In America today, the words diversity and inclusion are amongst the major topics in the corporate workplace. America is dominated by mainly white male leaders. In today’s society, this brings up a major issue. Where is the Diversity? Why does it seem that leadership still comes from the same group of people? When will everybody finally be included in these organizations’ top brass? These questions pose major problems to top companies across America. Inclusion is a very important part of today’s society and diversity in the workplace is not only important but beneficial to almost all organizations (Northouse, 2022). While some companies have addressed these issues very well, most haven’t. For the companies that have, the first thing that shows the change is their adoption of an inclusive leadership style.

Inclusion is defined as the extent to which individuals can access information and resources, are involved in groups, and have the ability to influence decision-making processes (Northouse, 2022, p.325). Instead of focusing on difference as a commodity, inclusion is focused on the level to which individuals feel they are part of the critical processes within their organization (Northouse, 2022, p.325). When an organization has an inclusive leadership style, it will have employees and leaders that work together to create a better environment for everyone. The leaders will promote and hire people of every background, race, gender, and age and include them in all the important conversations. These people will be properly represented in every level of management and they will truly feel like they are part of the team, rather then just a person on the outside. This will put each member in the quadrant of inclusion, as described in our text (Northouse, 2022, p.326).

A big factor in creating a diverse and inclusive environment is the mindset that CEO’s and higher executives have as they restructure their companies and policies. A major thing that these individuals should be looking for in people they hire and promote is the characteristic of positive diversity cognitions. This is defined as that holding the view that differences in perspectives, experiences, and values can enhance the overall performance of the teams was essential for success (Northouse, 2022, p.330). People with these cognitions will already be accustomed to and looking for ways to work together with others that have different perspectives then them. This will lead to great collaborative projects and a new environment that allows people who were previously considered a “minority” to be involved in major portions of these companies. It will also allow them to be put in positions of recognition where they would raise their chances of promotion. This would eventually lead to a completely diverse and inclusive organization.

If these factors are all combined and utilized synchronously, then all the original questions in this blog could be answered and plans could be developed on how to fix those major issues. I personally believe that if the inclusive leadership style was indoctrinated in all major companies that we would see a rise in diversity levels across America. I also believe most employees would be more satisfied at their jobs knowing they are included in the decision making processes of the company and that their voices were being heard and represented all throughout the company!

 

References: 

Northouse, P.G. (2022).  Leadership: Theory and Practice.  Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Servant leadership is a counterintuitive name for a style of leadership. Most people think of leadership as only leading and when they hear “servant” they do not believe that the two can go together (PSU WC, 2022, L. 11,  p. 1). This is especially true when most people think of the world’s most elite fighting force, the United States Marine Corps. Most people see the military as a strong, hardened fighting force that bows down to nobody. This is exactly true however, they do not see how the leadership internal to the marine corps works and why there is a constant flow of great leadership within it. This is where servant leadership plays a vital role in the marine corps.

Marine Corps leaders play a huge role in the success of the entire fighting force of America. They not only have to come up with strategic planning to accomplish missions, but they also have to develop and train marines to become the excellent warfighters that are needed in the ranks. In the Marine Corps, there is a saying that all marines are leaders regardless of rank. This can refer to officers or non-commissioned officers (NCOs). This is where servant leadership starts to kick in and play a role. The largest part of servant leadership is described by a set of behaviors called servant leader behaviors (Northouse, 2021, p. 261-264). These include the behaviors of “conceptualizing”, “emotional healing”, “putting followers first”, “helping followers grow and succeed”, “behaving ethically”, “empowering”, and “creating value for the community” (Northouse, 2021, p. 261-264). Each and every one of those is utilized by military leaders to lead and serve their followers, especially in the Marine Corps.

As a leader in the Marine Corps, it is essential to know the inner and outer workings of the entire organization. To get put into a leadership position, you must first go in front of a board and answer a series of questions that deal with a variety of high stress problems and how you would deal with it to both achieve the organizations goal but also keep your men and women under you happy, healthy, and safe. This directly relates to the servant leader behavior of “conceptualizing”. Conceptualizing refers to the servant leaders’ understanding of the organization, it’s purposes, complexities and mission. Having this ability allows the leader to think and work through multifaceted problems, to know when things are wrong and to address it creatively to align with the organizations goals (Northouse, 2021, p. 261). The marine corps demonstrates their acknowledgement of this and it’s importance by creating that situation upon figuring out who they want to promote and make a leader. They directly show that this is an implemented strategy to see if this future leader has the behavioral quality of conceptualizing.

While their is a stigma in the military about “feelings” and “mental health”, marines do take care of their own. What I mean by this is marines do care for the concerns and well-being of others within their teams. Most marines can notice if one of their team members is out of it and will directly address it and try to help. They will show their team member compassion and support them in what they need. Team leaders in the marine corps are especially known for reading and understanding their men and being able to help them in times of emotional distress. In servant leadership, this is known as the servant leader behavior of emotional healing (Northouse, 2021, p. 261). Emotional healing involves being sensitive to the personal concerns and well-being of others (Northouse, 2021, p. 261). Marine Corps leadership truly demonstrates their understanding and implementation of this behavior across all ranks of their branch.

Another behavior that relates to the topic of marines take care of their own is “putting followers first”. This is most evident in the marine corps when it comes to chow time. When out in the field either training or deployed, when marines are served chow, it is done in rank order. The first marine to get food is always the lowest ranks whereas the last is always the highest rank. This is a very important structure and unwritten rule within the Marine Corps. It demonstrates that the needs of the followers is by far the most important thing and that they come before the needs of the leaders. The behavior of putting others first is by far the defining characteristic of servant leadership. It means using actions and words that clearly demonstrate to followers that their concerns are a priority, including placing followers’ interests and success ahead of those of the leader (Northouse, 2021, p. 262). This is clearly evident in the marine corps culture of they how they feed and take care of marines. Whether it is for chow, or anything else, the lowest rank always comes first and highest rank always comes last. This is an exemplary way that the marines demonstrate servant leadership.

A very interesting thought process in the Marine Corps is train the guy below you to do their job and the two jobs above them. What this means is make sure to train your marines to be successful and able to grow. Teach them to be able to replace your position and even positions above you so when the tie comes they can be promoted and can continue in their career advancement. This is such an important and emphasized part of being a leader in the Marine Corps. As a servant leader, this behavior of helping followers grow and succeed is at the forefront of what you should do. This behavior specifically refers to knowing followers’ professional and personal goals and helping them to accomplish them (Northouse, 2021, p. 262). Servant leaders make followers’ career development a priority, which includes mentoring them and supporting them (Northouse, 2021, p. 262). The marine corps places a huge emphasis on all leaders to do this for the marines serving under them. It is one of the many instilled rules within the organization. It is also why it is very evident that the marines corps implements every aspect of servant leadership into their leaders lives.

The Marine Corps thrives off of three words, “Honor, Courage, Commitment”. They expect every marine of every rank to live by those words. When broken down and explained what they mean, the terms morals and ethics always comes up. One of the biggest proponents that these words bring up is that marines should always behave ethically. This means always doing the right thing even when you do not want too or it isn’t easy. It also means always being honest and fair. These words and actions that are instilled in every single marine also describe the servant leader behavior of “behave ethically” (Northouse, 2021, p. 262). As you can see, from the time recruits start bootcamp, all the way to retirement, marines are held to this standard and are expected to behave ethically which is why they make excellent servant leaders during their time serving and even after the separate from the Marine Corps.

To me one of the most important servant leader behaviors is that of empowering your followers. Empowering refers to allowing followers the freedom to be independent, make decisions on their own, and be self-sufficient (Northouse, 2021, p. 263). While this may not seem like something the military allows, it is actually something they encourage. As a marine, you are expected to be able to make decisions in a moments notice. Leaders will encourage their teams to come up with plans, ideas and strategies for different positions within the team. While it is not fully free of the leaders input, it does allow team members to provide their independent thoughts and influence situations. Since they allow this, marine leaders empower their team members to make proper decisions and allow them to be directly involved with the decision making process.

Lastly, and probably the most visible to the public, is the behavior of  “creating value for the community” (Northouse, 2021, p. 263). Every neighborhood has seen marines volunteering at their local sporting events or at local schools. When their is a charity event you will see marines helping in some manner. Marines are expected to give back to their community but on top of that love to volunteer and help out the locals. This comes from the top down. Marines are encouraged by their leaders to get involved and they even allow time off training for these events to occur. This not only creates value for the community around where the marines are stationed but it creates value in the community of marines themselves. this is a perfect example of how this servant leader behavior is instilled into marines and their culture.

So, to answer the question in the title. Are marine Corps leaders servant leaders? I say absolutely! They exhibit and demonstrate every single servant leader behavior described in “Leadership” by Peter Northouse (2021) and show how it is not only done but instilled in their entire culture.

 

 

 

 

References

Northouse, P.G. (2021).  Leadership: Theory and Practice. 9th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2022). PSYCH 485 Lesson 11: Servant Leadership. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2177519/modules/items/33991684

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

The United States military is one of the largest and most feared entities in the entire world. Within the structure of the United States military lies what is considered one of the world’s most elite fighting forces, the Marine Corps. Many people wonder why this is. Is it because of the training, the skillset, the leaders, or the individuals? While the answer entails all of the above, I believe the biggest factor is leadership and how it is structured. The Marine Corps takes a skills approach theory in how it structures and promotes its leaders.

The skill-based model, created by Mumford et. al in 2000 is comprised of 5 major components, all of which can be directly related to how a marine is promoted. The 5 components are competencies, individual attributes, career experiences, environmental influences, and leadership outcome (Northouse, P. 60). Each of these factors directly into the process of whether a marine gets promoted and takes a leadership role or gets passed on and stays where they are at.

When a marine is up for promotion they must go through a series of different tests and boards to actually receive the promotion. Before they get put on a board they must have a “cutting score” at a certain level before they become eligible. This cutting score is comprised of physical fitness tests and then certain courses that need to be completed. One of the major courses is called ISULC or Infantry small unit leader course. This course is designed to test the knowledge of the marine through both of their cognitive abilities. At the beginning of the course the marines take a few tests that directly scores their intelligence level. If it is not high enough they are kicked out of the class. After they pass this test they then immediately begin a very tough mental and physical field training exercise that is meant to make people who are not motivated and willing to be there to quit. All of these initial tests are the marine corps way of testing a future leaders individual attributes. Each of the things mentioned above are part of the first section of the skill-based model map used for determining what skills a successful leader has (Northouse, P. 60).

The next things marines are tasked with in this course is to write a 5 paragraph order based on a situation provided to them. A 5 paragraph order is a fully detailed (usually 5+ pages) order of operations for a mission plan that is passed down to all subordinates and passed up to the higher leadership. This is the most detailed part of any mission marines take place in. The reason it is tasked at this course is to test marines ability to problem solve. In a 5 paragraph order a marine has to come up with a plan to solve an existing issue and complete a mission (problem definition). Then they need to fully figure out why this is a problem, what is causing the problem, and what goals are going to be set as part of this mission (Cause/Goal analysis). They then must think about what their best course of action is, what the enemies most likely course of action will be, what the enemies most dangerous course of action could be, and also come up with multiple alternatives in case of any issues that may arise (steps 3-8 in problem solving). Lastly, the marines must come up with a valid way of explaining these plans, making sure everybody understands them and also making sure everybody understands why these are the plans (Sensemaking). All of these encompass a marines problem solving abilities and allows them to be tested on this (Northouse, P. 62-63). By being able to test a marines problem solving ability, current leadership can study one of the major competencies that is actually needed to be a successful leader within the organization. This also allows the current leadership to evaluate the thought process of each individual marine to see how each step leads into the other making a perfect transition throughout the entire problem solving steps.

After completing the 5 paragraph order the marines left in the course are split into squads in which they are given a week to work together and perfect their plan before executing. The main point of this week though is to allow the squad leader to get to know his squad and how they all perform. It allows them to form bonds with each other and allows the squad leader to learn how to work with his squad members and make the plan work towards their strengths rather then weaknesses. This week is used as a test and a developmental training phase. Social judgement and skills are an important part of a leaders skillset (Northouse, P. 64-65). This also tests their overall social performance. This is the time where leaders learn and develop these skills of social interactions and teamwork to problem solve. It is then tested when the week is over and the plan is executed. As you can see by this example, the marine corps not only studies and tests their promotable candidates but also provides learning experiences and leadership development training at the same time. This is very important and will be brought up again later in this blog.

Lastly, a final exam is given again to test the knowledge of the remaining marines. This knowledge test includes everything from the original test as well as everything taught in the course. This course is a perfect example of how the marine corps applies all of the skill-based model to not only test but train the future leaders of the marine corps. Once they complete this they are now eligible to go up on a promotion board. The promotion board will once again test their knowledge through a series of questions and also ask the marines why they want to be leaders. As stated in the Northouse text, “leaders must be committed to the social good of the organization” (Northouse, P. 62). This means the marine must be committed to advancing the organization in a good way and wanting to do it in the leadership role. This is the last step prior to the board choosing to promote the marine or keep them at their current rank.

As I discussed in the beginning, I believe the marine corps is the elite fighting force it claims to be because of the leadership. Throughout this blog I have not only described the steps in which a leader is chosen but also correlated it directly to each portion of the skill based model used for the skills approach theory. The marine corps not only utilizes portions of this theory but they amplify each and every single aspect of it in their daily leadership training and development courses. The marines enable their junior members to develop into leaders through honing in and mastering the proper skillsets needed to lead others in their organization. To me, every marine is a leader. Each marine is taught the proper skills to be one, it just comes down to who can master them first. This is why I believe the Marine Corps is the most elite fighting force on the planet, because it is a singular force of either leaders or developing leaders ready to step up at anytime. This is how the skill based approach is meant to be utilized and how it is being utilized successfully in practice and not just theory.

 

References:

Northouse, P.G. (2021). Leadership: Theory and practice. 9th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

 

In today’s world, there is an increasing need for leaders to be developed and for them to step forward in innovative roles. These leaders are needed across a multitude of industries, each requiring their own individual style of leadership.  This means that many different job postings and interviews will be going on. The biggest question though is, what should they look for? Should each individual company have the same checklist for traits in a person they want to hire or should there be some sort of variance based on the industry and company? I believe it should be the latter.

There are many different types of scales and personality trait tests out there. However, there are some that are more recognized and understood than others. The main one is the Five-Factor Personality model better known as the Big Five. This consists of five factors that are measured, (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (Northouse, 2021, P. 35). When studies were originally performed, extraversion was the trait most strongly associated with leadership. As time passed on, conscientiousness became the most strongly correlated trait to leadership (Northouse, 2021, P. 36). This proves that over time, even though all five of these traits are important, the ones tied to leadership the most adapt and change based on the current environment. This also shows that not every leader will have the same exact traits but that it does not make them more or less effective.

Besides the studies on the Big Five, many other researchers have studied leadership and traits. From 1948 all the way to 2017, different researches have done studies on this topic. These researchers, ranging from Stogdill to Zaccaro, Kemp, and Bader, have all produced different trait combinations for leaders. They did however have a common factor of intelligence, self-confidence, determination, integrity and sociability. They determined that these traits were strongly correlated to leadership qualities (Northouse, 2021, P. 32). This once again shows that different research studies may produce similar results but none are identical and some have completely different traits mixed in.

At the end of the day I do truly believe that many leaders have similar traits between them. However, the levels of these traits varies greatly between them all and outside of the main few traits they all have different secondary traits. So to go back to the original question, “What should a company look for?” the answer is it depends on the type of leader they want and the company in which the leader would be working for. Different positions require different skills, qualities and traits. As stated in the commentary, “good leaders will know their strengths and weaknesses and make decisions accordingly” (PSU, WC, L2, P. 4). If this is true, then no matter who a company picks, as long as it is someone who fits their culture, then they will not have any issue with their leader or their leaders traits.

 

 

 

References

Northouse, P.G. (2022). Leadership: Theory and Practice. 9th Edition. Los Angeles: Sage Publications.

Pennsylvania State University World Campus (2022). PSYCH 485 Lesson 2: Trait Approach. Retrieved from https://psu.instructure.com/courses/2177519/modules