leadership = love

My leadership philosophy is that as a leader you are a servant. Lead by example and you care for those you lead.

When I say you care for those you lead that is not a surface caring it deeper. For you to truly care about someone you have to have a vested interest in their person and their wellbeing. Only then will you be able to make decision and choices that are in their best interest. Because you now have the big picture in mind and you love them and want them to succeed and reach the end they desire most. Sometime this means that you as a leader may have to make decisions that are not popular and make people uncomfortable. However the point is not that these punishments are mint to hurt anyone on the contrary they are meant to redirect and correct the path of those you are leading and caring about.

for me when I make a decision I look at first what will the individual people think about the decision will they like it will it make them unhappy, then I step back and look at if the decision is the right one for the direction of the unit of the persons under my command and where we as a company want to be and they as future leaders want to be. This is what I weigh more heavily in my decision making process. The big picture.

As I have been looking at my company and the direction I want to take them my heart hurts at times because I want to influence these people  and help them to become the leader they want to be. I am not saying that I have all the answers but I do have a very healthy effective view on leadership I think and I love to talk to people about it.

My personal goal this semester is to do my best at my job as I can. However on a more selfish note my goal for this semester as A1 company commander is to be a Dave Penskar to at least one person. Dave was my squad leader during second semester plebe year and he impacted me in ways that have influenced who I am today. He was over me almost 3 years ago and still I remember him as one of the best leaders I have ever seen. He changed and influenced my life that is what I want to be in one person’s life. I do not know if it will happen but that I what I want. I am going to go about my job to the best of my ability and do my duty and above all care and love my people. Because at the end of the day that is what Dave did. He cared about all of us and we could tell and that is why when he talked we listened and why I still remember him because he cared about us on a personal level.

I think leadership is love, a love that goes beyond a casual interest but a consuming love for that person and their development and for what is best for that person or group of people.

Leadership is love….I think it is that simple and that complicated.