When you look at amazing leaders known throughout history like Steve Jobs, General Patton, Martin Luther King Jr., what makes them so much more pronounced as a leader than everyone else? In other words, how come specific leaders leave such a huge impact while some leaders find their names from history?
As I struggled with this question, the first thing that popped into my head was Basic Training and the entire freshman (Four-Degree) year at the Air Force Academy. Now there's already so many articles and quotes on leadership already out there, but if there's one thing you learn by attending USAFA, you quickly learn the ultimate lesson that while there are many different leadership styles that many people exemplify, but there's really four types of leadership that people fall under:
1. The Hard-Ass
These are the type of people that will have extremely high expectations become a standard and hold you to that standard, or else... Now, attending a military academy where everyone has a type A personality, you can see this in the training environment where during Basic, you would have to follow specific rules like no talking in the bathroom and greeting your cadre in the hallways, and these are the people who will lay down the law if you messed up or did something wrong. Being a hard-ass isn't a bad thing: it means you just want the best for your people and for your people to be the best. Why should they settle for anything less?
(Yes, that's me...)
2. The Servant
The servants are the people who will go out of their way to make time and make sure you succeed. They strive to create an environment where their followers can do their best work and will constantly ask, "Is there anything I can do to help you?" They have an extremely humble heart and do everything in their power to help their people succeed without any reservation. You'll see a lot of this here, whether it's serving food at the foot of the table so that all of the freshmen (4-Degrees) get food first before upperclassmen do, or it's going around to everyone's room and making sure they're doing alright.
3. The Inspirational
Inspirational leaders promote change by their commitment to ideas and try to get people to stop focusing on the present and look towards what's possible in the future. Their words will stir up spirits, strengthen motivation and promote action. They expect the best out of their people and their attitudes are what carry the team out of difficult times. You'll see this here through lectures and emails about being in the Profession of Arms, or how someone recently gave the ultimate sacrifice and how we will honor those who come before us.
4. The Bro
Lastly, there's the bro. An effective bro leader strives to make sure that his people are constantly being taken care of, yet differs from the servant in that the leader maintains a family-like environment where everyone can equally contribute and participate. Imagine the leader of your friend group, one that constantly decides what to do on a Friday night, and that's a bro leader. A common misconception is that the bro drops his expectations for performance within the workplace; however, the bro already knows your boundaries as a worker and will strive to make sure that everything falls in place for you. You might see this a lot here through the sports teams and how they motivate one another to succeed.
A good leader isn't necessarily one type of leader or another, but a good leader strives to maintain a balance between these four styles and ensure that one isn't more pronounced than another. While the hard-ass and bro constantly conflict with each other, a good leader knows what works with his people, what's effective, and maintains that balance between upholding the standard, making sure their people are taken care of, motivating them, and ultimately having fun in the meantime.
So what type of leader do you think you exemplify more?
