How to Develop Leadership Qualities in Military Officer Cadets

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HOW TO DEVELOP LEADERSHIP QUALITIES IN MILITARY OFFICER CADETS HOW TO DEVELOP LEADERSHIP QUALITIES IN MILITARY OFFICER CADETS Most officers lead a complex technical life with many highly-specialized duties to perform. These duties are his responsibilities as an individual and as a highly-trained, responsible member of an exacting profession. In addition, an officer has to lead his men. An officer does not exist for his individual, personal value, but for his ability to show the way and make his men want to follow. This is indeed the core of the officer's existence and, Without it no hope exists of grappling with the tasks of command. It is seen at its simplest in warlike operations, but the power to lead smoothest the way of every task in every branch of a military organization, whether in war or peace. It breathes that vitality into an organization that will take a collection of men, buildings and machines, and waken them to purposeful effective life. How is this done? First, and perhaps ideally, by innate force of character. Clearly, people are not all born with the same characteristics, and some from their earliest years have felt the power to show others the way and to influence their minds. We call them born leaders, and they are just that; born with strong, independent assertive minds just as some individuals are born with a good, natural physique. But this is not to say that the characteristics of effective Ieadership cannot be taught and acquired just as a good physique can be cultivated with suitable effort. In all of the words spoken and written about leadership, one fundamental point continually emerges; namely that, for most the skills and qualities of leadership are not normally acquired instantly. The training of a leader, whether it be formal or through experiences, takes many years. Appropriate experiences are necessary, both to

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