Was Cesar Augustus an effective leader?

            Was Cesar Augustus an effective leader?.
             Octavian needed to appoint officials and governors and reestablish law and order throughout Roman territory without offending the senate by acting like an aristocrat or dictator. He realized that he could be more effective if he worked through, rather than against, existing political institutions. If we look at the constitution of Rome, we see that no new office was created for the emperor. However the smart minded Augustus gradually took over many of those positions for him. What I have noticed is that all of Augustus" moves are in fact calculated. He works things on two separate levels. One is being what is on paper or the formal level. The second level will be what really goes on at ground level. Augustus claimed his intensions were to restore the republic, in reality he was transforming the Roman government into an empire ruled by one man. From Dio Cassuis, "the power of both people and senate passed entirely into the hands of Augustus, and from this time there was, strictly speaking, a monarch; for monarchy would be the truest name for it, even if two or three men later held the power jointly. Cassius also tells us that Caesar himself was destined to have absolute power in all matters for life, because he was not only in control of money matters but also in control of the army, an army that was completely loyal to him. But why was his army so loyal? Augustus wrote, " four times I came to the assistance of the treasury with my own money, transferring to those in charge of the treasury 150,000,000 sesterces. And in the consulship of Marcus Lepidus and Lucius Arruntius I transferred out of my own patrimony 170,000,000 sestereces to the soldiers" bonus fund, which was established on my advice for the purpose of providing bonuses for soldiers who had completed twenty or more years of service. This appears to be a just gesture towards his men who have served.