Marine Leadership Principle of the Day: Be Technically and Tactically Proficient

Not how you want your people to view you.

As I discussed in some of the discussions on the Marine Corps Leadership Traits, two major parts of leadership are instilling confidence in your people and setting the example of how you want them to act.  Hypocrisy is poison, and, if you cannot meet the standards you expect your people to meet, you are a hypocrite. 

That is what this Leadership Principle is all about – you need to know your job and be good at it.  You need to demonstrate your ability to accomplish your mission.  Many of you are going to see “tactically proficient” and think “I don’t carry a pack and a rifle, so tactics isn’t really my thing.”  That thought is reading this principle too narrowly – if you have a job, there are “tactical” requirements of your job that you need to master. 

If you manage a McDonald’s, you better know how to make a Big Mac, if you run a mechanics shop, you better know your way around an engine block, and, if you are a project manager for a IT systems company, you better know how your software and routers work.  Those are examples of the “tactics” of your job. 

As a leader, you have to know what you are doing.  You need to not only understand the big picture; you have to be proficient and able to execute all of your team’s daily tasks.  This is where many leaders lose the bubble.  It is not good enough to master your job – you need to at least know the basics of your subordinates’ task.  How can you coach and train your people if you don’t know what they are supposed to do?  How can you hold them to a standard if you do not know what the standard is?   

This is where your credibility begins to come into play.  You instill confidence in your people when you are good at your job.  You also build your credibility when you set and hold a standard.  In the Marine Corps, physical fitness is a big deal – if you get over weight and cannot get a good score on your physical fitness test, your credibility is gone.  You will hold the junior Marines to a standard, and you better work hard to match it.  Now, no one expects me at the old age of 42 to outrun the 20 year-olds, but I better turn out a respectable three mile run time (I just did it in 22:07 last weekend, not bad for an old man!). 

How I felt on my run!

While no one is timing your three mile run time at most jobs, your credibility is just as tied to your job performance.  Do you do what you expect your people to do?  Things like, enter your accounting time or expenses on time, dress appropriately, show up on time, file reports timely etc.  Those are all part of being technically proficient by matching (or exceeding) the standards. 

Your people watch your every move (just like kids do). They imitate your actions and behaviors. They talk about you at the water cooler when you violate this principle. The good news is that by setting and holding the standard, the conversation will be positive and will instill the trust of your people. 

Click through for some suggestions on how you can be more technically and tactically proficient. 

Leaders are not born knowing everything (that would make easier wouldn’t it?); so they have to make efforts to learn and improve.  Here are some ways that you, as a leader, can become more technically proficient:

Learn from Your People – Most people like what they do and like to talk about it.  Sit down with your people – especially the good ones – and ask them about the fine points of their jobs.  Often, they will love to tell you.  You get a double leadership bang for this buck – you learn their job requirements, and they love the fact that you are taking an interest in them.

Join Professional Organizations – Every job has some type of related professional organization.  Join one, go to meetings, talk to people and attend the lectures/training they provide.  You will learn how to be better at your job, and you will learn new ways of doing business. 

Take Courses – Take related professional development courses.  You are never too old to learn, and, believe it or not, you don’t know everything. 

Participate in Practical Applications if Possible – If you have the type of career where people to exercises or practical applications, volunteer to participate in them.  The best way to learn is to do – they will often push you outside of your comfort zone.    

There are just a few ideas, and there are many more – I would love to hear any major ideas I missed in the comments.  The key is, you need to take efforts to get better at your job.