Leadership Qualities and Styles of Leadership George Washington, one of our nation's greatest leaders is now revered as a tactical genius and a literal textbook example for qualities in leadership, has historically been severely underestimated, simply because of the many battles he lost. However, he had a talent for turning small losses into net gains. Upon closer inspecting the history, it becomes clear that Washington constantly worked to refine his strategic knowledge against his opponents, always finding ways to relevantly apply new information he gathered (especially from his losses). With "extraordinary stamina", he tirelessly pushed forward and, despite countless setbacks during the American Revolution, managed to claim victory. It was Washington's fierce ethical and moral values/qualities coupled with his natural ability to lead that makes him stand out as a maverick amongst military leaders (Harvey, 2008). Before his attack on …show more content…
Moreover, he was able to incorporate a “command-and-control system that ensured orders reached the right place at the right time”. By doing so he created a multinational force with the French to further help defeat Cornwallis and siege surrender of the British. This proved to be the pivotal victory that led to America’s independence from Britain (Harvey, 2008 p xlvi). As remarked in the book, both John Adams' and Congress' decision to nominate George Washington to essentially lead the American Revolution might be one of our country's luckiest strokes of fate. Washington's capacity to lead and his ingenuity toward both his subordinates and enemies tremendously helped to ultimately subdue his opposition. He broke the paradigm of limited leadership, historically recollected to have been shifting between several leading qualities depending on what the circumstances were (Harvey,