5 Universal Truths in Leadership

I am by no means an expert. I've been fortunate to have some amazing mentors and great examples of leadership in my relatively short career; starting with the Marine Corps just out of high school. For my first year and a half in the Corps, I was a “troop”. I didn’t have a leadership title, mostly followed the instructions of others, and complained like any 18/19 year old does in the military. A few years in, I was promoted to E-4 then E-5, which allowed me a leadership title and billet. Was I a perfect Marine? No way. Despite the very structured environment of the Marine Corps, I still complained, didn’t always want to go PT (Physical Training), partied with my subordinates and didn’t always agree with the leadership. 

But despite my admitted faults as an Non-Commissioned Officer in the Marines, some of the most valuable initial lessons that I learned about being a professional leader came from my parents, my former bosses and peers and most of all, from leading Marines. These lessons are truths that occur in every workplace, around the world, every day. And they are some of the things that make teams work.

Before you read ahead, please note…this is 5, from my private stock, and is by no means the final list of great leadership truths. I welcome your additions in the comments. Here goes:

First and most importantly - leadership isn't a title: Leadership is influence, ability and motivation. You don't have to have rank, title or money in order to lead people. Generally speaking, people are officially "promoted" to leadership as a result of their abilities as an influencer, not in the hope that they will become a leader.

You work for them…they don’t work for you: Keep this in mind at all times. A team’s performance can make or break a leader. If you take care of them they will take care of you; effort and dedication won’t suffer. 

A leader who’s team doesn’t trust them to do right by them, will not perform. They will not think creatively, they will not want to be there, and they certainly won’t “follow you into battle”. 

Their needs come before yours: As a leader it is your responsibility, among other things, to break down barriers to allow your team to get their job done and ensure that they have what they need to be effective. Barriers can include technology issues, personal/family problems, inter-work conflicts and lack of resources. As a leader, one of your greatest priorities should be in making these items either easier to deal with, or non-existent. If your team member feels pressurized when their kid has to come home sick from school, you should be re-evaluating your message to them on expectations. Similarly, if your resources are lacking to the point of inefficiency, it is your responsibility to push for what’s needed, or come up with a solution to make sure it happens.   

In the Marine Corps, the troops eat first and the leaders eat last. The troops are doing the bulk of the work, and their basic needs must be met even in the most strenuous of environments. In the corporate world, things may be less dire, but no less important to heed taking care of your people. 

You have to learn from your people: Well, never stop learning in general. Leadership isn’t in titles as much as it is influence. Influencers can be found at any rank in every organization. In some cases, they hold more weight than the titled “leaders” themselves. This is because people may be technical or subject matter experts, great personalities, or because they’ve commanded respect of their peers in their expertise and overall influence. Great leaders are adaptable, open to feedback and criticism, and are ALWAYS listening and learning from their teams. 

In the Military this is widely understood because the people on the front lines are adapting to the shifting environment, and calling shots as they see them. If a remote commander refuses to listen to “the boots on the ground”, the initiative could be lost. The General isn’t kicking doors down along side the troops, so they must be willing to be mentored “up” to keep their finger on the pulse. The same thing applies in the corporate space, your team has valuable information that you need to know. If ever you think you know it all, you’ve lost as a leader.

They need to take initiative and ownership. Most people naturally want to band together as teams and want their ideas and expertise heard. It’s human nature. Everyone has an opinion, and everyone sees things through a different lens. Side note: this is just one small reason why diversity is so important to business – to get different perspectives. Give your team the ability to own their day to day. When their ideas or intentions aren’t met, they are unfulfilled and will under-perform. Of course, you can’t please everyone all the time…but you can give the right to mostly control the time they spend at work.

Gone are the days of the oppressive leader who reigns supreme. At least, they WILL be gone if not already. Lead from the front. Always take responsibility for mistakes and mis-actions and don't EVER put yourself in a position to take from your team.

I’d love to hear your ideas, additions and context on any of these as well in the comments below.