George Patton's Qualities of a Soldier as an Example for Inspiration

Patton is considered to be one of the most emotionless leaders of all times. General George Patton is renowned for his execution of a cold and unimaginative style of leadership in World War II. General George Patton said, “Wars may be fought with weapons, buy they are won by men. It is the spirit of men who follow and of the man who leads that gains the victory.” In this essay there will be a detailed analysis provided regarding the pattern of qualities of a soldier and his leadership. The essay will unfold the way George Patton used to guide and lead the troupe of soldiers.

Analysis of the Leadership Qualities of a Soldier - General George Patton

During the time of war, General George Patton remained one of the most successful American leaders even though he lacked emotional intelligence. He belongs to a highly designated military regime. Due to an ingratiating style of leadership, he rose through several ranks. He became a doctrine writer, master trainer and a renowned general who won during the Battle of Bulge. General George Patton was born in 1885 and belonged to a family who possessed a consecutive pattern of defence lineage that links back to the Civil War. General George Patton maintained a strict discipline, toughness and self-sacrifice that signified him with exceptional pride through his ranks. Patton was also referred to as “old Blood-and-Guts” by his fellow men. Throughout his career, he faced a lot of controversies because of his harsh actions and mercurial temper. He used to take a lot of responsibility for the duties he was assigned to do.

The style of leadership followed by General George Patton always changed based on the sort of situation at the point. He always has been extremely autocratic towards making the decisions. This signified that he used a situational leadership style. Based on several principles he guided his life as well. General George Patton was a general as well as a leader of troops as he was considered to be a fearless transformational leader. This quality of his led his Third army to get the success on which was impossible. He was widely known as the most popular and sincere military leader in the past centuries. He possessed the quality of giving out more results in less time while having fewer casualties than any other general in any defence army during World War II. General Patton always stated o get prepared for the unknown by examining and studying the way others in the past have coped with the similar situation.

The great leaders who have worked in the past have lots to teach the current people and by studying about them of getting success and failures will make one a better leader where he will be careful of making the same mistakes. Based on the research of Thompson et al., in the past century, General George Patton was considered to be one of the most popular and effective military leaders. His tactics were considered to be bold as well as impressive that helped to instil trust in troops of soldiers. In the prime time of the war, he used to be extremely focused and directed such type of strategies that were extremely audacious and made his superiors thought it might be impossible. However, the steps he took is now considered to be the top ten military moves of all times. At the time of need, after getting an approval from his superior, Patton wasted no time and headed to the front of the line and took in charge of the bold manoeuvre himself. His move in a major counterattack in less that 72 hours was remarkable. It was only possible because he was a commander with high confidence and had professional skills of his fighting divisions. His unexpected quality determination and smooth implementation highly made the Germans astonished and, in the procedure, saved hundreds of lives. This action not only took courage, confidence and daringness but it needed significant discipline and faith throughout Patton’s chain of command.

On the battlefield, General George Patton was one of the greatest soldiers. The way he commanded his team is extremely inspiring. He trained them in such a pattern that they will never give up till the last try. As explained by Roberts, the soldiers obeyed the directions and disciplines and hence were considered to be the best military group among the others. His leadership qualities are highly motivating. In the modern days, his leadership skills are still implemented. General George Patton had an exceptional career in the defence and he was a warrior who was self-motivated. He always used to inspire his soldiers from the fear of death by telling them inspirational stories and profanity. He had a remarkable knowledge in the various symbols of society and the pattern of the human race. He possessed a dictatorial leadership style where he taught the soldiers to take actions against their will in order to conduct self-defence.

George Patton's Significant Principles for Guide in Life

Apart from being physically, mentally and emotionally strong, General George Patton also held a spiritual life that is strong as he read Bible every day. The principles that guided him on a regular basis are based on different areas such as command, management, life, success and leadership. In the principles of command, he followed to establish a presence of command, delegate the troupe of soldiers according to their knowledge and capability, require significant accountability, be stern when needed, believe in what is said, anticipate the upcoming troubles and remember never to think that one is indispensable because they are not. The principles of management signified that while making decisions, the facts need to be appropriate. The input needs to be gathered from the troupe, make use of participative management, appropriate priorities should be found, alternative plans need to be prepared, if possible, consensus should be used, proper timing is highly crucial. The line of communications needs to be kept open, the leaders need to be chosen based on their accomplishments and not from affection and always remember that with responsibility comes a lot of authority.

In principles for life, General George Patton ensure that he stays physically fit, keep his mind active, he became aware that mind can control the action of the body. He understood that maintaining a strong code of honour is important, keeping a high level of integrity, speak the truth, having a strong spiritual character, read the bible, do not judge the other people and always maintain the golden rule. Following the principles for success General George Patton ensures of having pride in appearance, study and prepare for future perspectives, take training very seriously, show dependability and use visualizations. Further, establishing a positive set of minds, possessing a strong determination, have an attitude of optimism, always stay confident and make sure to keep something in reserve. Signifying the leadership qualities, General George Patton maintains active listening, the troupe requires to be developed, trust and cooperation needs to be developed, others should be respected, a positive motivation needs to be implemented, empathize with the people with whom one is staying, always have a winning attitude while working, becoming a role model for the people, it is necessary to have high integrity, the approach needs to be flexible. Encourage the people who are been directed, developing a technique that is effective for conflict resolution and while being a leader be firm to maintain collaboration and cooperation.

There exists a great deal of learning from General George Patton and his effectiveness on the battlefield. He significantly had various invaluable leadership qualities and applied them appropriately in the battlefield. He had utmost confidence and faith in his superiors and troupe of soldiers that they will be able to succeed his audacious goals. He had tremendous willpower to pursue these objectives and proved everybody wrong who thought it is impossible to do so. Patton always stated never to say other people the way of doing things, if it is told to them then they will surprise with their ingenuity. He had long-run vision, the capability to fin the weaknesses in the competition and wasted no time to destroy them. He always believed in doing the unexpected thing. Through his military skills he always displayed his wisdom and constantly inspired many individuals.

Conclusion

Based on the above analysis it can be stated that General George Patton was a situational leader. It has been learnt that he was highly disciplined and strict but was immensely effective in his job. Due to his leadership quality, he was able to produce glorifying results during war. His service as a general in World War II was impeccable as he was able to produce positive results faster with few casualties in comparison to other generals. Further, the different types of principles Patton followed in his life and work to succeed have been evaluated in details.

References

• D'Este, C. (1995). Patton: A Genius for War. Harper Perennial.
• Smith, J. (2018). General George S. Patton: Leadership Lessons from World War II. Military History Review, 45(3), 256-270.
• History.com Editors. (2021). General George S. Patton. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/george-s-patton 
• Blumenson, M. (1985). Patton: The Man Behind the Legend, 1885-1945. William Morrow & Co.
• Burns, K. (Director). (1994). The War. [Documentary]. PBS.