The Dirt on Leadership

By SGT Chloe Barnes

Photo by Staff Sgt. Whitney Houston

Leadership is essential in so many environments and situations. The military is absolutely not an exception. As Utah National Guard members, and military members of all kind, no matter where you are, leadership is essential and you can make a difference.  

The structure of the military is built around leadership. Essentially everyone should have someone to report to; everyone should have a mentor; everyone should have responsibilities in order for the missions to be successful.

In any rank, it does soldiers well to be leaders and learn leadership throughout their career, starting at the "lowest" or entry level and continuing all the way up the ladders of a military career. John Quincy Adams said, "Lead, no matter your position."

There is a model to lead by in Army Leadership doctrine known as "Be, Know and Do."

In short, "Be" regards your values and character, "Know" involves the techniques and skills of getting the job done, and "Do" is about action and providing purpose, direction and motivation to soldiers.

Today, I am focusing on what is found in the "Be" part of the model. Values and character go hand in hand, and are very important to have and demonstrate in a leadership climate. Though it's been said in Army study guides that one cannot lead until they master the art of the "Do," General Alexander M. Patch said, "The foundation of leadership is character." I agree and believe that character helps define leaders as they grow and develop other principles of leadership. When we have values, value our values, and live up to those values no matter what, we are building a character in line with what we believe; we are (or are on our way to) "be"ing leaders.

Our Very Own Staff Sgt. Whitney Houston
Photo by Staff Sgt. Lyndsey Prax

The Army Values are: Loyalty, Duty, Respect, Selfless Service, Honor, Integrity, and Personal Courage. Together, these values make up the acronym, LDRSHIP.  We can always look to these values as a compass to help us continue to become better leaders to those around us.

I searched and found some quotes from various leaders experienced in various capacities. I believe each quote demonstrates an example of our Army Values, words to help leaders be all we can "Be," and I assigned one quote to each value. 

Loyalty
"The day the soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you stopped leading them."

-Colin Powell

Duty 

"I only regret that I have but one life to give for my country."
-Captain Nathan Hale 

Photo by Sgt. Chloe' Barnes

 Respect
"A person’s a person no matter how small."
-Dr. Seuss

Selfless Service

"Humanity needs heroic leadership from those who see all life as precious."

-Bryant McGill  

 Honor  

"To reach a goal you have never before attained, you must do things you have never before done."
-Elder Richard G. Scott  

Integrity

Photo by Staff Sgt. Whitney Houston

"Be true to your conscience.”

-George Washington

Personal Courage
"If you desire to make a DIFFERENCE in the world, you must be DIFFERENT from the world."
-Elaine S. Dalton

For now, there is one last quote I'd like to share.  

 "Leadership and LDRSHIP go together like dirt and Afghanistan." 

-Sergeant Chloe' Barnes 

I invite readers to ponder these quotes from various leaders and how they can relate to the Army Values. Please feel free to share your favorite quotes from your favorite leaders and correlating values they encompass in the comments below.