General George Washington Leadership Character

Randolph Delapena

Excelsior College

General George Washington Leadership Character

General George Washington was truly a leader of Soldiers. His ability to gain the trust and confidence of his men to follow his orders not only under the harshest conditions in combat but, fighting a force that was more equipped and trained. He had the leadership traits that were above and beyond any leader that was in charge during that time. He truly led the way in how to command troops on the battlefield.

General Washington led his men with the most utmost honor and gained their respect through the quality of having a fatherly devotion for his men. Even if they knew they were out manned and under equipped most of the battles, they still stood tall and fought. I truly believe they did this out of respect for him and in a way they did not want to let him down. This quality was apparent in many photos seen of Washington next to his men in the coldest conditions. He would always visit his men in the hospitals and in the bivouac sites. That small gesture was the world for many men to see that their leader was there for them. Washington also made it through many setbacks and defeats and showed the will to win attitude and continued to fight when others would have quit or surrendered. He constantly maintained a strong resolve to continue to fight and not allow small defeats to slow him down or make him quit. His ability to remain resilient in battle not only allowed him to defeat the British but, it built a strong sense of resiliency in his men to also continue to fight through the defeats and making them resilient like him.

Most importantly his ability to improvise and seize unexpected tactical objectives was an apparent quality he possessed even without a past military background as a leader. His ability to outsmart Cornwallis and deceive him to believe that he was attacking New York when he was truly aiming to march into Philadelphia forced Cornwallis to make a decision to move his forces to the wrong location. That truly would be remembered as a pivotal mistake. This mistake allowed the American and the French forces to enter Philadelphia and eventually would lead to the overall victory. Most importantly in his leadership traits was his ability to be humble and a gentleman. Even after defeating the British he did not gloat or celebrate by drinking. He maintained a humble demeanor and treated all his captors to include Cornwallis during his surrender with the utmost respect.

In conclusion, General George Washington was truly a leader that set the bar high for many leaders to immolate. Even though he had no military experience in any battle, the Continental Congress saw his great abilities

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