Claudia Capone
Writing Prompt #2
Chuck – FYSM
9/13/19
The quote said by the Medal of Honor winner, Major General John M. Schofield, from the time he spent in the Civil War resonates with me because I believe that leadership is a two-way street where you give what you get. In more specific terms if you don’t treat people properly, they are not going to give you what you want in return. This could be translated on the field, in a work situation or in Schofield’ situation, the battlefield. The people you command must obey you willingly and not forcefully or else its not a good relationship. A saying we have drilled into our head during elementary school goes along with this topic is “treat others the way you would like to be treated”.
No one responds well to any type of harsh or tyrannical treatment. When I am at home and my dad starts demanding that I do this or that I have to do that it makes me want to grab a bag of chips and plant myself in front of my computer for longer. I feel like if someone is going to ask something of me and do it in a harsh way then I am not going to do it as well or as fast as I would if they asked in a better tone. Like the Major General said, “such treatment is far more likely to destroy than to make an army”. If you are constantly being harsh to the people you are in charge of then it will ruin the relationship between you, and they will want to disobey you more.
If you treat a person in a harsh way to get them to obey you are doing it in a way to evict fear from them so that they feel forced to obey which will end up with them resenting you and the job they have to do. In the military or in any case this is the exact opposite of what you want. You would want the person doing the job to have pride and devotion to what they are doing because it will cause them to put all effort into it. The person in charge wants to be successful and to do so you must have a following that feels the same way. If I ever become a Major General like Schofield and I have command over soldier I would want to inspire them so much that they would jump off a cliff if I told them to do so.
Being a good leader means that you need to be at the same level or have compassion for the people you have command over. If you show them respect and dedication, then they will return the favor. For example, in the movie Gettysburg when Colonel Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain of the 20th Maine has to took 120 men from their disbanded regiment he had permission to shoot any of the men who disobeyed any order but Chamberlain refused and showed the men hospitality and gave them the choice to fight alongside his men or to just follow. After an inspirational speech from Chamberlain about who they fight for, why they are fighting and how it is their duty to their country he got the attention of the men. His belief in those men and their ability to fight gives all but six of them the inspiration and courage to step up and take arms. If it where any other Colonel, they wouldn’t give the opportunity to choose and would shoot the ones that chose not to fight. They would see these men’s as dead weight and would’ve forced them to fight against their will which would’ve made these men resent the army as well as what they are fighting for. He treated these men with respect and didn’t order them around in a harsh way they obeyed and did the job. In fact, at Little Round Top the 20th Maine, being the flank, held up after many waves of confederate attacks and ever took up bayonets to finish off the attack which they got much recognition for.
In similarity to the movie Gettysburg, the movie Glory showed some similar leadership just under different circumstances. Colonel Robert Gould Shaw showed tremendous leadership when he commanded the 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry which happened to be the United States first all-African American regiment. For example, when the men were faced with having no supplies Shaw went to demand for uniforms, shoes and arms and practically tore the place apart defending his men when no one did. He saw the drive to fight in these men and he believe that they were ready, and they deserved to be a part of the fight. When his men received a lesser pay that the average soldier, he tore his paycheck to show his alliance with them and because of these actions his men followed him in volunteering to lead the charge of Fort Wagner. He believed in them and they believed in him and obeyed him even when times were tough, and they were assigned to manual labor. Shaw even threatened his superior in order to get his men into the fight. He inspired them to be the great soldier they were when they charged under continuous fire at Fort Wagner even though they knew the outcome.
Leadership is not having a power or force over other it is being in alliance with them and having a mutual relationship with them to achieve some goal. A way a leader treats his followers reflects how the operation will run. If a leader shows disrespect and harsh treatment them the follower will not willingly obey and won’t get the job done in the way they would if they respected and were inspired by their leader. While the tone does matter the good strong relationship is what brings together an army. It is a two-way street where both sides need to contribute to make it work and run smoothly. The quote from Major General John M. Schofield hit the nail on the head with his word of describing a successful, strong machine that the army is that relates to all types of leadership.