Top 20 Leadership Traits of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (Founder of the Turkish Republic)
Transcript of Top 20 Leadership Traits of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk (Founder of the Turkish Republic)
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His name ‘Ataturk’ which means the father of the Turks, was granted to him by the
government. Ataturk was born in 1881 in a town called Salonika that is now called
Thessaloniki. Salonika was a part of the Ottoman Empire when Ataturk was born. At the age
of 12, Ataturk joined the military school. Later, he went to the Military Academy situated in
Istanbul where he graduated in 1905.
In the year 1919, Ataturk led a nationalist revolution that took place in Anatolia. The
Revolution was organised to resist settlement by the victorious Allies. The victorious Allies
intended to seize Smyrna. As the president of Turkey, Ataturkestablished a political and
social reorganisation of his nation.
Some of the reforms were the elimination of the Islamic institutes, the introduction of Latin
scripts, and the liberation of women. He also established strong relations with neighbouring
states. In 10th November 1938, he died from Liver Cirrhosis.
Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was the founder and the first president of the Republic of Turkey.
BROAD THINKERAtaturk was a skillful military and a political leader.This is seen from some of his accomplishments in themilitary like anticipating the position where hisenemies would attack. He was also entrusted withchallenging assignments where he performed well andgot a promotion as a result. Being the first president ofTurkey when the Republic was being transformedrequired him to be a critical leader. In 1919, helaunched a defensive revolutionary war againstantagonistic empires despite the fact that theOttoman Sultan opposed it.
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EXCELLENTCOMMUNICATOR
When making important decisions, he consulted otherleaders. He successfully shared his religious beliefs,goals, and amendments with his followers. Forinstance, when making decisions about religiousreforms, he could reach out to Hoca Rasit Efendi wholed religious affairs in the Ottoman Empire. In caseHoca Rasit needed more persuasion, General Fevzi,who had strong Islamic stands, was referred to him.More so, Ataturk reached other soldiers, villagers,artisans and common people.
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ALLURINGPERSUASION
Ataturk was able to convince his followers and hisclose friends to support him in achieving hisobjectives. He established a new and revolutionisedTurkey by convincing her people. He strategicallyshared how implementing reforms would make thenation better than before. He could create hope,confidence, and courage so that his followers couldfight with him although some opposed his ideas.Through his power of convincing, he was able toachieve what most people thought was Impossible.
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CONSISTENTASSERTION
Ataturk convinced people that culture and civilisationwere synonymous. He was able to counter Ziya Gokalpwho was a Turkish ideologist on nationalism. Gokalpbelieved that there was a distinction between culture,which he thought was born out of religion, andcivilisation, which he felt was a product of a globaluniversal science. Mustafa Kemal insisted that hisfriends should modernise their lavatories and thewaiters should be trained in a modern way. MustafaKemal derived his assertive nature from militaryschool and his mother.
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OPEN-MINDEDLEARNER
Ataturk believed that acquiring knowledge was the main
recipe for survival. His past influenced his thinking. He
invested a lot in knowledge, and it is because he had to
remedy the shortage of skills and information in his country
at the time. He valued civilisation a great deal and the only
way Turkey could survive its process was through acquiring
knowledge. Ataturk could acquire merchants and
professionals who were able to run the republic as it found
its way to modernisation. He also believed that civilisation
would drive away what he referred as a “dark cloud of
general ignorance.”
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TRANSFORMATIONAL
LEADER
Ataturk believed in change. He changed the Arabicalphabet to Latin in Turkey. This forced the people ofTurkey to learn a new language. He also declared thatTurkey was a state separate from the Muslim religion; Heclosed Islamic institutes, allowed alcohol and grantedprayer to be in the Turkish language instead of Arabic. Inaddition, he allowed the women to wear dresses or jeansand access education, which was not allowed prior to hisleadership. By changing a remnant of The OttomanEmpire to a secular republic, he also acted as atransformational leader.
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CONSISTENTPERFORMER
Ataturk’s steady nature is seen from his endless
energy in his career. He consistently fought
against political forces that led to the crumbling of
the empire. He also worked tirelessly in all
assignments entrusted to him. As a result, Ataturk
served successfully in every chain of command,
operation and defensive battle assigned to him.
Winston Churchill also referred to him as “a man
of Destiny.”
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GAMECHANGER
One of Mustafa Kemal’s main accomplishments that enabledTurkey to exist as a nation is when he formed a non-expansionist force to defend against the aggression ofsimultaneous attacks from Allied forces including Greece,Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, and France, and still hesucceeded. He also replaced The Ottoman Empire which wascrumbling and being partitioned by colonial forces before hiseyes. This breakthrough required him to face many oppositionsplus change many rules & regulations that were stringent inlegal, economic, political, social and cultural fields. If he didnot have a game-changer trait, Turkey would not have existedas a republic.
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QUICKDECISION-MAKER
Ataturk faced many critics in his time, and because ofthis, he adopted an executive form of leadership. Thechances are that he could not be successful if he wereslow at decision-making. This type of leadership styleallowed Ataturk to make fast decisions as well asimplement measures immediately and determinedly.Many adverse conditions existed in Turkey andtherefore, he being a quick thinker knew that there waslittle or no time for compromise building.
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LOYALASSOCIATE
Ataturk trusted and cherished his associates. His close
friends respected and were outright loyal to him in every
significant step of his life. Some of them included Fevzi
Cakmak, who was the chief of staff, Ismet Inonu who was
the prime minister, and Karim Ozalp who was the defence
Minister. These friends supported his leadership ideologies,
while Ataturk supported them and carried out common
ideals so that they could realise their potential. For every
leader in a business or a political forum to succeed, it is
imperative for them to have close associates who support
them in their endeavours.
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VISIONARYIMAGINATION
Ataturk had extraordinary objectives for his people and his
country. He believed in something that was greater than
himself. Throughout his life, he was a results-oriented
person who had ambitions of enabling his country to reach
the highest level of modernisation. Not only was he smart,
but also determined, reformist, fearless and inquisitive. In
the late Ottoman period when his empire was deteriorating,
he had the goal of revolutionising his renewed country and
making it great. His vision was to ensure a modern and
secular Turkish republic, which became reality as a result of
his visionary insight.
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ALTRUISTICGOALS
Throughout his reign, Ataturk worked for the good of thecountry and its people. He worked unselfishly for hisdreams and was able to accomplish most of them at atender age. Most people and his followers gained from hisachievements. By changing Arabic alphabets to Latinletters, he enabled the people to become literate morequickly. As a result, more people became well educatedduring his reign. He also made a profound impact byimplementing westernised legal systems like commercecodes, civil codes and new legislation.
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LIBERALCOMMAND
Ataturk fought tirelessly against the Allies and theGreeks who wanted to colonise his motherland. Moreso, he enacted laws that were free from genderdiscrimination. Some of these laws allowed women toget an education as well dress freely. More so, heensured that women had equal rights with those ofmen. Women were also allowed to end divorce at theirdiscretion. He believed in modernisation, which madeTurkey free from stringent rules.
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PEACEMAKER
Ataturk adopted the policy of having peace at homeand peace in the world. Additionally, he inspired otherleaders who were in other Muslim countries. In hisreign, he established relations with the neighbouringnations to ensure there was harmony amongst them.More so, he had an enemy, Eleftherios Venizelos, wholater became his ally and nominated him for the NobelPeace award. He was rational in his decisions and didnot take sides at any given moment. He clearly statedthat he did not have a religion.
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COURAGEOUSGUIDE
Ataturk’s courage is evidently seen from fighting inbattle. He led the Gallipoli campaign. He was always atthe front-line wheeling guns, sending his troops tobattles which they had little chance of surviving. Toachieve independence Ataturk fought with his army toachieve victory. More so, he also declined change ofarmy when he was the commander. He relocated hisdivision to Conkbayiri despite having no approval fromthe headquarters, which led to military success and hispromotion.
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STRICTMORALS
Not every decision made by Mustafa Kemal was for hisgain but the sake of Turkey. He was also strict and loyalto his virtues. Some of the ideas that motivated him toinclude developing a national power, transformingTurkey into a westernised country, achieving a standardof living and movement to liberal political and economicstatus. More so, he was not distracted by the lostprovinces of The Ottoman Empire in Asia and Europe aswell as provinces of The Russian Empire that had fallenwhen he was fighting for independence.
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UNSHAKEABLECONFIDENCE
Ataturk described himself as a successful person in hisspeeches. He was also determined to ensure that Turkeygot her independence when Ataturk came up with a warstrategy that balanced military and political aspects inalignment with changing situations. He created a nationalassembly and gained nationwide support for fighting forindependence. Despite unfavourable circumstances, hefought for freedom against five established nationssimultaneously without being distracted by political orresource limitations and came out victorious.
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RATIONALWISDOM
Well-grounded logic and generous patronage were scarcetraits at the time. Ataturk’s wise and philanthropicattitude was rare. He could make a decision from arational point of view instead of a religious point of view.However, he appreciated the differences that otherpeople had. Some of his close companions like AhmetIzzet and Ismet Inonu were confirmed, religious people.More so, his friends carried a Quran everywhere theywent. However, Mustafa Kemal ensured that religion didnot get in the way of Turkey’s development.
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CALCULATEDSTRATEGIST
Ataturk outlined clear rules that would govern his nation.
Some of the just, upright and free principles that guided his
leadership included a declaration of the public, abolishing
of the caliphate, wearing hats, and eliminating the ministry
in charge of religious activities. In terms of organisation he
set out both theoretical and practical rules and regulations.
More so, he stated that no opposition could ever affect the
fate of the Turkish Republic. Other principles included the
building of infrastructures such as railways, unifying
production, modifying the tax of agriculture products, and
much more.
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ENLIGHTENEDFLEXIBILITY
Ataturk’s flexibility could be observed from when hetried to consult his fellow leaders on some reforms. Hedid not assume a despot kind of leadership, but adiplomatic attitude with an open mind towards thenotions provided by clear resistance. As the Turkishwar of independence was fought, Ataturk clearlysupported his troops and encouraged them to win. Healso promoted a way of modernisation in his countrythat called for everyone to leave their old ways and bemore flexible.
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