Military Leadership: It Also Applies to Business

Thursday, April 22nd, 2010

In almost every business situation, good leadership is key to overall success.  Here at Frederick Ward Associates, we have learned to take a note from military style leadership, knowing that it can apply to our own situations.  Those in military situations find that good leadership can keep them alive, and while our decisions may not be life and death, good leadership can equal success on the business front.

What is leadership?

Leadership can mean different things to different groups, but “to lead” is generally defined as “to go before,” “to influence or induce,” or “to guide in direction, course, action, opinion, etc.”

Leadership is important because good leaders build strong relationships, which result in strong teams.  That ultimately translates into achieving success, whether it is in meetings or working on a client project.

There are three basic leadership styles: Authoritarian, Participative and Delegative.  The goal of a leader should be to incorporate all three styles into leading.  Each have specific situations where, if used, are successful, and sometimes create failures.  Each leader should reflect on their experiences to determine when each style was successful or not, and apply those reflections to future situations.

Key Ideas to Good Leadership

Whether it is in a military environment or a business environment, there are a few key ideas to good leadership:

- Leaders Plan
– Leaders Lead by Example
– Morale is Important
– Leaders are Moral and Ethical
– Leaders know their team

ESteere   Army/APG/BRAC, Frederick Ward
Frederick Ward, Leadership, Military
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