Military Leadership Philosophy Examples

My leadership philosophy is a framework that has been formed spanning a military career of over 15 years by the values, morals, and experiences I have had imparted upon me by the myriad of leaders under whom I’ve served. I have been fortunate enough to have experienced both exceptional leadership styles as well as poor leadership styles. All of these experiences have helped mold and shape me into the leader I am today.
There are many sentiments out there of what qualities one must possess in order to be a successful and effective leader. Compassionate, fair, honesty, competent, physically fit, educated, experienced, etc., are just some of the many attributes that come to mind when I reflect on what makes a leader great. While all of the aforementioned attributes are desirable; possessing one, a few, or even all of these qualities are not a guarantee that a leader will be great.
My answer to this is simple; you must care about your Soldiers. I whole heartedly believe that the single most important quality a leader must possess is a genuine care for the Soldiers they serve. Do not misjudge my use of the word “care” for a general, overall feeling of concern. By care, I mean raw, genuine, deep, wholehearted compassion for your Soldiers; genuine regard for their mental and physical health, dreams, aspirations, families, and careers. I believe that not only is this a vital attribute of a great leader, it is also a very rare attribute. It is an attribute that one cannot be taught, but must possess internally. I believe this because I have experienced it first-hand. I have had the opportunity to serve both, as a subordinate and alongside great leaders. The common theme amongst great leaders is not how much they knew or how experienced they were, but how they related to, cared for, and treated their