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Leadership Issues

Abstract
Almost all leadership theories are based on the relative importance assigned to the leader versus the follower in mission accomplishment. Those who believe that leaders are sufficiently enlightened or heroic examples of bold leaders such as Napoleon, Alexander, and Frederick the Great favor the authoritarian model of leadership. "Leadership remains the most baffling of arts as long as they do not know exactly what makes leaders get up out of a hole in the ground and go forward in the face of death at a word from another leader, and then leadership will remain one of the highest and most elusive of qualities. It will remain an art" (James L. Stokesbury). At the turn of the century, social scientists became interested in the worker as a means to improve production. Soldiers represent what's best about the United States Army. Day in and day out, in the dark and in the mud and in faraway places, they execute tough missions whenever and wherever the Nation calls. They deserve the very best leaders of character and competence who act to achieve excellence. Army leadership begins with what the leader must BE the values and attributes that shape a leader's character. Leader's skills are things one must KNOW how to do, competence in everything from the technical side of a job to the people skills a leader requires. A leader cannot be effective, or cannot be a leader, until they apply what they know, until they act and DO what they must. Here are the Army values that guide leaders, and the rest of the Army Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless, Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. They form the acronym LDRSHIP.

Evolution of Leadership Theory
Reviewing the evolution of leadership theory in this century is important to understanding today's theories and styles. Almost all leadership theory is based on the relative importance assigned to the leader versus the follower in mission accomplishment. Those who believe that leaders are sufficiently enlightened or...