14 Leadership Traits

Everything I know about leadership I learned in the Marines.

I enlisted in the Marine Corps on my 19th birthday after a half-hearted attempt at college. I spent the next twelve years learning to lead using the 14 Leadership Traits and 11 Leadership Principles. Nearing the end of my third enlistment my wife and I discovered that she was pregnant with our first child. So, I decided to hang up my guns.

Since then, four children have come and a dozen years have passed. I've read about, seen and been exposed to a variety of leadership philosophies, techniques and programs. I've yet to come across any more effective or impactful as the 14 Leadership Traits that I learned in the Corps. Because they're as relevant today as ever, I'm sharing them with you with hopes that you find them as valuable as I did.

JJ DID TIE BUCKLE is the acronym I still use to remember them.

Justice: Be fair; don’t play favorites. Give everyone the opportunity to prove themselves.

Judgement: Keep anger and emotion out of your decisions; be objective. This comes with time and experience. Weigh the facts of a given situation and make a considered decision.

Decisiveness: Be able to make tough decisions quickly and accurately. This is especially important under stressful conditions. “Better to do something imperfectly than do nothing flawlessly.”- Robert H. Schuller

Integrity: Be honest with yourself and your people. Have and exhibit strong unwavering principles. This instills trust and confidence. People can accept mistakes but they will never forgive lying, cheating or stealing. Without trust all else fails.

Dependability: Always be reliable. Your people are counting on you to be there for them EVERY time. You are responsible for all your people do or fail to do. You can share responsibility but never accountability.

Tact: Use the appropriate force necessary to handle a situation. Exercise tact with your subordinates as you would with your peers, leaders, or customers.

Initiative: Act! If something needs to be done, do it. Don’t wait to be told. Take charge. You know what your mission is. Make an executive decision and drive-on.

Enthusiasm: Genuine enthusiasm is contagious. Enthusiasm in everything you do. People naturally are attracted to and want to follow leaders with a positive mental attitude. It can’t be faked.

Bearing: Keep a calm demeanor especially under stressful conditions and you'll earn your people’s trust and confidence. Your legitimacy as a leader depends upon it. It's the way you comport yourself, with equanimity.

Unselfishness: Take care of your people and they will take care of you. Share in their hardships, you're a team. Always provide the best equipment, tools and training available. Field Marshal Erwin Rommel said, “The best form of welfare for the troops is first-class training, for this saves unnecessary casualties.“

Courage: Gain control of your fears and insecurities; harness them to stimulate you to action. Do what’s right regardless of the risk to you, especially when its unpopular. With benefits of title and position come great responsibility.

Knowledge: Be proficient and know your job. If you're in the business of leadership then you're in the business of knowing. If you don’t know admit it, ask for help but NEVER bullshit them! You will instantly lose credibility.

Loyalty: Develop it up and down the chain of command. Back up your people when they’re right. Correct them when they’re wrong. Don't criticize your company, superiors, or peers around your people. Never dress down a subordinate in front of their peers; counsel them in private.

Endurance: Keep yourself physically strong, mentally sharp and morally fit. Exhibit strength of character by handling stress and taking difficulties in stride. Your people look to you to pull them through, not quit.

Without question, these traits provisioned me with a remarkable compass to guide me and a yardstick by which to check myself. Hopefully, they can do the same for you too. Oh, before I go, I'd like to share two quick observations regarding leaders: 1) The best leaders exhibit those 14 traits consistently. 2) There aren't enough good leaders in the world. BK

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Comment by Amy Lau on December 14, 2009 at 8:08pm: Hi, I came across your article, which was advertised on LinkedIn.
I heard of Leadership so many times in the past few years, but I have no clue what it really means except to show some sense of direction to people. Great article, I'll try to absorb and relate it to myself and nail my next interview.
Thank you, Brian.

Comment by Martin H.Snyder on December 29, 2009 at 1:08pm: I clicked to this post to check the top 10 postings as listed by Maren.

The 14 points are all important traits, ideally presented in the context of a top down military organization, as one would expect.

Over the years I have seen different kinds of successful leadership. Although I expect that the tighter hierarchy, male dominated style will likely be the preponderant way organizations are run for some generations to come, there is clearly another contending archetype emerging that those 14 points don’t really encompass.

The key traits in that style include collaboration, risk and conflict management, individuation, commemoration, framing, and role sharing. Not a polar opposite of the Marine Corps style by any stretch: both forms feature words not listed in this post such as; ruthlessness, approximation, political acumen, probability, deception, and subordination. Both styles are as old as time. Before the truth became undeniable, it was called female leadership and considered a luxury for easy times, low-value situations, and exceptions to history.

In cold reality, gender roles and expectations have been morphing for years. Kids today share strong traits across the spectrum, with notions of male and female quite different from what has gone before.

Leadership as we have imagined it will be changing in similar ways. Modeling yourself as a squared-away Marine probably would not hurt, but it’s not the only way to the top.

Comment by Brian Keith on June 28, 2011 at 6:52pm: I disagree with your assessment that the 14 traits that I've shared are military specific. They are, in fact, applicable in ever walk of life and career for that matter.

You assertion that the "tighter hierarchy, male dominated style will likely be the preponderant way organizations are run..." is in a word, incorrect. In fact, I would go so far to say that it's on its way out.

Candidly, I'm not really clear as to your intent. If you've got suggestions Martin, lay 'em out. Love to hear them. Otherwise, I think you're just disagreeing for the sake of disagreeing.