 |
| 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.
