摘要：In the preceding quote by our sixth president, he managed to capture the essence of leadership in 19 words. Why has this concept of leadership become elusive to so many? Leadership is a concept that has evolved over the course of humanity. Why are there so many theories? What is the best leadership model? For the past six years, the Squadron Officer School (SOS) at Maxwell AFB, Alabama has inculcated transformational leadership behaviors as a guiding light toward authentic transformational leadership. The focus of this article is to pinpoint the developed behaviors and leadership acumen of our SOS graduates today as measured through the Leadership Development Survey (LDS), a 40-item measure based on Mind Garden’s Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) that captures propensity scores on eight leadership behaviors. As an analytical tool, the LDS not only sheds new light on the leadership behavior preferences of today’s Air Force captains but also indicates, on an empirical basis, an optimal approach pattern for senior leaders—how can senior leaders reach these captains and bring out their best in a common culture of leadership? The following sections will describe the leadership philosophy that has become the foundation of the SOS curriculum and hopefully a leadership lexicon for future Air Force leaders.
