HISTORICAL LEADERSHIP

Historical Leadership



Historical Leadership

The concept of leadership has been the most significant concept presented in the organizations these days. The management in every small or large scale company believes that the chief reason for success is the right amount and nature of leadership capabilities provided to the individuals at the right time. Very often, the term leadership is elaborated upon as a method of imposing social influence where all the support and aid of others is provided by one person in order to accomplish a common goal or task in the accomplishment of a common task (Chemers, 1997). Various other definitions of leadership have also been observed.

This paper will discuss the historical leadership of an effective leader. It provides a brief description of the effective leadership traits and styles of the leader along with an illustration of his/her leadership practices with example. For the purpose of providing such a detail, the leadership of George Washington would be considered for the discussion.

George Washington: A Historical Leader

The United States hold George Washington as one of the many Founding Fathers of the United States, who, in the course of American Revolutionary War, served as the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army an later, gained the status of the first President of the new republic. The constitutions drafting convention was also presided over by this leaders. Due to his leadership skills and brilliance, the capital of United States, Washington, D.C., has been named after him. The President witnessed the establishment of a well-financed and strong national government which sustained its impartiality during the raging wars in Europe, concealed revolt, and won the hearts of all types of Americans. The leadership style of George Washington formed many rituals and types of government which have been used for a long time. The President is generally viewed as the father of his country.

Leadership

Washington was a man of faith. His leadership styles were brilliant and successful which gained him the rank of being called "the father of his country". He possessed some of the outstanding leadership traits which paved way for his strong leadership and its success. These traits are described below:

Character and credibility

The president, George Washington was a man of an impeccable character and this trait of his personality got him huge amount of support before, during and after the revolution being the President of the United States. The character of a leader speaks the loudest and just like Washington, many other people are of the opinions character really gives credibility and strength to the personality of a leader. Washington scored some initial successes against the British (aided by the settlers 'loyal', German mercenaries and allied Indian tribes) in the battles of Trenton and Princeton (1776). However, knowing their military inferiority, he tried to protect its troop's large gatherings in the open until he could face them with guarantees, and underwent guerrilla warfare during most of the War of Independence (1775-83). His break came in 1778, when France and Spain provided military support to the American ...