The U.S. Army’s Eleven Leadership Principles and Your Team
By: Mary Lee Gannon
When it comes to achievement and goal setting some people set goals “to have” but not “to be” or “to become.” It is vital to set goals for who” you want to become before you can achieve the more tangible goals of “what” you want to have.
The world needs leaders who shine in their areas of strength and have developed their weak areas so that they may reason superiorly in any circumstance and command a following who will take action to support an agreed upon vision. Often this involves the leader developing new habits. You may be an outstanding strategist but have a short temper which alienates your team. You may be a visionary who can see where the company needs to be but are not sure what processes need to be in place to get there. You may be focused on being compassionate and supportive but do not attend to the measurable metrics at hand.
If there was ever an organization where leadership and teamwork were paramount to success it is the United States Army. Industry could take note to the model used by the Army. In this structure, the entire strategy centers around the success of the “front line” worker. Leaders establish and defend Army culture and steer by example. This standard creates trust and openness where a family like bond occurs. Team members are developed through teaching, training and coaching in groups which creates an aura of excitement and a climate where risk taking is encouraged. Critical times are foreseen and hands on support given. Vision is communicated succinctly and can only be obtained when there is unity. So the “whole” achieves – leaving no room for personal agenda.
The U.S. Army’s Eleven Leadership Principles
1. Be tactically and technically proficient
2. Know yourself and seek self-improvement
3. Know your soldiers and look out for their welfare
4. Keep your soldiers informed
5. Set the example
6. Ensure the task is understood, supervised and accomplished
7. Train your soldiers as a team
8. Make sound and timely decisions
9. Develop a sense of responsibility in your subordinates
10. Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities
11. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions
What can you do with your personal plan or team to emulate this model that instills an unparalleled loyalty?
Put the Army’s Principles to Work for You
1. What skill do you need and how will you get it?
2. How will you work on the personality trait that trips you up?
3. What are the strengths and areas of opportunity of each member of your team?
4. Do they know they have your back? How will you change or underscore that?
5. What are you demonstrating that is out of alignment with what you expect of your team?
6. What decision have you put off that needs to be made?
7. What can you assign your team and then get out of their way and let them do on their own?
8. How have you demonstrated that the errors of the team are yours but the wins are everyone’s?
Trust is the foundation for building a culture of productivity and success. People who are sold on your vision and your character will follow you, making you infinitely more effective than you can be on your own. People who trust in you and what you have built will buy from you, follow you, copy you, align with you, want to support you and draw others to do the same. Start now!
Mary Lee Gannon is the president of StartingOverNow.com – Leading Productivity Solutions for People and Organizations. Mary Lee is a graduate of The Duquesne University Professional Coaching Program and an alumnus of the 2010 Harvard Medical School and McLean Hospital Coaching in Medicine & Leadership Conference. Her personal turnaround came as a stay-at-home mother, with four children under seven-years-old, who endured a divorce that took she and the children from the country club life to public assistance from where within a short time she worked to the level of CEO. Services include: Workshops, Meeting Facilitation, Coaching, Webinars, Speaking and Management Consulting. Areas of Specialty: Organizational and Board Development / Meeting Facilitation / Productivity / Goal Setting / Leadership / Life and Career Transition / Strategic Direction / Time Management / Divorce / Purpose. Her book “Starting Over – 25 Rules for When You’ve Bottomed Out” is available in bookstores or on Amazon. Get her FREE ebook – “Grow Productivity – A Leader’s Toolbox” on her web site at www.StartingOverNow.com or by emailing her at marylee@startingovernow.com.