Summary of Marine Leadership Traits

Over the past few weeks, we have taken a look at the 14 Marine Corps Leadership Traits.    The important thing to remember when reflecting on the Marine Corps Leadership Traits is that they are just that - traits, not actions.

A trait is not something you do - it is something you are.  The dictionary definition of "trait" is a distinguishing characteristic or quality, especially of one's personal nature.

This means that to be a Great Leader, you need to adopt this 14 traits as your own personal characteristics.  You also need to adopt all of them.  These 14 traits are all interconnected - you need all of them to be a Great Leader - some may be more important than others (integrity for instance - you cannot lead anyone if you are not honest and trustworthy), but failing to adopt any of these traits will compromise you ability to lead.

Once again here are the 14 Marine Corps Leadership Traits with a link to the page where I explored the trait in detail.

JUSTICE – The ability to administer a system of rewards and punishments impartially and consistently.

JUDGMENT - The ability to weigh facts and possible courses of action in order to make sound

decisions.

DECISIVENESS - Ability to make decisions promptly and to announce them in a clear, forceful manner.

INITIATIVE - Taking action in the absence of orders.

DEPENDABILITY - The certainty of proper performance of duty.

TACT - The ability to deal with others without creating hostility.

INTEGRITY - Uprightness of character and soundness of moral principles. The quality of truthfulness and honesty.

ENTHUSIASM - The display of sincere interest and exuberance in the performance of duty.

BEARING - Creating a favorable impression in carriage, appearance, and personal conduct at all times.

UNSELFISHNESS - Avoidance of providing for one's own comfort and personal advancement at the expense of others.

COURAGE - A mental quality that recognizes fear of danger or criticism, but enables a Marine to proceed in the face of it with calmness and firmness.

KNOWLEDGE - Understanding of a science or an art. The range of one's information, including professional knowledge and an understanding of your Marines.

LOYALTY - The quality of faithfulness to country, the Corps, and unit, and to one's seniors, subordinates, and peers.

ENDURANCE -The mental and physical stamina measured by the ability to withstand pain, fatigue, stress, and hardship.

Once you adopt these characteristics and live the 14 Marine Corps Leadership Traits, you will be able to lead like a Marine.

Are you up for that challenge?

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.