Marine Corps Leadership Principles

Know Yourself and Seek Self Improvement

Be Technically and Tactically Proficient

Know Your People and Look Out for Their

Welfare

Keep Your Personnel Informed

Set the Example

Ensure That the Task is Understood, Supervised,

and Accomplished

Train Your Marines and Sailors as a Team

Make Sound and Timely Decisions

Develop a Sense of Responsibility Among Your

Subordinates

Employ Your Command Within its Capabilities

Seek Responsibilities and Take Responsibility

 Marine Corps Leadership Principles
Know Yourself and Seek Self Improvement

This principle of leadership should be developed by the use of

leadership traits. Evaluate yourself by using the leadership traits
and determine your strengths and weaknesses.

You can improve yourself in many ways. To develop the

techniques of this principle:

- Make an honest evaluation of yourself to determine your

strong and weak personal qualities
- Seek the honest opinions of your friends or superiors
- Learn by studying the causes for the success and failures of
others
- Develop a genuine interest in people
- Master the art of effective writing and speech
- Have a definite plan to achieve your goal

Be Technically And Tactically Proficient

A person who knows their job thoroughly and possesses a wide

field of knowledge. Before you can lead, you must be able to do
the job. Tactical and technical competence can be learned from
books and from on the job training.

To develop this leadership principle of being technically and

tactically proficient, you should:

- Know what is expected of you then expend time and energy on

becoming proficient at those things
- Form an attitude early on of seeking to learn more than is
necessary
- Observe and study the actions of capable leaders
- Spend time with those people who are recognized as
technically and tactically proficient at those things
- Prepare yourself for the job of the leader at the next higher
rank
- Seek feedback from superiors, peers and subordinates

Know Your People And Look Out For Their Welfare

This is one of the most important of the leadership principles. A

leader must make a conscientious effort to observe his Marines
and how they react to different situations. A Marine who is
nervous and lacks self-confidence should never be put in a
situation where an important decision must be made. This
knowledge will enable you as the leader to determine when close
supervision is required.

To put this principle in to practice successfully you should:

- Put your Marines welfare before you own

- Be approachable
- Encourage individual development
- Know your unit’s mental attitude; keep in touch with their
thoughts
- Ensure fair and equal distribution of rewards
- Provide sufficient recreational time and insist on participation

Keep Your Personnel Informed

Marines by nature are inquisitive. To promote efficiency and

morale, a leader should inform the Marines in his unit of all
happenings and give reasons why things are to be done. This is
accomplished only if time and security permits. Informing your
Marines of the situation makes them feel that they are a part of
the team and not just a cog in a wheel. Informed Marines
perform better.
The key to giving out information is to be sure that the Marines
have enough information to do their job intelligently and to
inspire their initiative, enthusiasm, loyalty, and convictions.

Techniques to apply this principle are:

- Whenever possible, explain why tasks must be done and the

plan to accomplish a task
- Be alert to detect the spread of rumors. Stop rumors by
replacing them with the truth
- Build morale and espirit de corps by publicizing information
concerning successes of your unit
- Keep your unit informed about current legislation and
regulations affecting their pay, promotion, privileges, and
other benefits

Set The Example

A leader who shows professional competence, courage and

integrity sets high personal standards for himself before he can
rightfully demand it from others. Your appearance, attitude,
physical fitness and personal example are all on display daily
for the Marines and Sailors in your unit. Remember, your
Marines and Sailors reflect your image!

Techniques for setting the example are to:

- Show your subordinates that you are willing to do the same

things you ask
- them to do
- Maintain an optimistic outlook
- Conduct yourself so that your personal habits are not open to
criticism
- Avoid showing favoritism to any subordinate
- Delegate authority and avoid over supervision, in order to
develop leadership among subordinates
- Leadership is taught by example

Ensure That The Task Is Understood, Supervised, and

Accomplished

Leaders must give clear, concise orders that cannot be

misunderstood, and then by close supervision, ensure that these
orders are properly executed. Before you can expect your men to
perform, they must know what is expected of them.

The most important part of this principle is the accomplishment

of the mission. In order to develop this principle you should:

- Issue every order as if it were your own

- Use the established chain of command
- Encourage subordinates to ask questions concerning any point
in your orders or directives they do not understand
- Question subordinates to determine if there is any doubt or
misunderstanding in regard to the task to be accomplished
- Supervise the execution of your orders
- Exercise care and thought in supervision; over supervision
will hurt initiative and create resentment, while under
supervision will not get the job done

Train Your Marines And Sailors As A Team

Teamwork is the key to successful operations. Teamwork is

essential from the smallest unit to the entire Marine Corps. As a
leader, you must insist on teamwork from your Marines. Train,
play and operate as a team. Be sure that each Marine knows
his/her position and responsibilities within the team framework.

To develop the techniques of this principle you should:

- Stay sharp by continuously studying and training

- Encourage unit participation in recreational and military
events
- Do not publicly blame an individual for the team’s failure or
praise just an individual for the team’s success
- Ensure that training is meaningful, and that the purpose is
clear to all members of the command
- Train your team based on realistic conditions
- Insist that every person understands the functions of the other
members of the team and the function of the team as part of the
unit

Make Sound And Timely Decisions

The leader must be able to rapidly estimate a situation and make

a sound decision based on that estimation. Hesitation or a
reluctance to make a decision leads subordinates to lose
confidence in your abilities as a leader. Loss of confidence in
turn creates confusion and hesitation within the unit.

Techniques to develop this principle include:

- Developing a logical and orderly thought process by

practicing objective estimates of the situation
- When time and situation permit planning for every possible
event that can reasonably be foreseen
- Considering the advice and suggestions of your subordinates
before making decisions
- Considering the effects of your decisions on all members of
your unit

Develop A Sense Of Responsibility Among Your

Subordinates

Another way to show your Marines you are interested in their

welfare is to give them the opportunity for professional
development. Assigning tasks and delegating authority promotes
mutual confidence and respect between leader and subordinates.
It also encourages subordinates to exercise initiative and to give
wholehearted cooperation in accomplishment of unit tasks.
When you properly delegate authority, you demonstrate faith in
your Marines and increase authority, and increase their desire
for greater responsibilities.

To develop this principle you should:

- Operate through the chain of command

- Provide clear, well thought out directions
- Give your subordinates frequent opportunities to perform
duties normally performed by senior personnel
- Be quick to recognize your subordinates’ accomplishments
when they demonstrate initiative and resourcefulness
- Correct errors in judgment and initiative in a way, which will
encourage the individual to try harder
- Give advice and assistance freely when your subordinates
request it
- Resist the urge to micro manage
- Be prompt and fair in backing subordinates
- Accept responsibility willingly and insist that your
subordinates live by the same standard

Employ Your Command Within its Capabilities

A leader must have a thorough knowledge of the tactical and

technical capabilities of the command. Successful completion of
a task depends upon how well you know your unit’s capabilities.
If the task assigned is one that your unit has not been trained to
do, failure is very likely to occur. Failures lower your unit’s
morale and self esteem. Seek out challenging tasks for your unit,
but be sure that your unit is prepared for and has the ability to
successfully complete the mission.

Techniques for development of this principle are to:

- Avoid volunteering your unit for tasks that are beyond their
capabilities
- Be sure that tasks assigned to subordinates are reasonable
- Assign tasks equally among your subordinates
- Use the full capabilities of your unit before requesting
assistance

Seek Responsibilities And Take Responsibility

For professional development, you must actively seek out

challenging assignments. You must use initiative and sound
judgment when trying to accomplish jobs that are required by
your grade. Seeking responsibilities also means that you take
responsibility for your actions. Regardless of the actions of your
subordinates, the responsibility for decisions and their
application falls on you.

Techniques in developing this principle are to:

- Learn the duties of your immediate senior, and be prepared to

accept the responsibilities of these duties
- Seek a variety of leadership positions that will give you
experience in accepting responsibility in different fields
- Take every opportunity that offers increased responsibility
- Perform every task, no matter whether it is top secret or
seemingly trivial, to the best of your ability
- Stand up for what you think is right. Have courage in your
convictions
- Carefully evaluate a subordinate’s failure before taking action
against that subordinate
- In the absence of orders, take the initiative to perform the
actions you believe your senior would direct you to perform if
present