Leadership style: What we can learn from the Marines (Part II)

In a previous article, I emphasized what we can learn from the Marines to better communicate at work. This time, let’s focus on the leadership aspect : either your own leadership or the global leadership style in your organisation.

If you feel like assessing one’s leadership skills, have a look at the following characteristics which make a successful and effective leader as per the Marines.

JJ DID TIE BUCKLE or the 14 leadership traits

Here are the Leadership principles by Marine Corps (source : manual RP0103). The fourteen leadership traits can be remembered with the acronym “JJ DID TIE BUCKLE” :

– Justice
– Judgment
– Dependability
– Initiative
– Decisiveness
– Tact
– Integrity
– Enthusiasm
– Bearing
– Unselfishness
– Courage
– Knowledge
– Loyalty
– Endurance

As a leader, if you want your team members to be at their best, you need to be at your best first and be a role model. You can do this exercise for yourself : rank each trait on a scale from 0 to 10.

Among the fourteen traits above, which one are you more concerned about for yourself or for the leader in your organisation ? What are your/their strengths ? What are some areas for improvement ?

How to assess your leadership style ?

Let’s compare a leader to an athlete. An athlete, to be able to perform, needs to master a technic, to have the right strategy and to have the right mindset. If this athlete masters the technic and the strategy but does not have the proper mindset, then the limiting trait in this case will be the mindset.

Similarly, a leader is limited by the trait that he/she masters the least: each trait is worth working on. Executive coaching can help you assess your leadership style and make it even better. You can be very specific and decide to improve one aspect in particular.

For a free discovery session, contact me.