I’ve been in the Marines for over 10 years now and I thought it’d be a good idea to relate this week’s lesson to my experiences in the Marine Corps. What really stood out to me in our readings was that Peter Northouse described leadership as a process and isn’t a “linear, one-way event, but rather an interactive event. When leadership is defined in this manner, it becomes available to everyone” (Northouse, 2016). Ultimately, this means that leadership can be learned by an individual. The Marine Corps seeks to instill leadership in each and every single Marine as they progress through Recruit Training or Officer Candidate School. The Marine Corps has identified 14 leadership traits that are viewed by Marines as qualities of thought and action which, if demonstrated in daily activities, help us earn the respect, confidence, and loyal cooperation of other Marines. It is extremely important for each Marine to understand the meaning of each leadership trait and how to develop it so that they may know what goals to set as they work to become a good leader and a good follower. The acronym we use to memorize these 14 leadership traits is JJDIDTIEBUCKLE.
Justice
Judgement
Dependability
Initiative
Decisiveness
Tact
Integrity
Enthusiasm
Bearing
Unselfishness
Courage
Knowledge
Loyalty
Endurance
These concepts are more than just words to Marines, they must mean something to every leader in order that they be truly be understood and carried in one’s heart and mind throughout life. I feel that Julia Dye does a great job summarizing the leadership traits in her book “BACKBONE”. She writes: “If there is one constant about the fourteen leadership traits recognized by the Marine Corps, it is that not one of them stands alone or above all the others. They are intertwined and interdependent, like the parts of a fine watch or the gears in a complex machine. Absent one trait, all the others are affected: the watch loses time, the machine malfunctions. Without unselfishness, it may be difficult to be dependable. Without knowledge, it’s fought to make solid judgement calls” (Dye, 2011). Marine Corps leadership traits are relevant in both the Marine Corps and civilian society. The terms troops, Marines, and employees can be used interchangeably. After all, an organization is only as good as its people. And if I’ve learned anything about our first week in class it’s that leadership is about people and building relationships.
REFERENCES
Dye, Julia. Backbone : History, Traditions and Leadership Lessons of Marine Corps NCOs. Botley, Oxford, UK ; Long Island City, NY, USA :Osprey Pub., 2011. Print.
Mus'ab Abdalla says
Michael-
Thank you for your enlightening post. I appreciated your sharing of the 14 leadership traits valued by the Marine Corps, your clear and concise presentation, and for pointing out the acronym which likely would’ve been missed if you hadn’t.
One of the things which really struck me about this list was that unlike most of the leadership theories we’ve studied in our PSYCH 485 course, morality seems to be the core focus, referring to the concepts presented in leadership ethics. You mentioned that these 14 traits of Marine Corps leadership are valued as “qualities of thought and action”, which in other words reflects awareness and service to others, qualities attributed to servant leadership (as cited in Northouse, 2016). Moreover, the qualities which you indicated are meant to dignify persons affiliated with the Marines, as well as equip them with the attitude and view of the world that reflects those virtuous characteristics. Ethics, which is a concept attributed back to ancient philosophers, Plato (427-347 b.c.) and Aristotle (384-322 b.c.) “ethics has its roots in the Greek word ethos, which translates to ‘customs’, ‘conduct’, or ‘character’” (as cited in Northouse loc. 6791, 2016). Descriptively, ethics is about what kind of people leaders are and what they do.
You mentioned in your post that these traits are more than just a list to be memorized, but that they must be internalized by every Marine. What I got from your comments is that these characteristics give a sense of purpose and meaning to who the Marines are, and what individuals are expected to represent.
Marines are taught qualities of Justice, Judgement, Initiative and Decisiveness which all characterize the element of ethics which is to direct and guide people’s conduct, as ethics informs the decisions leaders make or how they respond to different circumstances and situations (Northouse loc. 6791, 2016).
Kohlberg (1981 as cited in PSU WC lesson 14, 2016) who philosophized and observed moral reasoning in human behaviors, came up with a classification for what he determined to be 6 stages of moral reasoning, which he grouped into three levels, Preconventional, Conventional, and Postconventional. The higher the stage, the more progressed and complex a person is capable of reasoning, in Kohlberg’s view. At the Preconventional level, a person’s basis for right and wrong is mostly rooted in self-interest, and usually either fear induced, such as wanting to avoid punishment or motivated by reward, stage 1 being bad behavior is punishable and stage 2, good behavior merits reward. At the second level, behaving morally is determined by social convention or hoping for other’s approval: “Stage 3: ‘good’ behavior is that which is approved by others. ‘bad’ behavior is that which is disapproved by others; [and] Stage 4: ‘good’ behavior conforms to standards set by social institutions. ‘bad’ behavior results in feelings of guilt or dishonor” (PSU WC lesson 14, 2016). According to Kohlberg, few adults ever reach the highest level of moral development, wherein the impetus to behave one way or another and the criteria for morals are “based on universal, abstract principles which may transcend the laws of a particular society” and encompass the two stages as follows: “Stage 5: ‘good’ behavior conforms to community standards set through democratic participation. There is concern with maintaining self-respect and the respect of equals. Stage 6: ‘good’ behavior is a matter of individual conscience based on responsibly chosen commitments to ethical principles” (PSU WC lesson 14, 2016). If a Marine truly embodies all the virtues of JJDIDTIEBUCKLE, “Justice; Judgement; Dependability; Initiative; Decisiveness; Tact; Integrity; Enthusiasm; Bearing; Unselfishness; Courage; Knowledge; Loyalty; Endurance;” (Fry, 2016) they would reflect Kohlberg (1981 as cited in PSU WC, 2016)’s highest level, Preconventional level, of moral reasoning.
Northouse (2016) delves into Kohlberg’s classification of moral reasoning in more detail, explaining that individuals who have developed Postconventional morality, are operating on ethical principles that are supported by social contract and based on “internalized universal principles of justice that apply to everyone” (Northouse loc. 6832, 2016), which is what I got from the leadership qualities of the Marines, and which you mentioned are expected to be upheld by everyone in the society which makes up the Marine Corps.
Ethical theories, Northouse (2016) describes as falling into two broad categories, either the aspect of a leader’s conduct or character. This is interesting in application to the Marine Corps leadership principles, as the list encompasses characteristics of both conduct and character, which exemplifies a wholistic ethical approach to leadership.
References:
Northouse, Peter G.. Leadership: Theory and Practice (Kindle Locations). SAGE Publications. Kindle Edition.
Penn State World Campus (2016). PSYCH 485: Leadership in Work Settings. Lesson 14: Ethics and Leadership. Retrieved from:
hwh10 says
Reference for above post
Northouse, Peter G. (2015). Leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
hwh10 says
Your post was very interesting to me. I read it a couple of times to reflect how my own organization values this list and whether we had appropriately articulated those traits or not.
Throughout time I have seen similar lists for a variety of organizations all applied in their own ways. Until recent reading for this course I never really thought to ask the question that now I can’t stop asking myself…are these traits? Previously, I would have labeled them as traits but now I begin to question that terminology. I know it’s such a picky thing but if we use the definitions provided to us I am not sure these are traits which is not a judgmental statement. In fact I feel it is better for all involved if applying our definitions we view these as skills.
In Northouse (2015) the “great man” theories were discussed. Those theories that only “great” people possessed a list of traits like this. (p. 19) I am not sure that was the intention of this list or if we would even want to endorse it as a list of traits with these definitions. In the very idea that you are either born with traits or you are not makes a list of traits closed to any who aspire to grow in their role.
To me if we were to refer to this list as skills or behaviors it would be much more accurate and, in the end more, desirable. Northouse (2015) describes the strengths of skills based approach and the first one listed the ability to learn. “First, it is a leader-centered model that stresses the importance of the leader’s abilities, and it places learned skills the center of effective leadership.” (p. 69)
This opportunity to look at this list of skills and consider my own organizational language is very helpful.