Saturday, 2 December 2017

Leadership Insight V (by Sanjivee)


Good day all, welcome yet again to my class blog and I couldn't be more gratitude for your support. Before going further into today's leadership insight. It made me realise upon writting this blog of "How could I miss out on Hitler when talking about leadership?" I mean both of them shares a lot in relativity and commonness. Hence, I'm gonna share a little on Hitler's leadership traits.

Adolf Hitler was the head and leader of Nazi Germany who started the World War II. He was most known for his for his central leadership role in the rise of fascism in Europe, World War II and The Holocaust. Although despised through the world, he was one of the greatest leader of all time. After becoming the chancellor of Germany in 1933, he was responsible for one of the greatest economic and military expansion the world has ever seen. He successfully invaded more than 10 countries with his brilliant strategy and meticulous planning. His oratory skills, propaganda and planning made him a leader par excellence.

Leadership Qualities

i) Ability to Influence People

He had the skill of influencing the minds of his followers and was adept at using propaganda to bring the entire nation under his control. He used the media to influence the minds of people to advance his cause. He understood the power it had on people and utilized it maximally and targeted groups rather than individuals. He was knowledgeable in influencing the way people thought, acted, and behaved by using regular propaganda to get his message across and it worked very well for him. It was easy for Hitler to endear himself to people especially those who worked closely with him so much so that they could go to the extremes in order to please him.

- One of his closest associates known as Joseph Goebbels committed suicide along with his wife and six children a day after Hitler died. Joseph was appointed and served as Chancellor for just one day. Hitler had such a grip on the emotions of people which made them submit easily to his whims and caprices. Hitler also had great oratory skills and was well educated. This enabled him penetrate into the minds of people to sway their minds. He used his speaking skills to appeal to the patriotic zeal of Germans by promising to free them freedom from the Treaty of Versailles.

- Hitler was also a visionary leader and because of this, he was able to influence several people. People are generally attracted to leaders who have a clear mission, vision and sense of purpose. He was able to convince others to follow his philosophy and ideas. It was also said that he was a very+ organized person and his desire to make Germany a great nation made it easier for him to influence them. His efforts to make good his promises of restoring stability and economic security to the country were a major factor responsible for his increasing sphere of influence. He took great advantage of the circumstances created by World War I and the need his people had for security. 

ii) Persuasive Skills

Hitler's persuasive skill was used in influencing the German people. It was the skill which enabled him to advance his ambition in the Nazi party and gather a lot of support to himself. His persuasive skill used the method of treating Germans as a group and not as individuals. He was of the view that "the masses had limited intelligence and had the ability to forget easily." In order to counter this, he suggested that "propaganda should be limited to very few points that must be harped upon in slogans until the last member of the public understands what you want him to understand from your slogan." He added that "you must endeavor not to sacrifice this slogan by attempting to focus on many other things, the effect will fade because the crowds are unable to understand or retain information adequately." 

iii) Ability to understand Human Nature

He had an ability to understand how human nature works and he used it to a great advantage. Through this way, he was able to move the whole nation to follow him. He had been able to study the thought process of his people and their inclinations. This made him a very effective and intelligent leader. Any leader that will succeed must be able to understand a thing or two about the nature of man without which it would be difficult to move them to follow him.


iv) Ability to Strategise

A leader's ability to strategize helps them become successful in leadership. Hitler was an excellent strategist having stumbled on his father's war books which he studied dedicatedly. He prepared and set out early to fulfill his ambition. We can observe the following from his life and rise to power.

1.         He strategized to take power politically and not forcefully at the beginning.
2.         He transformed the Workers Party into a political party and became its Chairman.
3.         He ran for election severally and eventually became Chancellor of Germany.
4.         He was also a brilliant war strategist and this enabled him lead Germany in war.


I guess I'll stop here as there will be no end if I keep on continue as there's so much of his leadership qualities of which example can be taken by aspiring leaders nowadays. Hope u enjoyed reading on it and once again, thanks for supporting my class blog, especially mine. 

Credit: http://www.personalitydevelopmenttip.com/Hitler-Leadership-Qualities 

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