Marine Corps Leadership Principles

From the time I was a little boy I was always taught to never lie and to always do my best. I learned at a very young age that you possess virtues and personal attributes that make you who you are. Fast forward 15 years and now I am a Sergeant of Marines in the United States Marine Corps. Leading and mentoring young men in their earlier adulthood. My influence on these Marines can change them for the rest of their life. As a sergeant you must possess integrity, dependability and courage to be a successful leader of Marines. Tell the truth all the time no one bats an eye, tell one lie and your reputation is in question for a lifetime.

“In order to be a good leader, there are two things to remember. Lead from the Front and always set the Example. From these two leadership principles, everything else will fall into place.”

NonCommissioned Officers are the backbone of the Marine Corps.   Each leader is very different from the other.   Some Marines enjoy being a corporal only because of the increase in rank and pay.   A few become the tactless leaders junior Marines try to avoid.   Fortunately, many others strive to become the leader that other Marines wish to emulate.   They know what it means to be a good leader.   Those Marines have the traits of a leader and they get to know their Marines

Leadership development in the military is critical to its mission and objectives. Understanding and embracing leadership will foster an agile culture and facilitate attainment of strategic goals. People desire quality leadership to assist with achieving their goals, albeit personal or professional development. Having a clear vision and the motivation to perform at high-levels influences others to work synergistically together to achieve organizational goals. Insomuch, employees value being treated respectfully, fairly, and ethically. Leaders serve people best when they help them develop their own initiative and good judgment, enable them to grow, and help them become better contributors.

As an officer in the United States Army, it has been imperative for me to understand every facet of leadership and why it remains important to be an effective leader. During this course, I have learned some valuable lessons about myself as a leader and how I can improve on my leadership ability in the future. The journal entries along with the understanding of available leadership theories have been an integral part of my learning during this course. For all of the journals and assessments that I completed, I feel it has given me a good understanding of my current leadership status and my future potential as a leader. All of the specific assessments looked at several areas in regards to leadership; these assessments covered several

The Marine Corps has 11 Leadership Principles. Of the eleven, there is one that states, “Seek Responsibility and Take Responsibility.” This is instilled in every Marine from Private (Enlisted-1) to General (Officer-10). Throughout the Bible, God placed responsibility upon His people and expected them to act accordingly. However, He did not punish the son for the father’s sin and vice-versa. There were times in the Old Testament that this occurred. For example, with Achan (Jos. 7:14-15) when he stole spoils from battle, did not confess it, and he along with his family was killed. Another instance happened when the accusers of Daniel and their families were thrown in the Lion’s Den (Dan. 6:24). Sande states, “Another way to avoid responsibility for our sins is to shift the blame to others or to say that they made us act the way we did.”

“Discipline is based on pride, on meticulous attention to detail, and on mutual respect and confidence. Discipline must be a habit, ingrained that it is stronger than the excitement of the goal or the fear of failure (Gary, 2017). As an Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) in the Marine Corps, as leaders we must train our Marines. This requires discipline to be acknowledged and maintained, in fact, also be a receptive and considerate NCO. NCO’s are considered the backbone of the Marine Corps and we will continue to improve our skills to become great leaders that are able to balance the many traits required of a leader. Even though Discipline shouldn't warrant compassionate, you should always remain firm or Marines will get relaxed and complacent. Arguably,

Noncommissioned Officers are the backbone of the Marine Corps. Each leader is vastly different from the other. Some Marines enjoy being a corporal only because of the increase in rank and pay. A few become the tactless leaders junior Marines try to avoid. Fortunately, many others mature into Marines who strive to become the leader that other Marines wish to emulate. They know what it means to be a good leader. Those Marines have the traits of a leader; they get to know their Marines; and they adhere to a sound leadership style. This paper will discuss the story of Dakota L. Meyer, who received the Medal of Honor for his actions as a Corporal of Marines during

one of, if not, the most important trait that can be utilized in an irregular environment. There is

I am here today to relay upon you all, something that I have failed to abide by: the UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS (USMC) CORE VALUES: Honor, Courage, and Commitment. I will be accurate to the best of my abilities and knowledge and use all of my available resources. This essay will be done in a military manner and will indeed be tactful. I will follow the orders of the format that was given to me by my Officer in Charge: Second Lieutenant Gage. It will be done correctly and on time not a day, second, or minute late. With this essay I am confident that my peers, my Noncommissioned Officers, Staff Noncommissioned Officers, Officers, and Commanding Officers will see it through that I know and understand

One of the primary duties of a CMC is to assist and advise their principals of mission, morale, and well-being impacts of existing or proposed policy changes (Ref. (a)). CMCs strengthen the chain of command by keeping the command aware of existing or potential problems as well as procedures and practices which affect the mission, readiness, welfare and morale of the crew. CMCs are the sounding board for the commanding officer, acting as his or her senior enlisted advisor. If CMCs developed coaching as a skill, they could step into the role of an executive coach when needed. Executive coaching helps define vision, increases job satisfaction, and focuses on goal achievement. Using 360-degree feedback tools, questioning techniques and coaching skills, CMCs could help their principles improve their leadership abilities, identify and stay focused on long-term goals and improve day-to-day operations. Once trained, CMCs could use such models as Kouzes and Posner’s Leadership Challenge (Ref. (e)) to help coach their principals into clarifying and strengthening their leadership philosophies and visions. They could also help principals interpret performance feedback such as Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute (DEOMI) and Organizational Climate Survey (DEOCS) and figure out the next steps to take toward creating a healthy command climate. CMC coaches could also provide emotional support for the process of change, bolstering the courage and resolve needed to initiate and

The opportunity to positively affect the careers and lives of those I work alongside is one of the greatest privileges and responsibilities that I have. As a Boatswains Mate I’ve been fortunate to be in the presence of some great leaders; they defined leadership through their actions, not words. They epitomized the Core Values and expected the same from the crew. The bottom line was that they cared, respected, trusted us and empowered us to become the leader we wanted to be and more importantly the leader the service needs us to be so that we can continue our Service to Nation, Duty to People and Mission Excellence. As an Officer in Charge (OIC) I’m afforded a unique opportunity as an enlisted leader of a unit. Responsibility and accountability cannot be delegated and the repercussions of betraying those duties will have far lasting effects on not only the unit but also the members who were impacted by negative leadership and inconsistent alignment of values. My personal leadership philosophy, which has been drafted and revised numerous times throughout my career, now serves as my Command Philosophy: Family, Readiness and Mission Excellence.

Beginning in boot camp and continuing throughout my career, I’ve seen the Coast Guard promote the leadership model to be: “You” influencing “Others” to achieve a “Goal”. With all the different ways leadership can be defined, this simplistic model which has been permanently engrained in my thinking definition still rings true for me. As such, when defining my own personal definition of leadership, I align it to this same model. More specifically, while I support the fact that leadership involves influencing others to achieve a common end I propose that is not the whole story. Leaders must not be stagnant in their vision and must lend themselves to the possibility they may have to adjust their leadership styles depending on the goal. The best leaders are the ones that understand their own personality traits as well as those traits of the people they are trying to lead.

Most leaders tend to forget that leaders serve their subordinates, not devalue them. Throughout this paper, I will recite few ideas I learned from reading The 5 Levels of Leadership: Proven Steps to Maximize Your Potential by John C. Maxwell. This book has been an excellent resource for me as a new Non-Commissioned Officer to be less of a “Boss” and more of an influential leader. On this book, Maxwell discuss about five important

When we were younger we were always told by our parents to behave and follow the rules in school and to be nice to the other children. At school they had a set of rules that we were meant to follow and abide by them. Here in the Marine Corps is no different there are many rules and regulations that are meant to be followed under the UCMJ Articles. It’s important to keep following the orders you are given and that you follow these rules exactly like you are ordered to do so. In this essay I will be talking about the following: Disobeying an Order, Disrespect, Discipline, Chain of Command, Unauthorized Absence, and Leadership Principles and Leadership Traits. I will try my best’s efforts to explain everything and show what I have learned in