Unselfishness: The 14 leadership traits of the United States Marine Corps and how they apply to your business.

The United States Marine Corps is legendary for not just winning battles but for making superb leaders. The Marine Corps thrives in the worst of conditions not because of the equipment that they carry, but because of their leadership. In combat, strong leadership saves lives and wins battles. Why is Marine Corps leadership unique compared to the other branches of the armed forces? Well, for one thing, size matters. The Marine Corps is made of just over 200,000 personnel, less than 10% of which are officers. Compare that to the Army made up of roughly 544,000 soldiers, approximately 16% of which are officers; the Navy made of roughly 327,000 sailors, with approximatley 15% being officers; and the Air Force, with over 325,000 Airmen, with almost 20% of the personnel being officers. This unique dynamic within the Marine Corps means that enlisted personnel are forced to assume roles of leadership and responsibility much earlier than their counterparts in the other services. Because of this, the concept of leadership is instilled from day one of recruit training.

Marines are taught to adopt 14 specific leadership traits designed to motivate and influence those under their responsibility. These traits don't leave once the uniform is packed away and the Marine returns to the civilian world, which makes them highly sought after in the corporate world as they are not only invaluable to the battlefield, but also the boardroom.

This is the 10th of 14 in which I will share thoughts with you one each of these traits and issue a leadership challenge to you.

"Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others" Philippians 2:3-4

You can tell a lot about a person by the way they talk. Have you ever heard someone in a leadership position use the phrase "my people" or "my team". How often do you hear "my", "mine" or "I" coming out of the mouth of someone that is supposed to be in charge? Being a leader means looking out for the needs of your people before your own needs. An unselfish leader avoids providing for their own comfort and advancement at the expense of others.

If you want a culture of unselfish within your organization, it must begin with you as the leader. Choose to walk in unselfishness everyday and teach your employees to do the same. Simon Sinek's best selling book "Leaders Eat Last" is based off a simple principle that he learned from Marine Corps Lt.Gen George Flynn which is that the officers are the alst to eat. In the chow line, you will always see troops lined up in order of rank starting with the lowest? Why? A leader does not think of him or herself before that of their people. If the food is gone before the leader gets to eat, then at least the junior Marines were taken care of. Why is this important? For a number of reasons. Your subordinates will be willing to do follow you more loyally if they know that you have their best interests in mind. Second, it's no secret that the lower you are in the pecking order, the more demanding your work will be. This allows them to have the energy to complete that work. When I served as a team leader in the Marine Corps, if one of my Marines didn't pack enough food or they ran out of water, it was my responsibility to give them mine. Why? Because leaders eat last. If you haven't read Sinek's book yet (what rock have you been under?) I highly suggest reading it. You can find it here.

Best selling leadership author John Maxwell said, “A good leader is a person who takes a little more than his share of the blame and a little less than his share of the credit.” Being an unselfish leader means more than a title. It means helping grow those you are responsible for and understanding that your actions have an impact on others. How can you spot an unselfish leader?

1. When their subordinates fail, they take the blame for not having prepared them well enough.
2. They teach others.
3. They share the credit.
4. They accept and share the ideas and inputs of others, without taking credit for the idea.

Your challenge for today:

Write a detailed, narrative account of the events of your day but from the perspective of the lowest member of your team. Really put yourself in their shoes. How did you interact with that person? What was their perception of you and your expectations? Tomorrow set aside some time to meet with that team member and ask them to write a narrative of the day as well, in brutal honesty. Then compare the two accounts and focus on how you can cannel your efforts into improving the lives of those you are responsible for.

"Let no one seek his own good, but the good of his neighbor."

1 Corinthians 10:24