss and Livingston mentioned selflessness as a core value of a good leader. In the essay, “The Servant as Leader,” Robert Greenleaf said that servant leadership can lead mankind into a new age where followers, “Will freely respond only to individuals who are chosen as leaders because they are proven and trusted servants.” I identified 5 characteristics of a servant leader which include:
Listening - This servant leader must automatically respond to any problem by listening. When a leader responds by listening it builds strength in other people.
Empathy - Which is described as putting your consciousness into another being. In other words walk a mile in the man’s shoes.
Healing - The intent to make whole. The leader must always remember that those being led have all suffered from one extent to another and they have the chance to help