Leaders Need to do More than Talk.

So, I read this article yesterday, and it made me think - there are many, many artilcles, blogs posts and even books that all provide a list of things leaders should say - be it every day or every week.  Indeed, I ran a Google search on "things leaders say," and I got over 197 MILLION hits.  That's a lot of talking. 

Now, I think most of these articles are awesome and provide great advice - there are lots of good leadership lessons in them. 

However, reading through these articles, they focus more on the speaking than on the doing.  We have all heard the phrase "If you are going to talk the talk, you need to walk the walk."  As a leader, talking the talk will work for a few weeks - by then, if you are not walking the walk, your fancy leadership talk falls on deaf ears. 

 This is why I think  instead of focusing on "what leaders should say," we should focus on what leaders should do.  First, actions speak a lot louder than words; and second, if you do the right thing, you will naturally say the right thing as well. 

Again, the ideas in the article linked above and the dozens of other similar articles out there are great ideas.  However, many of the suggestions will come naturally to a leader who embodies the Leadership Traits. 

Many of these articles suggest that a leader should share the credit and support his people - in other words, a leader should be unselfish and loyal. 

If you are an unselfish and loyal leader, you will say "Thank You;" you will ask you people for their opinions, you will share credit with your people.  It will all come naturally - IF you have the correct attitude and embrace the proper leadership characteristics. 

My advice to you is not to worry about what to say - worry about how to be.  Be unselfish, be loyal, be supportive, be a LEADER, and you will say the right things. 

Can you walk the walk? 



 

Lessons From 20 Years of Service in the Marine Corps

That's Right - Listen to this Old Man!

About two weeks ago I hit a milestone – I crossed the magic 20 year mark in my Marine Corps career.  For everyone who has ever put on a uniform, the 20 year target is a big one – it means that you can now retire with your pension.   

For me, though, the 20 year mark has been a testament to dedication and endurance; while thoroughly enjoyable, it has not been an easy 20 year run. 

What it has been, however, is 20 great years of leadership lessons.  When I look back to the bright-eyed young 2^nd Lieutenant I was 20 years ago, I can really appreciate all of the lessons I have learned from 20 years in uniform. 

In honor of my 20 years of service, here are 20 Rules of Leadership that I have learned during my Marine Corps career:

      1)      Leaders lead from the front – this doesn’t mean you drag your people behind you, it means that you take on the same risk – or more – that you ask your people to take.

      2)      Leaders set the example – You are always watched, and you need to do the right thing, all the time; don’t ask your people to do things you cannot or will not do – you are the barometer. 

      3)      Leaders have a plan – Even if it is a basic plan, and even if it needs to be changed, you have to have a plan, otherwise you are running in circles.

      4)      But, Leaders are flexible – Never, ever, ever fall in love with your plan, you need to be able to change when you need to

      5)      Leaders are decisive – A leader has to make decisions, especially when it is hard, a failure to make a decision, at a minimum wastes time and resources.

      6)      Leaders trust their instincts (but look before they leap) – It is easier to be decisive when you trust your gut; great leaders have good instincts and learn to trust them – however, no matter how much a leader trusts his gut, he still needs to reflect a moment before making a final decision

      7)      Leaders know their people – You cannot lead strangers, if you don’t know your people, you cannot play to their strengths, and you cannot improve their weaknesses.

      8)      Leaders always tell the truth – Even when it hurts, once your integrity is compromised, you cannot get it back.

      9)      Leaders take care of their people – This doesn’t mean you baby them – there is a tragic story of a platoon of Marines being killed in their sleeping bags during the Chosin Reservoir Campaign – the platoon commander wanted them to get warm, but truly taking care of them met pushing them to do the right thing – being ready to fight. 

     10)   Leaders are loyal – Not just to their superiors, but to their people, leaders support their people, their seniors and their institution. 

   

      Click Through for the next 10 Rules

    

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. 

Marine Leadership Principle of the Day: KNOW YOURSELF

           There are actually two parts to to this Leadership Principle: 1) Know Yourself and 2) Seek Self Improvement.  As a Leader, it is your responsibility to know and better your people – this process begins with yourself.

            The importance of self knowledge is not a new concept.  Socrates and Aristole both stressed that you had to “Know Thyself.”  Lao Tzo said that while it is wisdom to know others, it “is enlightenment to know one’s self.”  Unfortunately, over the past 2500 years, many of us have forgotten the importance of knowing ourselves before we begin to learn and do other things.

              The first step in becoming a truly great leader is to truly know yourself.  Knowing yourself means you know your strengths and weaknesses – this allows you play to your strengths and to improve your weaknesses.  We all have flaws and weaknesses, and, if you don’t know what they are, guess who does?  Your people.  No one will know a leader’s shortcomings better than the people who work for him.  

            This means that if you do not know your weaknesses, you cannot improve them, and they will continually be exposed to your people.  Having demonstrable weaknesses will compromise your abiilty to lead.  Unless, your people see you actively improving on your weaknesses – this shows them that you are aware and are seeking self-improvement, which will make you a better leader. 

So, how can we know ourselves?  There are several ways you can learn more about yourself.  Before discussing a list though, we need to discuss humilty.  More than a touch of humilty is necessary for this process.  Leaders tend to be confident – and they need to be, but confidence cannot become arrogance.  When it does, you can no longer be self-aware, and you can no longer be a leader.  So, when you are ready to take a long look in the mirror and scruntinize yourself, take a deep breath, bring on a healthy dose of humilty and look for the flaws.

When you are ready, click through for some ideas on how to learn more about yourself.

The Marine Corps Leadership Principles

Given the several week lapse since I first kicked off my Marine Corps Leadership Principles series, I am going to go ahead, re-boot it, and start from the beginning again.  My apologies for those of you who have read these already - I will revise them some - just for you!

Before delving into the Leadership Principles, I explored the 14 Marine Corps Leadership Traits.  The Leadership Traits are characteristics that leaders – and want-to-be leaders - need to incorporate into their actions.  The best way to view the Leadership Traits is that they are internal – these are things that you are.  These are characteristics that you really need to begin to develop before you become a leader.

            The other set of basic fundamentals that the Marine Corps uses to hone its leaders are the Marine Corps Leadership principles.  Unlike the Leadership Traits, the Leadership Principles are things that you do – actions you need to take. 

            The Marine Leadership Principles are proven guidelines that Marines have developed over the past 200 years.  Marines are asked to lead is very stressful and difficult environments, and the Leadership Principles substantially increase a Marine’s ability to lead effectively.  By understanding, mastering, and applying these Principles, you will learn to lead more effectively, accomplish your mission, and earn the respect of your subordinates, peers and seniors.  .

When you look in the mirror,
make sure it is an accurate reflection

            If you speak to any successful leader, they will all tell you that they continuously and objectively refine their leadership abilities.  The best way to assess and refine your capabilities is to compare them to an established set of guidelines – this is where the Marine Corps Leadership Principles come into play.  Marines refine their leadership skills by comparing their skills against the Leadership Principles.   

            

As a leader or aspiring leader, you should develop a set of leadership guidelines to follow.  Then, periodically, you should sit down and grade yourself against these benchmarks so you can see how you are doing.  Of course your assessment will only be as good as your benchmarks, so make sure you adopt the right set of guidelines. 

            Click through for a list of the Marine Corps Leadership Principles. 

Leadership Trait of the Day: ENDURANCE

Made it - 14 Leadership Traits, that's Endurance!

Endurance is our 14^th and final Marine Corps Leadership Trait.  It is appropriate that Endurance be the last of a string of 14 traits – it takes a little bit of Endurance to stay the course in this analysis.  More importantly, Endurance impacts all of the other traits – you have to have the staying power to exhibit the other 13 traits day after day after day. 

            We all know what Endurance is, but how to we define it?  I love the Marine Corps definition of Endurance: The mental and physical stamina measured by the ability to withstand pain, fatigue, stress, and hardship.  That sentence almost completely captures the essence of being a Marine – the ability to withstand ______ (fill-in the blank.) 

Just kidding - it's a party!

          Now, there are not too many jobs out there that are going to require you to “withstand pain” and other physical hardships, but all Leaders still need Endurance – mental endurance.  Leadership is a marathon, not a sprint.  You do not show up and “lead” in a day.  It takes hard work day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year.  Leadership is best measured by how you finish, not how you start. 

            In this regard, Endurance, will vital, is an often overlooked aspect of Leadership.  Great Leaders – just like great athletes need Endurance to achieve lofty goals and to change their organizations.  How many of us have seen a good, maybe even great Leader jump in and tackle a problem like the Tasmanian Devil, only to peter out and grind to a halt?  It is difficult to overcome institutional inertia – as they say, “Rome wasn’t built in a day.”  If you do not have the fortitude and Endurance to keep plugging away, your initiatives will likely fall flat. 

            Endurance is what separates the truly successful Leaders from the short-term successes. Leaders with the ability to see their teams through the difficult times are the ones that grow the most.  Endurance allows growth and provides a strengthened resolve to get you through the hard times. 

            We all know how to build physical endurance – such as lacing up the running shoes and hit the pavement – but how about mental endurance? 

Turns out, you can build your mental stamina and toughness as well. 

Click through for some methods to make yourself mentally tougher.

Leadership Trait of the Day: COURAGE

Heroics Not Required

This is easy right – courage is running into a burning building, attacking the enemy in the face of a barrage of machinegun fire, standing your ground to perform you mission in the face of certain death like these Marines did.  (If you have not read Gen. John Kelly’s speech about Corporal Yale and Lance Corporal Haerter, stop reading this article, click on that link and read that instead.  It will make you cry, give you chills, and make you proud to be an American all at the same time.) 

Yes, those are all examples of courage – physical courage – bravery if you will.  However, this is only one aspect of courage; the other part is moral courage: standing up for what is right in the face of criticism, mockery or resentment.  You show moral courage when you are willing to confront a situation for the sake of rightness, independent of the cost.

Both types of courage are captured in the Marine Corps’ definition of courage:

Courage is the mental quality that recognizes fear of danger or criticism, but enables a Marine to proceed in the face of danger with calmness and firmness.  Knowing and standing for what is right, even in the face of popular disfavor.

Moral and Physical Courage - the most iconic photo
of courage in my lifetime. 

The good news is that the vast majority of people will never be asked to demonstrate physical courage in the face of danger.  The bad news is that moral courage is a much more difficult characteristic to demonstrate.  I have been faced with both, and I would pick a firefight over a weighty moral decision any day. 

Let’s take a moment to look at what is and what isn’t moral courage.  Let’s start with a very current event - Adam Silver, the NBA commissioner, just dropped the hammer on Donald Sterling, the owner of the L.A. Clippers for some disgusting racist comments and beliefs espoused by Sterling.  People are lauding Silver’s decision and his “courage.”  I fully support Silver’s decision, but it wasn’t courageous. 

Why?  Because everyone wanted Silver to punish Sterling to the maximum extent possible – doing what everyone wants and following the popular path (even when it is the right path) does not require courage. 

Moral courage requires a decision that could be costly. Some examples of moral courage in the workplace include telling a supervisor about how your co-workers frequently doctor their time sheets, disclosing illegal accounting practices to an external auditor or releasing incriminating confidential documents to the media.   “Whistle blowing,” the disclosure of illicit or unsavory business practices to the public, is another form of moral courage.  Each of these could cost you friends, jobs, or public smears.  There is a cost to standing up and taking the “right” action.

Atticus Finch - Paragon of Moral Courage

True moral courage is difficult.  It is so difficult, it tends to be lacking in many people.  This is not a new phenomenon.  The great 19^th century American author Mark Twain remarked that it is “curious that physical courage should be so common in the world, and moral courage so rare.”  The famous World War II General George Patton observed that “Moral courage is the most valuable and usually the most absent characteristic in men.”

So, we know that we are most likely to get called upon to show moral, not physical courage, and we know that moral courage is sorely lacking across our society and can be difficult to demonstrate.  Where does this leave us?  It leaves us with the type of challenge that makes a leader, a Leader – the task of modeling and developing moral courage.   

So, how as Leaders can we build and demonstrate our moral courage and instill in our subordinates the necessary moral courage? 

Click through for some ideas. 

Leadership Trait of the Day: DEPENDABILITY



 Marines will tell you that there are two types of people in the world: Marines and everyone else.  There are many things that set Marines apart, but one of the foremost is Dependability. 

Along those lines, we can expand this statement.  There are two types of people in the world: those who are dependable, and those who are not.  If you are not dependable, you will never make it as a leader. 

The Marine Corps defines a Dependable individual as one who can be relied upon to perform their duties properly; can be trusted to complete a job and is willing to support the policies and orders of the chain of command.  Dependability also means you consistently put forth your best effort in an attempt to achieve the highest standards of performance.  A Leader makes and keeps commitments, has the discipline to avoid procrastination, and puts forth a full effort to complete a task.

Let’s distill this down even further.  You are Dependable when you when you are consistent and you do what you say you will do.   

By this definition, are you dependable?  If you want to be a Leader, you better have said yes.

Are you as reliable as Old Faithful?

Stress, chaos and difficult circumstances are no excuse for failing to be dependable.  Leaders have to remain consistent in a crisis.  Indeed, a Leader’s Dependability during a crisis is often what can guide his team through the rough seas. 

A Dependable Leader is not discouraged when faced with obstacles.  Instead he will find ways to improvise and overcome.  A Dependable Leader will take pride in being reliable and accountable, and zealously protects that accrued trust with consistent, steadfast behavior. 

So, how can you learn to be Dependable?  Click through for my suggestions. 

Leadership Trait of the Day: INITIATIVE

Yesterday we discussed decisiveness – today we will look at the closely related Leadership trait of Initiative.  When the Marine Corps developed its acronym JJDIDTIEBUCKLE for its 14 Leadership traits, there is a reason it put initiative next to decisiveness – they are two sides of the same coin.

At their simplest, Decisiveness is your ability to make a decision – Initiative impacts your ability to act on that decision.  You can make the best decision in the world, but it is meaningless until you put it into action. 

In this sense Initiative is CARPE DIEM – Seize the Day!  Make a decision and move on it.  As the great Will Rogers said “Even if you’re on the right track you’ll get run over if you just sit there.” 

However, making a decision and acting on it is only one part of Initiative.  Yes, it is an important part, and yes, a good leader has to have the initiative to act on his decisions.  But a great leader will show Initiative in other ways as well. 

The Marine Corps defines Initiative as "taking action in the absence of orders."  In other words when you see something that needs to be done - do it ... don't wait for directions.  This is above and beyond merely making a decision.  This is the heart of being proactive; of seeing and solving problems before they are Problems.


As a Leader, you have to exercise this type of Initiative.  You cannot wait for things to happen - if you do, you are constantly reacting and are never directing.  Leaders are proactive, not reactive.  You cannot successfully direct your people if you are constantly reacting.  So, to be a successful Leader, you have to anticipate what is coming and plan accordingly.  Often, if you act first, you can shape and control events - instead of letting events control you.  This allows you to direct your people and to have a plan.  Your subordinates will be more effective when you are proactive - they will also be happier.   

Click through for a further discussion on how a Leader can develop initiative.