The United States military is the greatest in the world. Consisting of its separate branches, one branch leads them all in its team effectiveness and that is the Marine Corps. Everybody knows that all the branches mess around with each other and joke about who is better but at the end of the day one thing stands out, marines do more with less. What this refers to is the fact that marines do not get new gear, they get hand-me-downs from the other branches and they also have a way lower budget than the other branches yet they still succeed in all missions and usually in a very quick manner. I feel this is where our lesson this week ties in because I believe marines can do more with less due to their team leadership and team effectiveness. This starts with how the marines form their teams within the organization. There are 3 aspects to groups/teams and the marine corps has mastered all 3. These are group size, group stage, and group roles (PSU WC, L.9, p. 3). The marine corps has a system set up for organizational success. The lowest breakdown in this structure is the fire team in the infantry of the marine corps. A fire team consists of 4 team members who live, eat, breathe, and do everything together as a team. This allows for a very effective team that completes its tasks and missions at all costs and in a timely manner.
Each fire team has a team leader assigned. This member is not only part of the team but is in charge. The Hill Model for Team Leadership is based on the idea that it is the team leader’s job to monitor and take any actions needed to ensure the team is effective (Northouse, 2022, p.464). This is exactly what is expected of a fire team leader. They are expected to control their fireteam in a manner that keeps it effective but also allows the members to grow and influence the team. A perfect fire team will utilize distributed leadership. This is when team members also take on leadership behaviors to influence the team (Northouse, 2022, p.464). So even though a fire team has a team leader, the machine gunner may direct the team in an instance where they are the main priority and have the experience needed to complete a certain part of the mission. This is so important to the success of the mission because it allows the team to flow without issues and to work together with the most experienced person influencing the tactics used.
While distributed leadership absolutely leads to a very effective team, the marine corps does an excellent job of instilling and teaching 8 important characteristics to their leaders and team members. These 8 characteristics were originally identified by Larson & LaFasto in 1989 as the most important to a team effectiveness (Northouse, 2022, p.467). The 8 characteristic consisted of “clear, elevating goals”, “results driven structure”, “Competent team members”, “unified commitment”, “collaborative climate”, “standards of excellence”, “external support and recognition”, “principial leadership” (Northouse, 2022, p. 467). Each one of these characteristics is taught to leaders and then implemented within each and every fireteam in the marine corps which is why fire teams can operate flawlessly together after the norming phase.
All marines are trained the same and to get to the fleet must prove their competence in their skills and communication as well as teamwork. The marine corps does a very good job of making sure each and every marine is competent before letting them graduate their schools. This means that when a team is formed all members are very competent and should not have any issues adjusting to their new teams. The marine corps has also spent decades figuring out the best organizational structure for a platoon of marines which led to the ultimate creation of a 4 man fire team. This has proven to be the best structure and to have the perfect amount of marines in the team. Both the competency of marines and the size of the fireteam fall under the characteristic of competent team members which states that for the best team effectiveness both need to be perfect (Northouse, 2022, p. 468). After a fire team is formed, the team leader will meet with the team and set a clear goal for the team. This is the basis for the team. He also explains how that goal will grow and become a little more complex as the mission changes. In doing this the team understands what they are trying to achieve, gets unified on their commitment, and there are no questions in what they need to do. This is how the team leader implements clear, elevating goal setting and unified commitment (Northouse, 2022, p. 467-468). Once a team has established the goals, they then set up their norms of conduct for the group as well as the team structure. The norms for conduct will be the standards that the team is expected to meet or exceed. As stated in the reading this week, this falls under the characteristic of a results-driven structure and standards of excellence (Northouse, 2022, p. 468-469). When all of these things are in place the fire team will work together and collaborate on all plans and training. The marine corps has each marine learn the jobs of all the marines in their team and their team leader as well. This makes each and every individual able to work together and switch roles if needed at any point. This allows for the collaborative climate characteristic where all marines can work together instead of against each other and mitigates in group problems (Northouse, 2022, p. 469).
The marine corps has done an excellent job throughout their existence of providing an elite fighting force that is due to its elite structure of teams and team leadership. The last aspects of this structure are the fact that they give any support needed to their marines as well as the fact that they pick the most competent and principled leader to be the fire team leader. Principled leadership allows a team to be very effective because the leader is open minded and properly read his or her team and the situation. These team leaders can assign the roles that best fit their team members and make the proper decisions for the group as far as internal or external problems the group faces. This is what is called principled leadership (Northouse, 2022, p. 470). Overall, the marine corps does more with less because they have found and implemented the perfect formula for team leadership and team effectiveness within it’s ranks.
References:
Northouse, P.G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 9th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2022). PSYCH 485 Lesson 9: Team Leadership. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2177519/modules/items/33991745
I enjoyed your post and I agree that the Marine Corps are an excellent example of team leadership. Your analysis of how the Marines fit into the Hill Model for Team Leadership is accurate. As you said, the Hill Model for Team Leadership is based on the idea that it is the team leader’s job to monitor and take any actions needed to ensure the team is effective (Northouse, 2022, p. 464). Ginnett’s Team Effectiveness Leadership Model or TELM is another model that can successfully analyze the Marine Corps effectiveness. TELM focuses on team excellence and the desired outcomes of teamwork (Northouse, 2021, p. 815). This model was designed to help teams perform most effectively and assist leaders in identifying what the teams needs are (Ginnett, 1993; 1996 as cited in PSU WC, L9, p. 7). The TELM model is quite similar to the Hill Model for Team Leadership in the sense that they both suggest that the leader’s main job is to determine what the teams needs are and take care of those needs (PSU WC, L9, p. 7).
The TELM model breaks down into three specific concepts: inputs, process, and outputs (PSU WC, L9, p. 7). Inputs are what are available for teams as they work on their goal and are often considered psychological factors (PSU WC, L9, p. 7). Team process can be described as how the team goas about its work and includes group dynamics, dynamics of communication, dynamics of coordination, and dynamics of conflict (PSU WC, L9, p. 7) And outputs are the result of the team’s work (PSU WC, L9, p. 7).
When applying the TELM model to the Marine Corps, we can assume that the leader is the General. This model suggests that it is the Generals job to ensure that all of his/her followers needs are met and this is where inputs take play. The general should ensure that all soldiers stay healthy mentally and physically. Generals may consider executing routine physical and mental evaluations. The General should also monitor team process to ensure soldiers work well with each other. The general is also expected to make changes to ensure positive team process (PSU WC L9, p. 7). The general should also monitor the outputs of the teams process because if the team does not produce an output then it is not considers effective (PSU WC, L9, p. 7) In this case, outputs could be winning a war, or they could be the amount of soldiers injured or killed. Obviously, the general and their team would desire less of their team members injured so in this case the outputs would be measured differently.
To conclude, the Team Effectiveness Leadership Model or TELM, was designed to help teams perform most beneficially (Ginnett, 1993; 1996 as cited in PSU WC, L9, p. 7). This model assists leaders in identifying what the teams necessities are and suggests that the leader’s main job is to determine what the team’s needs are and then take care of these needs (PSU WC, L9, p. 7).
References
Northouse, P.G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 9th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications
Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2022). PSYCH 485 Lesson 9: Team Leadership. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2177519/modules/items/33991745