Introduction

Application In Business

Leadership Intangibles

Introduction

We believe maneuver warfare to be a potential breakthrough with respect to competing in today’s challenging business environment. But before you can “maneuver,” you must have a culture where: positive intent is assumed at all levels; integrity is both beyond reproach and infectious; self-starters are afforded the latitude they seek to pursue emerging opportunities; and co-workers look out for one another. In other words, trust, integrity, initiative, and unselfishness must pervade your organization.

Unfortunately, these intangibles do not always occur in their own right; they must be inspired and continually reinforced. Owing to an unparalleled emphasis on leadership, the Marine Corps has mastered the two-step art of inspiring and reinforcing these intangibles, and we believe that the Marines’ leadership philosophy can serve as a useful guide for leadership in business. Accordingly, we have distilled this leadership philosophy into three “pillars” – leadership by example, taking care of those in your charge, and leadership development – and offer it for your consideration.

Leadership by Example

The Marine Corps’ approach to leadership rests on the simple premise that motivating Marines to achieve a desired result requires that the leader first exert the effort and make the sacrifice that he is asking of his Marines. A willingness to perform above and beyond the call of duty and share hardship – no matter how miserable or inconsequential the task – ripples throughout the entire organization, inspires higher levels of performance at all levels, and creates an undeniable credibility for the leader – through actions, not words.

Taking Care of Those in Your Charge

While probably not the first trait that comes to mind when thinking about an outfit whose members call themselves “Devil Dogs,” compassion is, nonetheless, the crucial second pillar in the Marine Corps’ leadership philosophy. Marine leaders prioritize the accomplishment of the mission first, the welfare of their Marines second, and their own personal needs third. A leader’s willingness to place the welfare of those in his charge before his own prompts others to: do the same for other members of the organization, take actions proactively that keep the leader “out of trouble,” and pledge their loyalty and unwavering willingness to follow.

Leadership Development 
A never-ending commitment to recruiting, training, and mentoring develops, at all levels, confident, aggressive leaders whose initiative and integrity drive the implementation of the maneuver warfare-based approach. First, the Marines recruit for character, not skills. Second, formal leadership training led by the Marines’ most able performers begins with an initial “overinvestment” in instilling core values and leadership principles and continues throughout a Marine’s career. Third, two-way mentoring develops leaders at all levels: commanders mentor their subordinates, and experienced enlisted Marines mentor young officers. Feedback is clear, constructive, candid, and regular; guidance is specific, thoughtful, individually-tailored, and intended to help the recipient grow both personally and professionally.

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Application in Business

The philosophy we advocate demands a tremendous amount of self-discipline and sincerity from the leader.

But Marines willingly embrace the three-pillared approach because they view the leadership of other Marines as a privilege – not a right – that must be earned every day. Leadership by example requires that leaders share hardship with their people, make a regular habit of exerting effort that is above and beyond the call of duty, and hold themselves to the highest professional and moral standards, particularly when no one is watching. Taking care of those in your charge requires that leaders place the needs of their people before their own. And the "recruit, train, mentor" approach to leadership development requires that leaders make a time-consuming, costly investment in their most precious asset – people – sometimes at the expense of day-to-day operations.

Leadership by Example . Instead of thinking that “rank has its privileges,” consider your rank as a privilege that must be earned every day. Be your own toughest critic, and constantly remind yourself that your people are looking to your actions to set an example.

Taking Care of Those in Your Charge. Instead of thinking that your people exist to support you, constantly ask yourself what you can do to support your people and what you can do to make their personal and professional lives better. Take care of your people, and they will take care of your customers.

Leadership Development. Instead of dismissing leadership development as a costly distraction from day-to-day operations, consider each and every member of your organization a leader and potential successor to your job and invest in his development accordingly. Hire for character, not skills, and challenge applicants to earn their way into your organization. Do not merely pay lip service to values and leadership traits; make them a primary consideration from Day One and reinforce them over time. Use your most talented and experienced managers as instructors and role models. Observe, respond to, and coach failure regularly, and listen to more experienced “juniors,” whose insights will lead you to self-improvement.

Again, this is not the easiest route to travel. But the rewards will more than repay your efforts.

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Leadership Intangibles

Trust. Seniors must have faith that juniors will provide them with valuable insights and execute plans capably, in accordance with the organization’s overall objectives. Juniors must have faith that that the directions they receive are well-intended, competent, and legitimate. And peers must have faith in each other’s contributions when working together toward a common goal.

Integrity. If a junior is entrusted to make risk-reward trade-offs, he must always consider the good of the greater organization and always admit mistakes when wrong. In other words, the junior must be willing to “do the right thing” in the absence of constant supervision. If a senior expects to engender the respect of juniors, he must exhibit the highest moral and ethical standards. Similarly, the senior must be willing to “do the right thing” in the absence of supervision – as if there were no one to sanction his behavior.

Initiative. Identifying an opportunity, weighing the associated risks and rewards, and pursuing its exploitation in a timely manner requires a willingness to decide and act on the spot, without explicit instructions. Such resourcefulness cannot be imposed from the top-down; detailed orders can never be a substitute for ingenuity.

Unselfishness. Working together towards a common objective sometimes requires the subordination of one’s own interests to the interests of the greater organization. For juniors, unselfishness may entail executing a senior’s order as if it were their own, even if they dissented during the decision-making process. For seniors, unselfishness may entail accepting blame when the organization stumbles or passing credit on to juniors when the organization succeeds. For peers, unselfishness may entail helping a buddy out, even if the payoff is neither immediate nor certain.

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