Leadership StylesEssay Preview: Leadership StylesReport this essayWhat is leadership? “Leadership has been defined in many ways: as a matter of personality, as a power relation and as the process by which groups, organizations, and societies attempt to achieve common goals” (Hald-Mortensen, 2007) I believe that an effective leader must have the following qualities a clear vision, the ability to make the proper decisions, and how to delegate. In researching the leadership styles of President Dwight Einsenhower and President John F. Kennedy, it seems that both these presidents had these traits in their own ways. Both presidents were against the expansion of communism through what President Eisenhower coined as the “Domino Theory” and supported the government of Diem in South Vietnam in order to avoid this from happening.
President Eisenhower from much of my readings was military man the majority of his life. For twenty-five years he served as a soldier and later statesman. (History.army.mil, 2006) From the beginning of his career Eisenhower was thought of as a leader, during WWI instead of being sent to France he stayed in the United States and trained troops that would be sent to battle. (History.army.mil, 2006) Eisenhowers experience later placed him in Washington, where George C. Marshall tested his abilities to in analyzing problems and begin able to come up with a final solution. Once Eisenhower present his tactics, Marshall stated “the Department is filled with able men who analyze their problems well but feel the compelled always to bring them to me for final solution. I must have assistants who will solve their own problems and tell me later what they have done”. (History.army.mil, 2006) Eisenhowers actions later led to his assignment as chief of the War Plans Division.
Later Eisenhower became Supreme Commander, a position he gained not only through experience but because of the trust he had gained. He was looked as an honest broker who wanted to defeat the enemy rather than the pursuit of any national agenda. These qualities that Eisenhower acquired throughout his many years of service lead to his nomination for president. His military experience played a huge role in determining his style leadership. According to an article written in the Victoria Advocate, Eisenhower was an orderly mind and as president he followed a system of organized staff work. (Lawrence, 1963) Eisenhower delegated to his subordinated, did not attempt to be his own secretary of state and listened to the recommendations made by his joint chief of staff on military matters.
Through out his time in office Eisenhower proposed the Atoms for Peace program which lead to the creation of the International Atomic Energy Agency in 1957. (History.army.mil, 2006) Also in 1957 a Near Eastern crises led to the Eisenhower Doctrine, which promised American aid to the Middle East against communist attacks. (History.army.mil, 2006) Through his New Look program he was able to balance the budget and cut military spending. Eisenhower also created a new cabinet office, the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare weeks after he came into office and in 1958 following the launch of Explorer 1 he signed the bill that created the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. He turned over this
Hanson, “Why did the Air Force get a bigger budget in the beginning?” (January 18th, 1969, p. 3)
Hanson’s original reason for creating the Air Force was to be involved in strategic decisions, not being involved in individual programs, he believes there are no separate reasons to draw from a single source. “The general thought is that at this point the Air Force needs to work hand in hand with the Defense Department on military planning, so we’re pretty well aligned.” (History.army.mil, 2007) While some see Eisenhower in terms of his budget proposal to the State of New York in 1957 as the first president in his lifetime to implement a single national nuclear program, he thinks this does not do much to make sense. “The Air Force had an overall plan and an overarching plan from March of 1957. It is very far from comprehensive. The goal really was to bring that to a point where you had an operational capability, so that can be a good foundation for a national energy program.” (History.army.mil, 2007) But he says it does make some sense that Eisenhower would have chosen his national nuclear program.
Hanson, “The Air Force also created its own agency, the National Environmental Monitoring Corps (NEMA), by expanding the scope of its mandate. … It also created a program that would monitor the U.S. air and water supply. … The problem is that it would be quite impractical to have that oversight and oversight to be an integrated agency. It’s difficult at this point to do a program like that, much less a separate one.” (History.army.mil, 2007, p. 35) The same is true for the Civilian Nuclear Deterrence Program, which helped to create the Missile Defense Agency (MDA).
Hanson, “The Military Government has taken over the Air Force, because it has the budget.” (July 2, 2005 – August 8, 2005, p. 4) As a result, “the Air Force has become an outlier and is seen as the Army. … There is nothing really revolutionary here to create programs on the outside. It has become a little more ‘government run.’ ” (History.army.mil, 2010, p. 8) Hanson’s view of President Dwight D. Eisenhower as “one of the most revolutionary peacemakers we’ve ever had” is shared by other leaders of the new government in recent memory.
“How long do you keep you out of the White House?” (November 20, 1955, p. 3)
Even the most patriotic of presidents, Eisenhower was not content to wait any longer. He wanted to pursue “the next phase of his administration”: the creation of a new office dedicated to the President by his predecessor