Legacy Leader: General Stanley McChrystal, US Army, (Retired)
The purpose of this essay is to demonstrate how GEN Stan McChrystal exudes the three leader attributes and three leader competencies and the impact upon myself and the Army. GEN McChrystal left a lasting impression on myself and the Army though his words and actions, which I try and emulate daily. He embodied the three leader attributes of character, presence, and intellect (Department of the Army [DA], 2012). Similarly, GEN McChrystal displayed the three leader competencies of leads, develops, and achieves (DA, 2012). His actions helped shaped my leadership philosophy and the kind of leader I am today.
Army Leader Attributes
Character
GEN Stanley McChrystal is an experienced leader who leads from the front and does so with great amounts of character. He personifies the Army Values, especially integrity. In 2010, Rolling Stones magazine published
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There are five competencies within the leads category. They are: leads others, build trust, extends influence beyond the chain of command, leads by example, and communicates (DA, 2012). GEN McChrystal possesses these competencies. As the top commander of forces in Afghanistan, his viewpoint on how to fight counter-insurgency fight has become accepted Army doctrine. GEN McChrystal also embraced communication, modeling his command centers after Michael Bloomberg’s “bullpen” layout (McChrystal, 2015). While he accomplished these competencies during his career, especially as the JSOC Commander, GEN McChrystal continues to use them. The primary goal of McChrystal Group is to teach and encourage business and organizations to employ these very practices in the civilian sector. I work to have the same impact GEN McChrystal does within my organizations. I also provide a good example for my subordinates to follow and my peers to