​​​​​Welcome back to One Marine’s perspective on how to play the game of life. We all have to play, we’re all on the same team, we play by God’s rules, and we win with teamwork. 

"​Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. It's about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter. It is about laying the groundwork for others' success, and then standing back and letting them shine." Chris Hadfield


Why is it that so many of our national pivotal leaders and most colorful citizens credit service in the United States Marine Corps as a strongly influential experience in their climb to successful  careers or the impact they have made on business, politics, arts, education, and all realms of public service? Why is it that the common image of a tough, dedicated, capable, and courageous fighting man always seems to involve a rock-jawed, steely-eyed Marine? The common denominator is that the Corps either gave them something they didn’t have to begin with, or shaped what they did have into valuable traits that lifted them above the ordinary masses. If you take a closer look at these questions, a common quality appears – Marine Corps leadership. The Marine Corps treasures leadership above virtually all other qualities.

​Why should we emulate the U.S. Marine Corps leadership philosophy? That’s a personal question for which each will have his/her own answer. If history is an indicator, there is no doubt that mastering this philosophy will improve our leadership ability and, if that is our goal, the Marine Corps approach could be of great benefit to us. The following discussion will comprise three elements: Leadership 101, USMC Leadership, and ​JJ DID TIE BUCKLE.

                                                   Leadership 101                                                         

Listen to Story 1​.

​​​A personal leadership philosophy is a set of beliefs and principles which we use to evaluate information and respond to people and situations. It allows anyone who hears it to gain an understanding of our values, priorities, approach to decision making, and what we expect from ourselves and others.
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Does each of us have a personal leadership philosophy with which he or she is completely satisfied? Perhaps we're not concerned because we don't look upon ourselves as leaders. Well, it is One Marine’s perspective that we are all leaders and we are in varying  positions of leadership 24/365. 

Let’s start by looking at One Marine’s definition of leadership: Actions taken that influence behavior. Well, by that definition we are all doing something and, even if we are alone, we are influencing our own behavior. So, let's make it a good influence. As Brian Tracy once said, “If you behave like an individual of integrity, courage, resolution, persistence, and character, you will soon create within yourself ... such a person.” 

So, we don’t have a choice. We play the position we currently occupy and lead from that position. Although we don’t have a choice about being a leader, we do have a choice about how effective we are as leaders. One Marine considers personal character development to be the single most important factor in improvement of our leadership. We lead with our character. 

Listen to ​Story 2.
​                                                   USMC Leadership

We need to start by forgetting any preconceived notions we may have about Marine Corps leadership. Today’s complex and knowledge-intensive world requires a bottom-up form of leadership, depending on those in one’s charge to innovate, lead, and reach the goal by trusting them to understand the mission and the capabilities of those people in their charge. The following is an excerpt from Marine Corps Doctrinal Publication 6:

“Marine Corps leadership philosophy prefers an approach to leadership characterized by delegation and persuasion, because the Corps believes this is the best means to foster imagination, ingenuity, and creativity. … Under the delegation and persuasion approach, leadership becomes more a question of inspiring, guiding and supporting subordinates while encouraging them to perform freely within set limits. It is also more likely to produce subordinates who exhibit a high degree of independence, self-discipline, and initiative.”

The objective of Marine Corps Leadership is to develop the leadership traits of Marines to enable them to assume progressively greater responsibilities in, not only the Marine Corps, but society as well. Application of these traits certainly can and will bleed into all areas of our lives. It’s important to know them. It’s more important to live them.

Listen to Story 3.

Honing those qualities that make good leaders is one of the Marine Corps’ most important challenges. To be effective, leadership instruction should be adjusted to the individual and his/her situation, but that doesn’t mean there are no yardsticks or common techniques that can be applied to the process of learning to become a leader. The good news – especially for Marines – is that the Marine Corps leadership philosophy works.

                                      JJ DID TIE BUCKLE

Leaders influence people by providing purpose, direction, and motivation while operating to accomplish the mission and improve the organization. The Marine Corps believes that is possible only through the adoption of certain character attributes of leadership.

Marine Corps leadership philosophy is exemplified by its Leadership Principles (Know your Marines and look out for their welfare.) and Leadership Traits (Justice, Judgment, Decisiveness, Initiative, Dependability, Tact, Integrity, Enthusiasm, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty, Endurance – JJ DID TIE BUCKLE). Marine Corps leaders teach these traits every day through the example of their own leadership.

While the civilian world focuses on management, lessons of the Marine Corps are about leadership. They are not the same thing. We can manage resources, but we must lead people. And there is no measure of leadership except through action; the theory can be taught, but only through action can the character of a person be gauged.

​​Listen to Story 4.

We don’t inherit the ability to lead, neither is it issued. We determine how we stack up against the 14 traits (JJ DID TIE BUCKLE). We make the most of those in which we are strong, work at those in which we may be lacking and balance them. We give it our best shot. We need to ask ourselves, If the world followed us, would we be pleased with where we took it?

In summary, we've discussed Leadership 101: We're all leaders, ​USMC Leadership: based on delegation and persuasion, and JJ DID TIE BUCKLE: Marine Corps leadership traits. Hopefully, we have come to realize that, although there might be advantages to possessing great intellect, having great opportunities, and showing great potential, those advantages are not enough if a leader is without character. And character is demonstrated through the leadership traits the Marine Corps has embraced throughout history.

Good leaders may vary in background, education, race and any number of other  variables. But they all have the strength of the body when needed, the mind to learn and apply knowledge, and the spirit to lead their team to victory. 

Consider this quote by Sam Walton. "Outstanding leaders go out of their way to boost the self-esteem of their personnel. If people believe in themselves, it's amazing what they can accomplish." 
 

For a U.S. Marine, it's all about accomplishing the mission.​

Listen to Story 5.​

We'll close with more of One Marine's favorite quotes.

​"A leader is best when people barely know he exists; when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will say: we did it ourselves." Lao Tzu 

"The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say thank you. In between, the leader is a servant." Max DePree 

"Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others." Jack Welch

"My own definition of leadership is this: The capacity and the will to rally men and women to a common purpose and the character which inspires confidence." General Montgomery

"The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born-that there is a genetic factor to leadership. That's nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born." Warren Bennis 

"A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be." Rosalynn Carter 

"The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humor, but without folly." Jim Rohn 

"Leaders aren't born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that's the price we'll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal." Vince Lombardi 

"Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must be without one, be without the strategy." Norman Schwarzkopf 

 ​Are you up to the challenge?, If so, welcome to JJ DID TIE BUCKLE.

To proceed through the individual character traits, go to the top of the page and press the ​JJ DID TIE BUCKLE button. Then, select, in turn, each of the red buttons in the Iwo Jima Memorial window, starting with Wiifm (What's in it for me?). 

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