The Leadership Style of General George S. Patton
As the Second World War fades out of the living memory of all but an older generation of Americans, no military leader in that war retains a more vivid image in the popular mind than General George Patton. The immediate reason for the survival of Patton as a symbol of military leadership is undoubtedly the 1970 movie "Patton," starring George C. Scott in the title role.
A generation of Americans with no direct memory of the Second World War -- indeed, whose outlook was shaped by the contemporary debacle in Vietnam -- were introduced to Patton through the film's arresting opening sequence. Scott as Patton steps out onto a stage in front of an enormous American flag and directly addresses the audience as though they were his troops. The backdrop is perhaps Hollywood contrivance, but the speech, including its notably salty language, was true to the man (see for example Essame, 1974, p. 137). Indeed, the film as a whole gives an accurate picture of General Patton, from his semi-delusional belief that he was a reincarnation of military geniuses of the past, to the notorious episode in which he slapped a soldier suffering from what was then called battle fatigue (in modern language, post-traumatic stress syndrome).
Above all, the film captures the lead-from-the-front style of America's first great practitioner of blitzkrieg-style armored assault. The remainder of this essay is devoted to an examination of Patton's leadership style. It must be said from the outset that his was a style of leadership suited supremely to the exigencies of war. There is today something of a vogue of looking for lessons in classics of military or political strategy and leadership that can be applied to business situations.
Such lessons can perhaps be drawn from the experience of Patton's superior officers, General "Black Jack" Pershing in the First World War and Eisenhower and Marshall in ...