Qualitative Study of Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan Former Army Chief of Staff

It may sound melodramatic, but leadership without commitment from others is like a tree falling in the forest without anyone hearing the sound. Leadership requires people and actions more than words. Leadership and team performance are so interconnected, you simply cannot have one without the other. Exemplary leaders are able to unlock the door to unused potential and transform potential into reality. Leadership is far from an exact science, nevertheless, there seems to be common threads that run between exemplary leaders and effective organizations or teams. The research study focused on one specific question: What effect did General (Retired) Gordon R. Sullivans leadership have on people under his command? Specifically, how did his leadership impinge upon other people to develop their leadership skills and make change within the organization? The findings of this study demonstrated that General (Retired) Gordon R. Sullivan facilitated changes within the U.S. Army utilizing the aspects of transformational leadership identified by Bennis and Nanus (1997) as competencies of vision, communication, trust, and self-development.