There are several ways to be a leader. Some are arguably much more effective than others. Some lead by fear, believing that if your peers are afraid of you, they will follow your every order. “Band of Brothers” has taught me that this is not the way to lead. The miniseries follows “Easy” company of the 506th division in the newly formed 101st airborne. The airborne was an experimental division of paratroopers, something that had previously never been used in warfare. In the beginning, the company was led by Captain Sobel, a ruthless dictator who used his power to invoke fear into the soldiers. He found flaws in everything the soldiers did, never taking credit for any wrongdoings. Easy conducted their extensive training at Camp Taccoa, a base in the middle of the Georgian woods. The base was located at the bottom of Mount Currahee. Sobel made the company trek this mountain, a six mile round trip, four times per week. A soldier in Easy company never got to leave the base on weekends, unlike every other paratrooper. Before the week was over, Sobel would find infractions in your …show more content…
Sobel was effective in the authority side of the spectrum, but no one trusted him. When the company conducted field training, when being a calm, confident, and trustworthy leader is shown, Sobel choked. He would do the wrong things and get the company in predicaments that, if actually took place on the battlefield, would get them all killed. In turn, all trust was lost in their captain and uncertainty grew. Once you get enough people stop trusting you, changes will ensue. This turning point happened when all of the officers in the company turned in resignation slips stating that if they had to be under Sobel, they were leaving. This showed great courage, for they could be shot for these traitorous actions. Sobel was reassigned to training another company days before the first