Unit 1 discussion response_MT304

13272Respond of elaborate on the discussion post response below:

In the military every single person is a leader, a manager, or both. I have seen plenty of styles of leadership styles but one of the leaders from my past that I admire most was a SFC (sergeant first class) who would say is a 9,9 (fully functioning manager) because he prioritized the mission, however also prioritized people. In many ways I would say he was actually a Country Club Manager because he really prioritized people first. He use to say that his job was to take care of his Soldiers, and that if he did that then the Soldiers would take care of the mission.

In my humble opinion leadership is more important then management. Now, that’s not to say management isn’t very important, I just feel as though leadership is the tool used to execute the mission. I guess the way to put it in military terms is that Officers would be “managers” and NCOs would be “leaders”. Its is the managers job to ultimately be in charge and responsible for the planning, preparation and execution of a mission, however it is the NCOs (leaders) who execute the managers intent. In other words, managers are planners and leaders are doers. Of course people can be, and often are both.

As an NCO in the Army I know I am a leader. Other than going through extensive leadership training I have had to lead soldiers in extremely stressful situations where life hung in the balance. It is in those moment when you figure out very quickly what a real leader is made of. At the same time, my Monday-Friday job for the Army is as a Readiness NCO which means I am responsible for almost every aspect of my Company of 87 Soldiers. I plan training events, travel and schools, pay issues, awards and promotions, supply and logistics ext. This means I also have to be an efficient manager.