The Leadership of David Morrison - Case Study Example

The Leadership of David Morrison Student Name: Institution: 3rd May, 2013 Background Though currently retired, Lieutenant General David Morrison has had a brilliant career in the military that, when compared to most, is nothing but a shining example to many people. This is demonstrated in the various capacities he has held in the military up until his retirement back in 2015. A graduate of St. Edmunds College in Canberra, David progressed with his studies at the Australian National University, where he attained a Bachelor of Arts degree with a particular focus on arts and law. Over his military career, he underwent some training and development procedures that would see him rise in the military chain of command to become a distinguished soldier. One of these training and development procedure was earning a Master of Arts in Strategic Studies, which he earned at Centre for Defence and Strategic Studies. The son of a former military major, Major General Alan Morison, David is not particularly very keen on making his private life known to the public. Much as this is the case, it is on record that he is very passionate on matters that involve women. His career has been marked with incidents where he has been very active in agitating for the rights of women to be observed in all areas, especially in his career at the military. To a great extent, his work has succeeded in revealing that the Australian military, especially the army, has not been keen on employing women as much as it does women. Be that as it may, he also has some engagement in various other areas where his stellar military career has been his boon. Leadership Transformational leadership theory is one that describes a leadership that looks at change as a great idea that is transformational. Lieutenant General David Morrison is one such leader whose transformational leadership ensures that one section of the society is not ignored just because of their gender. In his characteristic demeaner, he managed to observe, and point out to the right authority, that the recruitment of soldiers, especially in the army wing of the military, was openly discriminatory to women. In the process, there has been a lot of effort that the industry has put towards changing this particular fact. Avolio & Yammarino (2013) recognise the fact that transformational leadership is quite instrumental in helping to check the social issues that affect the society, and correct them in the process just like Lieutenant General David Morrison has done in the whole of his career. Secondly, Lieutenant General David Morrison has never shied away from speaking about the society and what makes it tick. In his view, the constant need to portray women as inferior and glorifying violence in television shows like Game of Thrones has got him to offer guidance on how this affects the society. While it is important that such shows are rated, he points out that over a long period of time, the stereotyping that is done on such shows could rub on the viewers and make it seem okay and acceptable that women should be treated as portrayed in such shows. On an interview with Canberra Times’ Thistleton (2015), David reiterates that too much violence against women in a period when people are experiencing it in their lives is bound to be quite counterproductive. As a leader who has had to deal with situations of conflict within his area of operation, we can sufficiently claim that Lieutenant General David Morrison is a transactional leader. Transactional leadership theory postulates that leaders have some extent of the power to influence those under them such that over time, the followers will be ardent followers who take in what they learn, and use it to the advantage of others (Stam et. al., 2010, p. 617). In his line of duty, David has had to influence the soldiers that were placed under him so that they get motivated to face the onerous task that is being a soldier. A great instance of this furnishes in the manner in which he is awarded for his various efforts at managing the affairs of those under him. In fact, it is through such a transactional leadership displayed by David, that most of his missions abroad were classified as successful. The Meritorious Service Medal, awarded to him in Singapore, is proof enough of his success in foreign missions. The trait theory of leadership posits that leaders mostly display certain mannerisms or behaviours that place them as capable to lead. Lieutenant General David Morrison is one such leader who, in his interview with Professor Paul Pickering (2016), reveals this side of him. In the interview, the lieutenant does not take credit for much of his actions, hence lauds most Australians for being silent heroes in their everyday endeavours. This is evident when he modestly downplays his being awarded for being the Australian of the Year 2016. Generally speaking, there has been several instances of issues affecting Australians. Of notable notoriety is the issue of the incorporation of aborigines into the wider Australian society. It is important to notice that unlike the issues arising from the employment of women in the army wing of the military, the issues on aborigines raises so much passion (Skinner et. al., 2013). However, Lieutenant David has been caught smack in the middle of it, trying to agitate for the rights of the Aborigines. At such a time when race is such a thorny issue, the general stood firm in his quest to have Aborigines, together with the Torres Strait Islander peoples get fair employment opportunities just like every other Australian. It is such efforts that earned him a place at the Diversity Board of Australia as the chairman (Harms & Crede, 2010). Finally, Lieutenant General David believes in his charges so much he invests in them. For this reason, he has created a long list of leaders who will follow after him. This removes doubt on reasons why he was awarded as an Officer of the Order of Australia, which is particularly meant to recognize his efforts at ensuring that his subjects are successful in all their work towards making Australia safe. The greatest leaders come across challenges to succeed in whatever they do. Lieutenant General David Morrison is not an exception. In his endeavours to ensure that the society is balanced and that everyone benefits from being a member of the same society, he has met several challenges that have, in some instances, threatened to tear apart his reputation. As a champion of people’s rights, he comes across as very strict, and rightfully so, because to him, passion has to be evoked to earn something. Schein (2010) offers that a leadership without constraint is not exactly a good thing, meaning David’s being strict on procedures, even when agitating for people’s rights is a very good sign that indeed, organizational cultures, when transferred to other aspects of life, are still just as important. Criticism may be very difficult to most leaders, especially when it is directed at someone who appears to be agitating for the betterment of the society. David has taken criticism positively and at times, even accepted it as part and parcel of challenges during leadership. When he vetoed entitlements meant for a section of veterans who fought in the Vietnam War, he faced a lot of challenges since they criticized his decision to deny them what they felt was their right. Be that as it may, David took it in his stride and did not stop his sterling leadership that has been hailed as exemplary in most quarters (Van Quaquebeke & Eckloff, p. 350, 2010). Accepting criticism is a very difficult thing to do for most leaders, which makes them average. As a leader, Lieutenant General David Morrison has, time and again, been a recipient of awards aimed at recognising his efforts to make the society a better place. This may be a way of pointing out that he is truly an exceptional leader, which he actually is. However, there are aspects of his leadership that he could change to make him even better. First off, there are aspects of leadership that may be needed in the military that may not exactly work off the military circles. While he may not be particularly notorious of operating out of military circles like a military leader, it is prudent that David Morrison accepts responsibility in such scandals as what was hailed as The Jedi Council Scandal, where a number of soldiers were found guilty of encouraging and even aiding in the distribution of material that may have been demeaning to women (Wadham, p. 565, 2016). As a student who has to learn from Lieutenant General David Morrison, I get a general idea that persistence pays. When his career is observed from a closer look, we can see that David has been consistent and at no time did he manage to become lux in his search for justice for certain quarters in the society. While it is important to note that all leaders are human and that they have weaknesses, it is very noteworthy that David has kept a very clean slate that has included his leaving his private life out of the limelight, which has been a great idea since his family cannot be dragged into scandals. English (2011) attributes this to patience in a leader. Bibliography Avolio, B.J. and Yammarino, F.J. eds., 2013. Introduction to, and overview of, transformational and charismatic leadership. In Transformational and Charismatic Leadership: The Road Ahead 10th Anniversary Edition (pp. xxvii-xxxiii). Emerald Group Publishing Limited. English, F.W. ed., 2011. The Sage handbook of educational leadership: Advances in theory, research, and practice. Sage. Harms, P.D. and Credé, M., 2010. Emotional intelligence and transformational and transactional leadership: A meta-analysis. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 17(1), pp.5-17. Pickering, P., 2016. Fifteen Minutes with Lieutenant General (Retired) David Morrison (AO). Australian National University. Available at http://cass.anu.edu.au/schools-centres-alumni-news/news/20160406/fifteen-minutes-lieutenant-general-retired-david-morrison [Accessed on 5th May, 2017]. Pieterse, A.N., Van Knippenberg, D., Schippers, M. and Stam, D., 2010. Transformational and transactional leadership and innovative behavior: The moderating role of psychological empowerment. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 31(4), pp.609-623. Schein, E.H., 2010. Organizational culture and leadership (Vol. 2). John Wiley & Sons. Skinner, T.C., Blick, J., Coffin, J., Dudgeon, P., Forrest, S. and Morrison, D., 2013. Comparative validation of self-report measures of negative attitudes towards Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders. Rural and remote health, 13(2), pp.1959-1. Thistleton, J., 2015. Retired General David Morrison takes Aim at Game of Thrones’ Blatant Violence. Available at http://www.canberratimes.com.au/act-news/retired-general-david-morrison-takes-aim-at-game-of-thrones-blatant-violence-20150921-gjrxhp.html [Accessed on 4th May, 2017]. Van Quaquebeke, N. and Eckloff, T., 2010. Defining respectful leadership: What it is, how it can be measured, and another glimpse at what it is related to. Journal of Business Ethics, 91(3), pp.343-358. Wadham, B., 2016. The minister, the Commandant and the cadets: Scandal and the mediation of Australian civil–military relations. Journal of Sociology, 52(3), pp.551-568. Read More