Introduction
As an aspiring army leader, I have learnt that ethics and values differ in essence and that character and competence are the central elements in the military profession. For a long time, I have held the notion that one needs to be tough and strict to lead an army unit. However, I have found a new tune now by acknowledging that leadership is all about discipline and relationship. I have learnt that values and ethics have different meanings and purposes, character and competence are key elements of army leadership and will constantly remind myself of the lessons to handle the obstacle of change resistance.
I have always fancied the military profession. Perhaps what truly drove me to have a passion for it the attire that seemed so amusing, while growing up and the notion of serving and protecting the nation against terrorists. I have always thought that being strict and tough was all it took to be in command. However, my learning experience has given me new insight because it has taught me that I need to understand value and ethics. It is important to distinguish between the two lest one confuses them and begins to have problems in the unit. Values are personal principles that one feels and beliefs to be right while ethics are societal beliefs assumed to be correct.
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In leadership, one needs to have their values but not insist them on others because that would not be ethical. It is easy for a leader to forget that their beliefs and value principles as good as they may be, are not good for everyone and hence cannot be used as the moral standpoint of issues. I further learnt that character and competence are vital components of leadership in the military. A leader needs to be competitive to give direction and motivation to the soldiers so that he may command proper respect. Being equally competitive with the subjects ensures that they follow the leader because he ceases to look like a lazy person giving orders. Character follows equally with competence and the idea of value system. It is crucial for one to have character and a commanding yet approachable character in order to coexist effectively with others.
The experience and ideas I have learnt have proven important and worthy. I intend to implement them by consistently reminding myself about them. I will read through the values versus ethics principles and study the competency and character elements of the military every day. According to Keeling (2011), one becomes what they feed their minds. I expect to face the obstacle of recession that is the feeling to go back to my old self. However, by constantly reminding myself of what I need to become, I shall overcome that obstacle. In addition, I intend to surround myself with other leaders or aspiring unit leaders so that I learn from them and take some of their aura. Surrounding myself with leaders will instil in me the values and traits of leaders making by making me learn first-hand from the top managers. It is effective to be in an environment that constantly reminds me of what I have learnt and thus what I need to become so that I deal with the obstacle of resistance.
Conclusion
Being an army leader entails a lot and far from what I used to think, the position demands character, competence and an understanding of values against ethics. As an aspiring leader of an army unit, I have learnt that character, competence and acknowledging values against ethics is imperative in leadership. I thus intend to implement these changes and see to it that I become them. However, I expect to face the challenge or obstacle rather, of recession that is a feeling of going back to the old ways. I will thus remind myself of what I need to become everyday so that I do not fall prey to the resistance to change.
References
Keeling, R., & Hersh, R. (2011). We’re losing our minds: Rethinking American higher education. Springer.
