Leadership Outline
This is a very brief outline of the personal leadership philosophy Bob tried to follow during many years in the United States Marine Corps. Although this is the way he learned to lead Marines, and these are the lessons he tried to pass on to those who followed him in the Corps, this philosophy has application in nearly any endeavor in which one person must guide the actions of others.
Leaders Must:
- Accomplish the mission
- Define the mission
- Prepare
- Maintain focus on the mission
- Supervise and motivate
- Take care of the troops
- They are the ones who will accomplish the mission
- Communicate
- Up and down the chain
- Build a team
- A successful leader will convince subordinates to sacrifice a bit of themselves for the good of the team
- Teamwork is the difference between champions and the rest
- Earn loyalty and respect
- They are never given freely
- And they can never be demanded
- Set the standard
- Assure subordinates know the level of performance that is expected and the goal for which they must strive
- Seek contant improvement
- Personally as well as for the organization
- Take the initiative
- See the need and do what must be done
- Take responsibility
- The leader is responsible for everything his organization does or fails to do.
- Occasionally break the rules
- Sun Tzu said, "There are some orders that must not be obeyed."
- If it doesn't work out, see above
- Know themselves and be themselves
- Enthusiasm is good, but only if it is sincere
- Stick to the leadership style that is natural
- Be thoughtful
- Consider the consequences of all actions and the unspoken messages that those actions send
- Never let ego get in the way of what is best for the organization
- Always have a valid reason to take action
- Analyze and learn from mistakes as well as successes
- Pass the torch
- Groom and train the next generation of leaders
