Essential Requisite Qualities of an Officer

1. Leadership : The first and foremost quality demanded by an officer if that of Leadership and display an ability to lead and guide their men at all time in peace or war, victory or defeat.

2. Initiative : One of the inherent qualities of a leader is initiative. A real leader cannot wait for order from the higher up when immediate action is the need of the hour. Not only must he deal promptly with new and unexpected situations but also inspire his subordinates to develop initiative by allowing them to work out the details and achieve the job assigned.

3. Resourcefulness : Initiative and imagination go hand in hand. Resourcefulness, is the capacity to deal with situations in the absence of the normal methods, materials and means, He must have the ability to anticipate by thinking ahead and taking the most appropriate action by suitably improving the means and the methods and utilizing whatever is available.

4. Self- confidence : Self confidence is a pre-requisite to success. A leader must have faith in himself to meet the challenge created by familiar and unfamiliar situations and above of all inspire confidence and devotion in his men.

5. Taking fast, quick and appropriate decision : An officer must have the ability to quickly assess the situation and then arrive at the best possible solution. After studying the pros and cons of a particular situation one must logically decide what action is necessary.

6. Ability to influence others : A real leader is one who wind the willing cooperation of his men and achieve the goals he set before himself. One is reminded of Napoleon Bonaparte who was always enthusiastic about his tasks and was able to infuse enthusiasm in his soldiers by his personal example.

7. Liveliness : An able, intelligent and efficient officer must be lively, full of cheer and warmth. He should be able to create original atmosphere, and must be optimistic in his attitude, He should feel happy at his success but at the same time be able to accept defeat in a sporting manner.

8. Understanding of Human beings : A leader must be able to evaluate by by studying , judging and understanding the needs and requirements of his men. He ought to be able to thus feel the pose of his men and create a bond of understanding and sympathy with them.

9. Face criticism cheerfully : On rare occasions the leader may be subject to criticism. He must be able to face it cheerfully and not become upset at it. He ought to be able to justify his action or if necessary to take corrective action.

10. Delegate Responsibility : It is not possible for a leader to shoulder the entire responsibility. He must, therefore, be able to delegate responsibility to his subordinates by assigning duties for which they are best suited.       

11. Loyalty and Integrity : A real leader must possess the quality of integrity. He ought to be honest , loyal and above board and must set high standards of honesty for his men to follow.

12. Unselfish : A true leader must not be selfish, must be generous of heart and neither take credit for any achievement himself nor shift the entire blame for anything that goes wrong to his men under his command.

13. Be just and fair : He must be just and fair and above all imparted in his dealing, He should treat everyone fairly and squarely. An unjust leader will sow the seeds of dissension and antagonism against himself.

14. Intelligence : The essential quality of a potential officer is intelligence and this can be classified as under.

    1. Basic Intelligence

    2. Practical and effective intelligence

    3. Originality, Maturity, harmony, ability and sound judgement, conversant with national and international affairs, inquisitive and have a mature outlook on life.

    4. Organizational ability which implies the capacity for organization, ability to coordinate available resources in a methodological manner and have an eye for details no matter how insignificant they may appear to be.

15. Sound Knowledge : He must have sound knowledge of men and matters and should keep himself abreast of current national and international affairs, For example he should be conversant with topics of current interest.

16. Effective speech : What is required is the ability to speak fluently and putting across ideas forcefully and appropriately. Let us remember that spoken word rules the world.

17. Social Qualities : This includes cooperative spirit and social adaptability. Be able to mix freely in society and have a sense of responsibility and duty,

18. Physical fitness, stamina, determination and courage : A potential officer must be healthy, physically fit and tough. He should also have 

        1. determination for sustained effort

        2. be courageous to tackle risky situations with boldness and

        3. stamina to endure physical stress and strain