The history of Colin Powell has captured the attention of many people from all corners of the world. His biography shows that his year of birth was 1937. Going through his life history, it is clear that he has spent many years in the military. During these years, he was able to acquire several positions in the military (Martin 2009). Due to experience and expertise, he was awarded several promotions that translated into higher ranks as the years went by. Colin served in many high ranking positions in the government.
One of the reasons why Colin was given high ranking positions is because of his unique leadership traits that were unmatched by his opponents (Martin 2009). There are various leadership traits that could be viewed from this leader. Some of them are; hardworking, responsible, submissive, competent, optimistic and ambitious. Most of these traits enabled him to gain recognition from senior government officials. He also served in the government during the reign of George Bush. At that time, he was serving as the secretary of state. He also served in the security department as a senior advisor. There are three strongest leadership traits that can be viewed from the leadership of Colin Powell.
One of the strongest traits practiced by Powell is hard work. Throughout his career, he has been known to put a lot of effort in trying to accomplish the work that has been assigned by his seniors. There were times when he overstayed in the office in order to finish up jobs that were pending. This was done, bearing in mind that he had a family to attend to. During the Vietnam War, his hard work was seen where he was able to put effort to rescue some of his colleagues (Harry 2009). He did this after a helicopter had crashed. Apart from being hard working, he was also very optimistic that some of his targets would be met. For instance, during the Vietnam War, he was optimistic that the United States of America would finally emerge the winners.
The other strong leadership trait that was practiced by Colin Powell was the ability to delegate. In every organization, delegation is inevitable. This is because it is impossible for a leader to perform all duties alone. Colin was able to coordinate and relate well with his junior staff (Harry 2009). He was therefore able to delegate some of his duties to them without causing unnecessary commotion. When he was the commander of the forces, he assigned duties to the lower level soldiers without making them feel burdened. This is a trait that should be practiced in all major institutions since it fosters unity and cooperation in the working environment.
As much as he delegated his duties to his lower staff, he was careful not to pass duties that would cost him his job. He ensured that technical jobs were only tackled by him and his closest working mates. Most people would argue that this is normal, owing to the fact that everyone worries about his job security in the job market. This leadership trait has also been advocated for by Powell in one of his books. According to him, delegation of duties is one way of reducing the work load of a high ranking person. It also gives the person ample time to concentrate on other matters that need urgent attention. In his duties, he only delegated duties that could be handled by the junior staff. He then went on to attend to the other duties that required his level of expertise.
The third strongest leadership trait practiced by Powell is self-regulation. This trait ensures that one has some self respect that can be viewed by other people. If a leader has self-respect, then his followers will equally be in a position to respect him. Powell had certain personal principles that enabled him to avoid any unnecessary scandals that surrounded other big names in the country (William 2010). This character enabled him to relate well with other people in the offices in which he was working. One important thing that boosted the leadership of Colin Powell is that he underwent training in leadership while in school. This is actually where he acquired some of these important leadership traits.
Some leadership traits of Powell and David Patraeus are similar. Other leadership traits practiced by these two leaders can be compared since there were certain differences that can be viewed. The two leaders had worked in the military for a couple of years. There are three leadership issues that revolved around David Patraeus before he retired from office. These are delegation, self regulation and optimism. These critical traits affected the work of Pateros in one way or the other. However, little controversies from the media and the public were ignored by him since he was aware that there were some people who had the intention of tarnishing his name.
Some people argued that David did not take into consideration the use of delegation in the execution of his duties. For instance, when he was working in Iraq, he arguably put single effort in many operations. This, according to war analysts, would be far much better if had delegated some of the duties to the experienced soldiers (MacPherson 2009). From this experience, many people foresaw more challenges for his future jobs.
The other leadership trait of David that was under critics was optimism. Every leader has to express some level of optimism. This improves the morale of other workers since they will have hopes of achieving the goals of the organization (Hames 2009). During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, David Patraeus was usually given a chance to address the media on the happenings as well as the expectations from the military. In most instances, he expressed little optimism and this was criticized by political analysts. The other critic made on David regarded self regulation. This is similar to self discipline. After he was accused of having an affair outside marriage, people thought that David lacked self regulation. People expect high profile leaders to abstain from such scandals. More so, a leader is expected to lead by good example.
Colin Powell wrote a book in which he advised on the leadership styles that should be exercised by various leaders in the world. This book has inspired many leaders to practice better leadership traits that are essential to foster improved management. David Patraeus also used these teachings to counter his critics. Colin Powell advised that delegation is important to relieve a leader of the excess work load. However, he pointed out that a leader should not delegate duties that were technical in nature. David used this to address critics from the public about delegation (Robinson 2008). He argued that he did not delegate duties that could compromise the security of the United States of America.
Colin Powell was optimistic in most of his duties. This was not the case in the leadership of David. According to the latter, there were certain uncertainties that prevented him to be optimistic about the expected results of his work (Hames 2009). In addition, he did not express any pessimism. Powell argued that a leader should be effective in communicating all the expected results as well as the challenges to the relevant people. David used this argument to communicate the challenges he was facing while executing his duties. These challenges are the ones that prevented him from expressing optimism. Instead, he expressed that it is better to form realities instead of being optimistic over uncertain events.
In conclusion, Patraeus also recognized self-regulation as an important leadership trait that was taught by Colin Powell. His affair with another lover spoiled his image among the public and the media. According to Powell, a leader has to show how he has self-respect in order for others to respect him. After his affair was known by senior officials in the American government, he chose to resign. It was clear that Patraeus had realized his mistake as a top level leader. Generally, leaders should exercise leadership qualities like honesty, hard work, commitment, self-discipline, optimism and persistency. They should also shun from irresponsible behaviors that can compromise their reputation among the eyes of the public.
References
Hames, T. (2009) David Patraeus and his Positions. London. Palgrave Macmillan.
Robinson, L. (2008) Commanders in the Iraq War. New York. Mc-Grady.
MacPherson, K. (2009) Critics on David Patraeus. Princeton. Princeton University Press.
William, A. (2010) Bibliography of Colin Powell. London. Palgrave Macmillan.
Martin, K. (2009) Colin Powell: Major Achievements and Inspirations. Princeton. Princeton University Press.
Harry, B. (2009). Colin Powell: Leadership Traits. Oxford. Oxford University Press.
