Dwight David (“Ike”) Eisenhower displayed multiple leadership virtues. If one has to choose the single virtue that Ike exhibited most, from the beginning to the end of his long military and political career, that would be fairness. Great leaders are not afraid to discipline. This is often required in order to uphold organizational standards and get rid of misbehaving or nonperforming individuals. Ike understood this; but, while he was willing to discipline or fire subordinates, he always exercised fairness in this key leadership function. Ike's fairness is nowhere better illustrated than in a set of decisions he made in August 1943 in the wake of the Allies' invasion of Sicily. Ike showed the depth of his sense of fairness one year before, in his response to the slapping incidents and in his evident concern for two GIs abused by an arrogant officer.

Controlled Vocabulary Terms

leadership