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. 

Leadership Trait of the Day: BEARING

         

Bearing has nothing to do with bears, but if you
can stay calm in front of this guy, you have bearing. 

      The first question many of you may have is: what the heck is Bearing, and how is it relevant to Leadership?  While in the Marine Corps, we simple call this Bearing, but the best way for non-Marines to think of this is as “Military Bearing.”  You may also think of this as comportment.

            In the Marines, Bearing is your ability to “create a favorable impression in carriage, appearance, and personal conduct at all times.”  Meaning, you look, talk, and act like a leader at all times – even when you don’t feel like it.             

            Let’s unpack this further.  If you want to have the Bearing of a Leader, there are three areas you need to focus on: 1) physical appearance; 2) day-to-day behavior; and 3) behavior under stress. 

Funny - but not a leader

Physical Appearance: Now, the Marine Corps is a physical job – so physical appearance means you need to look like a Marine.  Now, for civilian purposes, there is no need to look like this guy. But, you don’t want to look like Matt Foley, motivational speaker – if you do, you may be end up living in a van down by the river. 

            Bearing for the civilian leader means look like a professional.  Dress and carry yourself like someone who can be trusted with responsibility.  The first thing people will see is how you look.  In the Marine Corps, we are fanatical about our uniform appearance – not just because we want to look better than the Army, Navy and Air Force (ok, that’s a big part of it).  Marines understand that part of being professional is looking professional.  This also shows that you have the discipline to take care of the small things, which leads people to trust that you can take care of the big things.

            So, if you want to be a Leader, look like one.  This does not mean wear a suit or a tie every day, but you should dress a little bit better than the people you work with – just enough to show that you are professional.  It also helps to have a neat and orderly appearance.  Look in the mirror before leaving your house and decide if you look like the sort of person someone would trust with responsibility. 

            Click through for more discussion on Bearing.