There are many heroes in the world, who in one way or another have demonstrated tremendous leadership skills. One of the Leaders known for their commendable characters and leadership skills is John F Kennedy. He was a man to reckon with, respected by Americans and sundry for his good qualities in leadership. John F. Kennedy was the 35th president of America. His qualities of leadership could be seen in him long before he became president while still in the navy as lieutenant. He could make tough decisions in very difficult situations and stand by his team. Americans had faith in him on his ability to protect them.
Leadership mostly depends on strength and the ability to accept criticism from people. John F. Kennedy was a strong leader who exercised authority effectively. Peaceful coexistence among people was his biggest believe in prosperity of any nation. He always reminded the American citizens about the importance of taking part in nation building instead of looking up to leaders to bring change (Raatma, 2002). The strength in his leadership can be seen in the way he was able to pledge for the end of Cold war through his strategy for peace. He sought to pursue long term goals by suggesting the signing of Test Ban treaty which prevented any country from testing missiles in another country (Barnes, 2007).
Weakness and strengths go hand in hand in the lifetime of any human being. John F. Kennedy was no exception in this case. He was a short tempered man and this affected his role as the leader most of the times. Small issues, which could be considered as minor by some people made him very upset. In 1961, a speech by Khrushchev on cold war was interpreted has as personal challenge by John F. Kennedy (Raatma, 2002). This raised tensions while going into the Vienna Summit but was later calmed down by Charles de Gaulle who advised him to ignore that speech.
John F. Kennedy has demonstrated his leadership abilities in so many ways. The most significant one is when he was still working in the navy. During world war two he went back into a sinking ship to rescue his colleagues despite of the danger he posed to himself. This was an act of bravery for leader like him because he was the navy’s lieutenant (Barnes, 2007).
Experiences make a good leader. The life of Kennedy can be described as one that had plenty of experiences. In his quest to join the army he was disqualified because of lower back problems. This did not however deter his dreams for he joined the navy where he served as lieutenant and proved his leadership abilities.
During his life in politics, John F. Kennedy met his turning point during his campaigns for the presidency. Been a roman catholic and a supporter of civil rights movements he had a hard time to convince people that he could lead (Barnes, 2007). This served as an eye opener on what people perceive about leadership. After winning the elections, he put efforts to prove himself as a leader and caught the attention of many.
Failure is always part of life, and one learns to succeed through failure. Kennedy also had his own failures in life. During his term as president he declared an attack on West Berlin. This was not treated well across the globe since it led to migration of people to East Berlin fearing for their lives (Raatma, 2002). He later wrote a speech apologizing for his move and tried rebuild the confidence people had him. Kennedy greatly admired the leadership of two presidents, Harry S. Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower. He continued he their policies of providing economic and military aid to South Vietnam.
In terms of achievements, Kennedy achieved a lot in his lifetime. He managed to end the cold war through negotiations one of the achievements that saw receive the Pacern in Terris Award recognizing his goodwill to bring peace among nations.
References
Barnes, J. A. (2007). John F. Kennedy on leadership: The lessons and legacy of a president. New York: AMACOM.
Raatma, L. (2002). John F. Kennedy. Minneapolis, Minn: Compass Point Books.
