The Leadership Traits Of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (...

Introduction How do you want to be remembered after you are gone? Will the military remember you as a leader or a looser? Audie Murphy is remembered by the military as the highest decorated Soldier in American history. He received every decoration for valor that this country had to offer and four more decorations from France and Belgium (DoA, 1999). This is only possible because Murphy possessed amazing visionary and ethical leadership traits which he displayed throughout his military career and after he retired. This paper is going to describe how Murphy demonstrated the visionary leadership traits of using cognitive flexibility and being an idealized influencer while he displayed various acts of valor during World War II. Then, the†¦show more content†¦Let’s begin with how Audie Murphy exhibited visionary leadership traits. Visionary Leader Audie Murphy is considered a visionary leader because he demonstrated the visionary leadership traits of cognitive flexibility and idealized influencing during battles fought against the Germans. Murphy consistently exhibited cognitive flexibility throughout his military career as an enlisted Soldier and officer. According to the Barnes Center for Enlisted Education article, Change Management (2014), one trait of a visionary leader is having cognitive flexibility. Cognitive flexibility is the ability to use different thinking strategies and mental frameworks (BCEE, 2014 C). As an enlisted Soldier, Murphy never shied away from a battle. He was first to the fight always finding the best battlefield strategies to keep his fellow Soldiers alive. On 05 Oct 1944, Murphy determined that the only way to win this battle was if he solely advanced towards the Germans in order to relay firing orders via his radio. While the Germans fired directly at Murphy, he continued to direct his men for over an hour until the battle was won. It is no surprise that shortly after that battle, Audie Murphy received a battlefield commission (Smithenra, n.d.). After many similar battles, it was proven that the Soldiers would follow Murphy into battle no matter the circumstances. As a transformational leader, Audie Murphy displayed the characteristics of an idealized influencer.