Marine Corps Leadership Principles

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.”

Throughout all four years of high school, I have been an active member in my NJROTC unit. As a cadet, I learned all about the Navy, from the rate and rank structure, to nautical jargon, to distinguishing different ships, and most importantly, how to be a leader. From day one in the program, cadets are taught the Navy Core Values of Honor, Courage, and Commitment, what they mean, and how to embody them. When I became a leader in the company, I was expected to abide by these values, emulate them, and encourage them in my subordinates. I feel it is impossible to be a good leader without these character traits.

“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,

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.

“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.”

My leadership philosophy revolves entirely around the Army Values. In every action I take as a leader, I assess whether or not it lines up with the Army Values and the potential impacts. I have had a variety of leadership assignments during my career, all requiring a different leadership approach, spanning from team leader through platoon sergeant. My conflict resolution skills have greatly evolved through my twelve years in the Army, from rudimentary conversations to in depth problem solving. My professional development has had a profound effect on my leadership abilities, from NCOPD’s to mentorship from senior non-commissioned officers (NCO’s).

The creed of the noncommissioned officer is a baseline for all noncommissioned officers Corporal all the way up to Sergeant Major, on how to conduct oneself in the leading of soldiers. It does not outline every single situation you may come into throughout your military career but if you live this creed then you should be set for success. In this paper we are going to take an in depth look into the creed and how you can apply every aspect of it to leadership.

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

This essay addresses leadership challenges and ways for improving leadership skills for positive changes for all Noncommissioned officers (NCO’s) of the California Army National Guard (CAARNG). Improving the current leadership practices by providing continuous training that uses standardized approaches and practices for all CAARNG NCO’s. This will assist in preserving the utmost level of attention on the CAARNG NCO structure that can in turn affect the development newly inducted NCO’s and the retention of highly experienced NCO’s.

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

Leadership traits and principals are taught and instilled from day one in boot camp where recruits are trained to be the world’s finest leaders, regardless of age or rank. While a leader can be of any rank, a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO) must earn the trust and respect of their subordinates. I believe that the one principle that is lacking most among my peers is the principle leading by example. Leading by example does not come easy because you are setting the bar of exception at your desired rate. If you’re challenged by a subordinate and they raise the bar higher, you as the NCO must meet or exceed that standard.

As a leader, my attitude can be damaging or beneficial to my team. I have identified a need for a change in my performance and leadership qualities while attending Chief Petty Officer Academy. To be an effective leader, I must be motivated to work out, improve my attitude for myself and others and be attentive to personality types.

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.

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