1. Leadership to me is the effectiveness of one’s ability to motivate, elevate, and direct their followers towards a goal through respect, integrity, and communication. Throughout this essay I will show some of the lessons I have learned and how my leadership definition and selected traits will allow me to effectively lead myself, lead others, and lead the Coast Guard.
2. My first experiences as a true follower would have been my freshman year at the United States Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA). During our indoctrination period and the subsequent school year, freshmen are at the complete mercy of their training staff (senior midshipmen) and therefore reflect the quality leadership of the staff. I looked up to my training staff and made it my goal to present the same qualities when I inevitably reached senior year. What I saw in them was strong leadership and effective training of our class. They embodied respect, professionalism, integrity, and moral strength. The enforcement of the rules and regulations was strict
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My personal leadership philosophy is that great leaders are people who strive to bring themselves, their followers, and their organization to a higher level. These leaders will accomplish this by embodying and instilling mutual respect, integrity, and effective communication. Through teaching, training, and working hard it is possible to effectively lead oneself, lead others, and lead the Coast Guard. The way that I will take this philosophy to my first unit is by utilizing different parts for different situations. As a young Junior Officer, I typically won’t be in charge of large-scale operations involving leading others and the Coast Guard, however, I can use the traits of respect and communication to forge professional relationships with the experienced enlisted and officers above me. These relationships will set me up for success in learning and will allow me to apply my full philosophy as a future officer in charge of people and