Trust-Based Leadership: Marine Corps Leadership Concepts for Today's Business Leaders

By Mike Ettore

AMERICA NEEDS LEADERS!

Corporate America is experiencing a leadership crisis as thousands of senior leaders reach retirement age. Competition for vacant leadership roles will be fierce, but if you desire to serve in a leadership role or serve in more senior leadership roles, there’s a high probability that the opportunity will be yours for the taking!

The obvious question is...WILL YOU BE READY TO LEAD?

This 574 page book details how the author effectively adapted and applied Marine Corps leadership concepts while serving as a business leader—and how he leverages the Trust-Based LeadershipTM model to help others become World-Class Leaders.

Section I – Marine Corps Leadership
This section covers time-tested Marine Corps Leadership philosophies and concepts that have proven to be effective in the business world. Topics covered include:
• The Marine Mindset
• Teacher-Scholar 360° Concept
• The 5 Laws of Leadership
• The 5 Pillars of Leadership
• The 3 Main Responsibilities of Leaders
• Leadership’s 3 “Secret Weapons”

Section II – Trust-Based LeadershipTM
Retiring from the Marine Corps in 1998, Mike quickly became a C-level executive in a publicly traded company. He’s captured his knowledge and lessons learned in the Trust-Based LeadershipTM model and uses it to teach business leaders how to maximize their potential and gain a competitive edge. Topics covered include:
• 10 Enabling Concepts of Trust-Based LeadershipTM
• Mission Tactics & Commander’s Intent
• The 2 Types of Friction
• Standard Operating Procedures
• Common Operating Language

Section III – The Trust-Based Leader
Successfully implementing The Trust-Based LeadershipTM model requires a specific type of leader willing to adopt and develop the key leadership qualities, traits, and techniques discussed in great detail in this section. Topics covered include:
• 10 Key Attributes of the Trust-Based Leader
• Authority vs Responsibility
• Decisiveness in Chaotic Environments
• Trust, Delegation and Supervision
• Esprit de Corps: Developing Team Players
• The “Leaders Eat Last” Philosophy
• The 3 Leadership Styles

Section IV – Lessons Learned
An enlightening series of anecdotes that convey leadership lessons Mike has learned on the battlefield and in the boardroom. Topics covered include:
• The Leadership Epiphany (Why You Must Have It NOW!)
• Top 10 Reasons Leaders Succeed
• Top 10 Reasons Leaders Fail
• Leadership vs. Management
• The 3 Big Questions (The Best Leaders Ask Them!)
• The 4 Words of Confidence and 6 Words of Destruction

Section V – Leadership Articles
These articles provide real-world examples of how Marine Corps leadership concepts have been applied in Corporate America. Based upon Mike’s personal experiences, they help others learn how they can effectively utilize the Trust-Based LeadershipTM model in their unique environments. Topics covered include:
• Ettore's Rules: 24 Rules for Leadership Success
• Coping with Adversity, Setbacks, and Disappointments
• The 5 Leadership “Blind Spots” (And How to Avoid Them!)
• Having “Tough Conversations” and Conflict Resolution
• Developing and Mentoring Other Leaders

Mike is highly regarded for his unique ability to help leaders rapidly elevate their skills as they create and sustain high-performance teams. He wrote this book to help leaders at all levels maximize their potential and become World Class Leaders.

Get Your Copy Now!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Mike Ettore
• Release date: Nov 29, 2019
• ISBN: 9780989822954

Book preview

title-page

Trust-Based

Leadership™

Marine Corps Leadership Concepts

For Today’s Business Leaders

Mike Ettore

The views expressed in this publication are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policies and positions of the US Marine Corps or the Department of Defense.

Copyright © 2019 by Michael L. Ettore

All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without the express written consent of the author, except in the case of brief excerpts in critical reviews or articles. All inquiries should be addressed to [e-mail].

Paperback ISBN: 978-0-9898229-4-7

Ebook ISBN: 978-0-9898229-5-4

Trust-Based Leadership™ is a registered trademark of

Fidelis Leadership Group, LLC and Michael L. Ettore

Contents

Preface

Marine Corps Leadership Concepts

The Goal: World-Class Leader

My Story

My Purpose

Leadership Expert or Expert Leader?

How to Use This Book

Section I: Marine Corps Leadership

Introduction: Marine Corps Leadership

Culture, Concepts, and Philosophies

Chapter 1: Leadership is a Choice

Chapter 2: Character

Chapter 3: Accountability

Chapter 4: Leadership by Example

Chapter 5: Servant Leadership

Chapter 6: Self-Leadership

Chapter 7: Zero Tolerance

Chapter 8: The Core Values

Chapter 9: Standards and Discipline

Chapter 10: The Marine Mindset

Chapter 11: Every Marine a Rifleman

Chapter 12: Special Trust and Confidence

Chapter 13: Teacher-Scholar 360°

Chapter 14: Speaking Truth to Power

Chapter 15: Tribal Knowledge

Chapter 16: Defenders of the Culture

Chapter 17: Leaders Last

Fundamentals and Techniques

Chapter 18: The 5 Laws of Leadership

Chapter 19: The 3 Main Responsibilities of a Leader

Chapter 20: The 5 Pillars of Leadership

Chapter 21: Leadership Traits

Chapter 22: Leadership Principles

Chapter 23: Delegation

Chapter 24: Supervision

Chapter 25: The 4 Indicators of Leadership

Chapter 26: Professional Reputation

Section I: Summary

Section II: Trust-Based Leadership

Introduction: Trust-Based Leadership

Chapter 27: Trust

Chapter 28: Mission Tactics

Chapter 29: Decentralized Command Control

Chapter 30: Priority of Effort

Chapter 31: Simplicity

Chapter 32: Standard Operating Procedures

Chapter 33: Common Operating Language

Chapter 34: Friction

Chapter 35: Detachment

Chapter 36: The Force Multiplier

Section II Summary

Section III: The Trust-Based Leader

Introduction: The Trust-Based Leader

Chapter 37: Character

Chapter 38: Accountability

Chapter 39: Courage

Chapter 40: Bias for Action

Chapter 41: Thriving in Chaos

Chapter 42: Resilience

Chapter 43: Team Player

Chapter 44: Developing Leaders

Chapter 45: Sharing Hardship

Chapter 46: Lifelong Learner

Chapter 47: Adaptability: Leadership Styles

Section III Summary

Section IV: Lessons Learned

Introduction: Lessons Learned

Chapter 48: Leadership Development

Chapter 49: Leadership Tactics and Techniques

Chapter 50: The Top 10 Reasons Leaders Succeed

Chapter 51: The Top 10 Reasons Leaders Fail

Chapter 52: Haters, Helpers, Critics, and Cowards

Section V: Leadership Articles

Introduction: Leadership Articles

Chapter 53: On Self-Leadership

Chapter 54: On Servant Leadership

Chapter 55: On Accountability

Chapter 56: On Humility

Chapter 57: I Had 3 Fathers

Chapter 58: Ettore’s Rules

Chapter 59: Listen to Your Lance Corporals!

Chapter 60: Do Your Teammates Make Their Beds?

Chapter 61: The Marine Corps Trusted Me

Chapter 62: I Failed Twice That Day: Lessons for Leaders

Chapter 63: We’ve Always Done This Way!

Chapter 64: Let Your Leaders Lead!

Chapter 65: 5 Leadership Blind Spots

Chapter 66: Having Tough Conversations

Chapter 67: The Pursuit of Relevant Knowledge

Chapter 68: Taking Care of What’s Precious

Chapter 69: The Voice

Chapter 70: The Rolex Moment

Conclusion

Acknowledgments

Bonus Resources

From the Author

Notes and Sources (Endnotes)

This book is dedicated to leaders—the men and women in the arena who strive valiantly to teach, train, and inspire others to achieve great things.

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Preface

M

arine Corps Leadership Concepts

Can Marine Corps leadership concepts and techniques be used effectively by business leaders?

Yes, they can!

Now, I am quite sure that some people will be skeptical about the viability and applicability of Marine Corps leadership concepts in the business world. During the 20+ years that I’ve applied and taught these leadership lessons while serving as a business leader, there have always been some skeptics, on both the military and civilian sides of the equation.

Many civilians assume that the military, and the Marine Corps specifically, is strictly a rigid hierarchy and that its way of doing things cannot be effectively applied in business. In truth, the average Marine leader is much more flexible, agile-minded, and business-ready than the stereotypes promoted by Hollywood movies or the individuals who harbor (even if subconsciously) anti-military bias would have you believe.

I often explain to civilians that there is far more pushback among the leaders within Marine units than they might imagine. Marine leaders are trained to routinely solicit input and debate from trusted subordinates prior to making important decisions. And often, this leads to rather spirited and contentious debates among leaders with a wide-range of experience, rank, and responsibility. Commanders of highly-effective Marine units realize that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. And, while there are exceptions, this type of collaboration is how the Marine Corps works in its purest sense.

For their part, many of my fellow Marines have privately expressed some concerns while contemplating retirement from the Corps, wondering how they would fit into the business world and whether they could apply the leadership skills they learned on active duty. My response is always to assure them that they’ll do fine. I lead civilians in the same way that I led Marines, I tell them. And when this statement elicits a doubtful look, I explain:

Civilians are human beings, just like we are. And they will react to good or bad leadership just as Marines do. If you put a bad leader in front of them, they’re going to underperform, shrivel up, mutiny, whatever. If you provide them with effective leadership, they will respond to it and excel. In this aspect, leading Marines and leading people in the business world are identical.

This is the key to understanding the leadership lessons I gained from my service in the Marine Corps that are contained in this book. In any environment, people are people and human nature reigns supreme. And good leadership is universally recognized as being good leadership.

While there are certainly some aspects of the Marine Corps that don’t necessarily apply to the business world—such as very high standards of physical and mental toughness, the fact that Marines can’t simply quit the Corps whenever they’d like to or jump ship to take a raise at another company, and the fact that military decisions can often have life-or-death consequences—the leadership lessons featured in this book (and the leadership training and coaching that I conduct) aren’t all that different from the curricula of many highly-respected institutions.

Whether a student trains at Harvard’s Leadership Institute or one of the many other highly credible leadership schools, academies, courses, or seminars—and yes, even the Marine Corps’ leadership program—many of the fundamental leadership concepts that are taught are nearly identical. All of these institutions or programs have evolved to identify a very similar core suite of concepts, principles, behaviors, and qualities that can enable leaders to effectively inspire, direct, and supervise their teams.

Beyond choosing a quality leadership curriculum, the key ingredient to becoming a World Class Leader is simply deciding to do it. Individuals must choose to begin their studies and follow through with commitment. I always emphasize to the men and women I coach that the onus is on them to take charge of their leadership journey. They need to expose themselves to environments and individuals that can help them achieve their goals, and they need to dedicate themselves to becoming an excellent leader.

I often tell them, If you want to become a world-class athlete, choose parents with great genetics. If you want to become a world-class leader, commit to doing it and choose great role models, mentors, and coaches!

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The Goal: World-Class Leader

Before we go any further, I want to emphasize that my life’s purpose is to help inspire people to become World-Class Leaders. And, because we’ll be using the term World Class throughout this book, I want to ensure that everyone has a common interpretation of it:

World Class: being of the highest caliber in the world…‘She is a world–class athlete.’—The Merriam-Webster Dictionary

I first became aware of this term in 1975, as I was reading an article that examined the results of a study of Olympic athletes. The research looked at competitors from various sports and dozens of countries around the world.

Among the many traits shared by these athletes, the vast majority of them had unsurprisingly inherited crucial physical attributes from their parents. It was common for endurance athletes to come from a bloodline that contained other endurance athletes, and the same results were found in gymnasts, weight-lifters, swimmers, and competitors from many of the Olympic sports.

The author acknowledged that resilience, training, and experience usually played a huge part in an individual attaining world-class status in his or her chosen sport. However, for sports which rewarded certain physical attributes—such as height for basketball players—he concluded that the vast majority of the very best athletes had won the Genetic Lottery. The author more or less said, If you want to be a world-class athlete, choose parents with great genetics.

As I was reading this article, I also happened to come across an article about leadership in a business magazine. The writer listed institutions and organizations that he believed had attained a world-class level in the sustained creation and development of leaders. Included in the list was the US Marine Corps. I was a young Marine corporal at the time and seeing the Corps mentioned in this article certainly got my attention, as did the piece’s implication. While the research on Olympic athletes told me that I was never going to be a world-class runner because of my genetics, this article was telling me that world-class leadership was a skill that could be learned!

I reflected on my current status as a novice leader within an institution known for developing extraordinary leaders, and contemplated what I might achieve if I became a serious student of leadership. I realized that I was blessed to be living in an environment in which sound leadership was demonstrated by my leaders and more senior colleagues on a daily basis. I was surrounded by individuals who could help me become the type of leader my Marines deserved.

The immensity of this opportunity was humbling and exciting. It led to my resolution to learn everything I could about leadership and, hopefully, become a leader who met the high expectations of the Marine Corps.

I like to think that I achieved success as a leader in both the Marine Corps and my business career. But what I am most proud of are the leaders whom I’ve helped have their own awakening to become lifelong students of The Art.

While teaching and mentoring these men and women, I always refer back to the term world class and what it means in relation to leadership. I assure them that whatever their specific situations may be in terms of their educational background, experience, the culture of the company they are working in, or the type of boss they are working for, they can become a good leader if they are willing to seek knowledge and resolve to lead their people well.

I also tell them that they can go well beyond what most people would deem to be a good leader and become a World-Class Leader—one admired and respected by the members of their team, department, company, and even across their entire profession and industry.

My experience is that once an individual truly believes this and decides to pursue leadership excellence, he or she usually begins to acquire these skills at an exponential rate. Even better, leadership is an art in which the artist can continue to improve for his or her entire life. With over forty years of leadership experience, my journey as a lifelong learner traveling along the path of leadership continues. At the age of 63, I’m still learning and consider myself a better leader than I was just a few years ago!

I believe that anyone with the desire to do so can become a World-Class Leader. I hope that this is—or will become—your goal, and I am committed to helping you achieve it!

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My Story

Who is Mike Ettore and what makes him qualified to teach me about leadership?

This is a fair question, and as a way of answering it and other questions that readers may have, I have decided to include some information about my background, experience, and philosophies related to leadership at the beginning of this book.

I think it’s best if readers learn a bit about me from both a personal and a professional perspective, and the biography page of my website gets it done efficiently. This is a high-level summary of my professional life, starting with my service in the Marine Corps and transitioning into my experience as a senior executive in Kforce and my current role as an executive leadership coach and developer of World-Class Leaders:

US Marine Corps

Mike enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 1974 and after completing boot camp and follow-on training, was assigned duties in infantry and associated units. He quickly demonstrated an aptitude for leadership and was promoted meritoriously (ahead of his peer group) on several occasions, which enabled him to be assigned to roles of greater scope and responsibility. In 1976, he volunteered for service as a Drill Instructor and upon successfully completing the rigorous training, Mike became the youngest Drill Instructor in the Marine Corps at the age of 20. He excelled in this role and helped lead and train several recruit platoons during the assignment.

In 1978, Mike decided to leave active duty and attend college, with the intention of returning to the Marine Corps as a commissioned officer upon graduation. He attended East Stroudsburg University, where he was also a member of the varsity wrestling team.

During the summer between his junior and senior years of college, Mike successfully completed Officer Candidates School, and upon obtaining his bachelor’s degree in May of 1982, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant of Marines. He reported to The Basic School at Quantico, Virginia, and remained there until February of 1983, when he graduated from the Infantry Officer Course.

Mike served primarily in Infantry and associated units throughout his career as a commissioned officer. He served as a commander during several combat operations and developed a reputation as a decisive and highly effective combat leader. Mike received numerous awards and decorations during his career, including the Bronze Star Medal for Valor (with Gold Star denoting 2nd award) and the Combat Action Ribbon (with two Gold Stars denoting 2nd and 3rd awards).

Mike is also the 1992 recipient of the Leftwich Trophy, which is awarded annually to recognize one Marine Corps Captain who "… best exemplifies outstanding leadership within the Ground Combat Arms community… is recognized by his seniors, contemporaries, and subordinates, as the officer who most exemplifies outstanding leadership… demonstrates the ideals of courage, resourcefulness, perseverance, and concern for the well-being of our Corps and his enlisted Marines… made an outstanding contribution to the development of esprit de corps and loyalty within the unit in which he serves and through personal example, set the standards that all other officers seek to emulate."

During his military career, Mike continued to pursue educational opportunities and earned Master's degrees in Business Administration and Management.

In 1998, after 24 years of honorable service, Mike retired from the Marine Corps.

Kforce

Mike joined Kforce (NASDAQ:KFRC) in 1999 and initially served as the Director of Leadership Development. In this capacity, he designed and implemented a six-month Leadership Development Program (LDP) that identified, selected and trained high-potential internal and external leadership candidates for eventual assignment to leadership roles within the company. Many of the external LDP candidates had recently completed their service in various branches of the armed forces, which ultimately resulted in several dozen military veterans serving in key leadership roles in the company’s field offices and in various corporate support organizations.

Several months after the LDP became fully operational, Mike was promoted to the role of Vice President of Operations. Retaining responsibility for the LDP, he was also charged with organizing and synchronizing the company-wide effort to streamline and standardize various field and corporate operational and technical policies, procedures, and systems. During this period of time, he was also responsible for creating the Training Department and a Knowledge Management cell—a function that was relatively new to the business world at that time—which captured, organized, and disseminated the company’s intellectual capital and best practices throughout the sales force and various corporate support functions.

In 2001, despite having no formal education or previous experience in information technology, Mike was assigned duties as the Chief Information Officer. In addition to the other departments and functions mentioned previously, he was now responsible for the company’s internal Information Technology (IT) department and its entire technology infrastructure. The IT department had, for various reasons, struggled during the previous several years, which resulted in technical platform unreliability and inefficiency. These shortcomings negatively affected revenue generation as well as team and company morale.

As Mike and his team members began making progress toward improving the operational effectiveness of the IT department, it became obvious that the company lacked a cohesive method of establishing, prioritizing, coordinating, and implementing enterprise-level initiatives. To remedy this, Mike sought and was granted permission by the Chief Executive Officer to establish a Program Management Office (PMO) that would be charged with standardizing and implementing program and project management policies, processes, and methodologies.

Over time, the PMO became the source for guidance, documentation, and metrics related to the practices involved in managing and implementing various strategic-level projects within Kforce, including the rapid and complete integration of several staffing companies that had been acquired. The PMO quickly became an effective strategic management tool that kept senior executives and other leaders informed of the status of the company’s suite of enterprise-level programs and projects and enabled the effective synchronization of resources toward achieving the company’s stated objectives.

Mike was promoted to Chief Services Officer and became one of Kforce’s named executive officers in 2004. While serving as one of the company’s most senior executives, he was responsible for the majority of its corporate support departments and functions, including Human Resources, Information Technology, the Program Management Office, Marketing and Internet Operations/Social Media, Procurement, Corporate Real Estate, and Kforce’s domestic and Manila-based Financial Shared Services teams. He also served as the executive sponsor for strategic planning and most of the logistical activities associated with the integration of acquired companies and the divestiture of organic business units.

Mike retired from Kforce on November 1st, 2013 after nearly 15 years of service with the company.

Fidelis Leadership Group

Throughout his military and business careers, Mike was consistently recognized for his ability to assemble, train, and lead teams that consistently produced outstanding results in dynamic and challenging environments. Much of his success in the Marine Corps and at Kforce was the result of his willingness to invest a great amount of time and energy in the mentoring and development of other leaders.

After he retired from Kforce, Mike decided to continue his lifelong passion for the pursuit of leadership excellence and helping others maximize their leadership potential. He founded Fidelis Leadership Group for the sole purpose of sharing his leadership experiences and helping other executives reflect on the challenges facing them, learn new skills, and develop into World-Class Leaders.

Mike brings a wealth of practical, real-life leadership expertise and presence to every coaching engagement. His coaching perspective is highly informed and business-oriented, meshing more than 40 years of first-hand leadership experience with a pragmatic, down-to-earth philosophy that helps senior leaders become more effective by developing and refining their leadership skills. Individual executives, teams, and organizations turn to Mike to serve as a catalyst that accelerates change and achieves positive results.

My Purpose

I wrote the words on the My Purpose page of my website in the hope that others will be able to quickly understand that leadership is the love of my life—and that I have a true passion for helping others develop and prosper as leaders.

From my website:

"To earn immortality, a man should...

• Have a child

• Plant a tree

• Build a house

• Write a book

Variations of this quote have been attributed to various individuals such as Pythagoras, Picasso, Jose Marti, and the Talmud.

I love this quote and all that it implies. I have modified it for personal use by adding an additional bullet point:

• Develop exceptional leaders who can develop the next generation of exceptional leaders.

At this point in my life, my sole purpose is to pass on the leadership lessons I’ve learned on the battlefield and in the boardroom to those who will lead others long after my time on this earth has passed.

On the back of my business card is a quote from a prominent Greek statesman:

‘What you leave behind is not what is engraved in stone monuments, but what is woven into the lives of others.’—Pericles, 450 B.C.

I will leave behind exceptional leaders!"

These words come from my heart and may help you understand why I have dedicated my life to teaching, training, and developing World-Class Leaders!

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Leadership Expert or Expert Leader?

I am not a "Leadership Expert."

I respectfully reserve this title for those who’ve spent many years formally studying, researching, and writing on the topic. In my opinion, the majority of today’s more well-known leadership thought leaders fit into this category—they have often spent decades in academic and scientific environments, conducting research, and, quite often, writing books or producing new leadership philosophies and methods. I’ve read and studied much of their work and I think most of it is excellent and can help people become better leaders.

That said, I’ve noticed that some of today’s premier leadership authorities—the gurus, if you will—lack significant (or any) time actually serving as leaders, especially in the senior leadership roles they tend to focus on.

I’m not dismissing or demeaning these leadership experts or their work in any way. I think many of them add tremendous value to the body of knowledge associated with leadership, and I know that I am a better leader for having studied their work. I’m simply pointing out that a surprisingly large number of experts apparently have very limited experience actually serving as leaders—and I think this is something others should keep in mind.

I am an Expert Leader.

While I have earned graduate degrees in business administration and management, I have not earned a doctoral degree as have many well-known leadership experts. What I do possess is over 40 years of practical hands-on, in-the-trenches experience in leadership roles of increasing scope and responsibility in a wide range of environments.

My Marine Corps leadership experience ranges from being an 18-year-old corporal in charge of a squad of 12 Marines—including several salty combat veterans of the Vietnam conflict, many of whom were as much as ten years older than I was—to being a 20-year-old Marine drill instructor charged with training new recruits, and, ultimately, service as a commissioned officer with extensive experience organizing, training, and leading infantry units in both peacetime and combat environments. I also had the good fortune to serve as a leadership instructor at The Basic School, which is located at Quantico, Virginia and where all newly commissioned Marine Corps officers are trained prior to entering their respective occupational specialties and units.

My experience as a business leader ranges from initially serving at the Director level, then quickly being promoted to several roles at the Vice President level, and ultimately, appointment as a C-level executive and Named Executive Officer for a large publicly-traded company. In these roles, especially at the C-level, I was often the senior leader in charge of critical operations and functions that supported the company’s field offices and revenue-generating activities.

Simply stated, while I do not consider myself a leadership expert, I do consider myself to be an expert leader. Even better, I have a passion for and long history of success at helping others become expert leaders!

If asked to boil it all down to a single sentence for a prospective client, I’d say:

"I’m a very good leader, but I’m an exceptional developer of leaders!"

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How to Use This Book

The lessons in this book reflect how, while serving as an executive leadership coach, I teach, train, and coach business leaders in the effective application of what I refer to as the Trust-Based Leadership™ model.

The leadership model is based on my experience studying, practicing, and teaching the science and art of leadership in both the Marine Corps and the corporate arena. While I achieved significant success as a senior executive in Corporate America, there can be no doubt that much of this success is rooted in my Marine Corps background.

As such, this book is based upon the fundamental philosophies, concepts, principles, and techniques of Marine Corps leadership training and development—and how I effectively adapted and applied them while serving in business leadership roles.

The book is structured in five sections, as shown below:

•  Section I - Marine Corps Leadership

•  Section II - Trust-Based Leadership™

•  Section III - The Trust-Based Leader

•  Section IV - Lessons Learned

•  Section V - Leadership Articles

This book is a training manual. I want to teach you how to become a World-Class Leader, not merely present information for you to consider, forget, and move on with your life. As such, I often repeat elements to emphasize the importance of fundamental leadership concepts and ensure that readers learn and remember them. Some chapters are short and quickly explain key concepts. Others are long, featuring practical examples and additional context from the business and military worlds. This repetition and variation are used to drive the lessons home and make them stick.

Section I – Marine Corps Leadership:

This section explains the major philosophies, concepts, and principles associated with Marine Corps leadership. There is a heavy emphasis on the fundamental and time-tested aspects of the Science of Leadership taught to all aspiring Marine leaders. This approach must be fully understood and acted upon if one aspires to become effective at utilizing the many tactics and techniques associated with the Art of Leadership.

Section II – Trust-Based Leadership™:

Since I retired from the Marine Corps in 1998, I’ve effectively adapted and employed Marine Corps leadership concepts in the business world, and I’ve helped many other business leaders do the same. This experience has resulted in the Trust-Based Leadership™ model. It is the foundation of all of the leadership training, coaching, speaking, and writing that I do under the auspices of my company, Fidelis Leadership Group. Topics covered in this section include the major enabling philosophies and operating concepts associated with the Trust-Based Leadership™ model.

Section III – The Trust-Based Leader:

In addition to relying heavily on several bedrock philosophies and operating concepts, the Trust-Based Leadership™ model requires a certain type of leader for it to be successfully implemented and sustained. Some of the individual leadership qualities and traits covered in previous sections will be discussed in greater detail, along with additional elements that are essential to effectively training and developing Trust-Based Leaders.

Section IV – Lessons Learned:

This section contains select stories and anecdotes that will convey some of the major leadership lessons I have learned over decades of practicing, teaching and coaching various elements of the Science and Art of Leadership. All of the content in this section builds upon and reinforces the lessons that are taught in previous sections.

Section V – Leadership Articles:

The articles in this section provide real-world examples of how various aspects of Trust-Based Leadership™ have been applied in the business world. Based upon my personal experiences and written in a style that business leaders at all levels will be able to relate to, the pieces enable readers to better understand how they can adopt and effectively utilize the Trust-Based Leadership™ model in their unique environments.

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Section I:

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Marine Corps Leadership

Introduction:

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Marine Corps Leadership

The intent of this section is to provide readers with a thorough, albeit high-level, understanding of the Marine Corps, and how Marines think about the Corps as a whole, leadership, and the development of leaders. It will enable readers to better understand some of the tangible and intangible concepts covered in subsequent sections of this book.

To that end, this section explains the major philosophies, concepts, and principles associated with Marine Corps leadership. There is a heavy emphasis on the fundamental and time-tested aspects of the Science of Leadership taught to all aspiring Marine leaders. This approach must be fully understood and acted upon if one aspires to become effective at utilizing the many tactics and techniques associated with the Art of Leadership.

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Culture, Concepts, and Philosophies

Chapter 1

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Leadership is a Choice

Leadership, in its purest and noblest form, is always associated with an individual choosing to be responsible for the successful accomplishment of an organization’s mission and the welfare of its people and their personal and professional aspirations. Simply put, there’s a huge difference between being in a leadership role and actually being a leader.

Despite the Marine Corps’ high standards and appropriate checks and balances, there are still instances in which individuals are granted promotions, given authority, and are assigned to prestigious roles and assignments even though they do not deserve them—and in some cases, when they don’t even desire them! The business world is no different, with the exception being that in certain situations—such as in a family-owned business—individuals often inherit leadership roles.

The weight of leadership can sometimes feel like a crushing burden. But it can also be one of the most rewarding things a person can do during his or her life. Leading others is an incredible privilege and one that I believe is very much like the responsibility of parents entrusted with the safety, nurturing, and development of their children into moral, ethical, and productive adults.

Personally, I have found the great responsibilities and expectations associated with serving as a leader to be an almost indescribable honor; one that I can honestly say is not only something that I am passionate about, it is my very reason for being!

I made the choice in 1975, as a young Marine Corps corporal. I wanted to become the very best leader possible and I was willing to commit to doing whatever necessary, for as long as necessary, to achieve this goal. If you’ve also decided to become the best leader that you can possibly be, I applaud your choice. And I am committed to doing everything I can to help you achieve your goal!

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Chapter 2

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Character

Leadership by example is one of the fundamental tenets of Marine Corp leadership doctrine. Marine leaders are taught that they are expected to lead by example in all that they say and do.

No aspect of this is more important than a leader’s individual character. Marines are taught that for any individual of any rank to be worthy of being respected enough to be emulated and followed by others, he or she must first and foremost be a Person of Character.

Marine leaders, because of the ethos by which they live, are trusted by their leaders to make sound, ethical decisions—even in the absence of orders or guidance. It is this absolute, unspoken special trust and confidence in each other that defines the ideal character of Marine leaders.

The rigorous training of Marine-officer candidates and young, enlisted leaders is the first step in developing and harnessing this character, with great emphasis placed on the Core Values: Honor, Courage, and Commitment. Marine leaders are taught that they must commit to constantly seek self-improvement and strive to achieve excellence in all aspects of their role as leaders. They must also be dedicated to the team and do everything possible to make their unit successful. This means caring for their teammates as much if not more than they care about themselves.

In the Marine Corps, everyone is of value regardless of race, national origin, religion, or gender. Leaders are expected to uphold this critical element of the Marine Corps’ culture and also work to improve the character, intellectual development, combat readiness, and quality of life for the Marines whom they are privileged to lead.

Application to Business

History is full of examples in which companies helmed by leaders who possess impeccable character consistently achieve success in environments and conditions that seem insurmountable to many of their competitors. Likewise, there are countless examples of situations in which companies have failed—many to the point of having to close their doors and cease business operations—due to leadership failures stemming from the flawed character of one or more leaders.

Even if a company manages to weather a catastrophic event or somehow survive despite poor business results, its failures are often broadcast for all to see on various news shows and social media platforms. It seems that rarely a day passes without a story conveying gaudy details about the failures of well-known business leaders; failures that are clearly linked to flaws in their character, associated indiscretions, and poor judgement.

Because the stakes are so high, I have found that the development of leaders of character is a major priority within companies that have been exceptionally successful over the long haul. The senior executives in these organizations enthusiastically commit significant resources toward the selection, training, and continuous development of principled, ethical leaders who are, first and foremost, men and women of character. In this regard, there is much that leaders in all types of companies can learn from how the Marine Corps nurtures and develops leaders.

Its staunch emphasis on character as the fundamental component of effective leadership may seem quaint or unrealistic to those outside the the Marine Corps, but this fundamental philosophy has also proven to be quite effective in the business world. A company’s success or failure is always determined by the quality of its leadership team. And it’s an unassailable fact that the quality of the individual leaders on that team is always determined by their individual character.

Chapter 3

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Accountability

Accountability is the cornerstone of Marine Corps leadership. It is the reckoning wherein a leader answers for his actions and those of his unit and accepts the consequences, good or bad. One of the first lessons that Marine leaders are taught is that a leader is responsible for everything his or her unit does or fails to do.

President Harry S. Truman had a sign on his desk that read: The Buck Stops Here. This simple statement affirmed that he accepted accountability for everything that happened or failed to happen while he served as our nation’s leader. I’ve actually heard Marine leadership instructors cite Truman’s quote while teaching new Marine leaders about the critical concept of accountability. Without question, Marine leaders at all levels know that The Buck Stops Here approach to accountability is an institutional standard that they will be held to every day and in every way.

Marines are taught two different variants of the term accountability: one deals with the physical responsibility for various types of assets (facilities, equipment, funds, etc.) and the other, as emphasized in the formal definition, is specific to one’s actions and behaviors. In addition to being responsible for their own actions, Marine leaders are held accountable for the actions of all Marines within their chain of command; they are responsible for everything that does or does not happen within their units. The Trust-Based Leadership™ model that I have developed applies the same two variants of accountability to business leaders.

Application to Business

To be successful over the long-term, companies must have leaders who hold themselves and those they lead accountable. Accountability is an exceptionally important trait in the Trust-Based Leadership™ model; and without it, leaders who possess all of the other desired traits such as character, integrity, a bias for action, etc., will eventually fall short. In this model, a leader’s long-term success relies on the willingness to take complete ownership of everything, good and bad, that happens within the organization he or she is privileged to lead.

I’ve found that Marine-like accountability does exist in some companies today, but, unfortunately, as the exception rather than the rule. This is problematic because even the most intelligent, innovative, hard-working, and well-intentioned leaders will ultimately fail to meet their assigned objectives in a company that lacks a culture of accountability. They will also fail at other aspects of leadership such as developing their teams, attracting and retaining top talent, optimizing operational effectiveness and efficiency, and more.

When business leaders are taught that they will be held accountable for all that their teams do or fail to do, they typically rise to this high standard and willingly take responsibility for the consequences of their decisions. Unsurprisingly, good things seem to happen in and for teams led by leaders who hold themselves and others to this high standard!

Accountable leaders do not make excuses, nor do they blame others when things go wrong. Rather, they focus on getting things back on track—they’re problem solvers, first and foremost. And even better, they strive to develop other leaders who are capable of doing the same!

During my extensive business career, I have found that accountable leaders tend to create and sustain a culture of accountability that helps their companies and teams excel in every way. Leaders like this are very often the driving force in these companies, and they typically are the deciding factor in whether an organization succeeds or fails. Again, there can be no long-term success for leaders or their teams without a high standard of accountability.

Chapter 4

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Leadership by Example

The Marine Corps’ approach to leadership rests on the simple premise that leaders will serve as role models for all other Marines; they will lead by example in all they say and do. This requires leaders to consistently demonstrate the character, core values, attitude, work ethic, resilience, and other traits they desire in and from their Marines.

This concept—leadership by example—is a time-tested, exceptionally important aspect of Marine leadership, to the point that it is firmly and irrevocably embedded into the DNA of the Corps. It is passed on from one generation of Marines to another, in the same manner as parents pass their genetics to their offspring, albeit by education, training, mentoring, and, of course, through the example set by leaders.

Marines are taught from their first day as recruits that they are expected to strive for excellence in all they do. They are constantly told by their leaders, Follow my example—observe what I say and do and use this to guide your own behavior. Leaders are trained to reinforce statements such as these by ensuring they are visibly adhering to the same standards, exerting the same level of effort, and making the same sacrifices they are asking of their Marines.

This willingness to lead by example—to perform above and beyond the call of duty and share hardship, no matter how miserable or inconsequential the task—has a positive and contagious effect throughout all levels of Marine units. It inspires individual Marines to strive for excellence, and it creates undeniable credibility and respect for the leader—through his or her actions, not merely words.

As Goes the Leader, So Goes the Team—Always!

In addition to the constant emphasis on personal character, integrity, and other leadership traits and principles, Marine leaders are taught that their success as a leader really depends on their willingness to take the following three actions on a daily basis:

•  Set the standards.

•  Live the standards.

•  Enforce the standards.

Great emphasis is placed upon the idea that they cannot be effective Marine leaders unless they approach each of these actions with equal vigor and apply them in an unquestionably fair manner toward every member of their team, regardless of title, tenure, or past accomplishments. Simply stated, individuals are taught that the only way to be successful and live up to the high expectations of a leader of Marines is to Lead by Example—Always!

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Chapter 5

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Servant Leadership

The phrase Servant Leadership was coined by Robert K. Greenleaf. In his 1970 essay "The Servant as Leader," Greenleaf explains how and why he came up with the idea of Servant Leadership, as well as what a Servant Leader should be. While I want to ensure that Mr. Greenleaf receives credit for coining the term, I also want readers to know that Marine leaders were practicing the concepts associated with Servant Leadership for many decades prior to him doing so!¹

Servant Leadership

Many people associate the term World-Class Leader with people who possess impressive titles like president, ambassador, senator, CEO, or general. These people are serving in positions of significance and power, so they must be the World-Class Leaders we’ve been referring to, right?

Not necessarily.

In fact, the very best leaders are not always those serving in such roles, nor others who constantly try to catch everyone’s attention with their skill or bravado. In many instances, the true leaders within an organization are the ones away from the spotlight and not residing in the executive suite. They are the leaders and influencers working doggedly to help their teams meet objectives and quietly finding ways to pitch in to accomplish the mission. These individuals exhibit the characteristics and traits associated with being a servant leader: they are more concerned with ensuring that everyone else is empowered and enabled to perform than worrying about whether they’ll be personally recognized.

This is never more evident than in the Marine Corps, which explicitly teaches its leaders the importance of being a servant leader and how they can become one. That may sound a bit backwards to some people. There remains a common perception that leaders have earned the right to be served by others with lesser title or authority.

This is simply not true in any well-led organization. And it’s certainly not true in the Marine Corps, where Marines learn that leaders serve those being led, not vice-versa. This concept is a key element of the Trust-Based Leadership™ model that you will learn about in subsequent chapters of this book. Leaders exist solely to serve and enable those whom they are privileged to lead.

Application to Business

Many of the best companies in the business world share the Marine Corps’ emphasis on servant leadership. Fortune magazine’s annual list of the 100 Best Companies to Work For is chock-full of companies that practice servant leadership. A 2011 review done by Modern Servant Leader found that five of the top 10 companies on that year’s list were identified as organizations that practice servant leadership.²

In all, the 17 servant-led companies in the top 100 had anywhere from 1,200 to 167,000 employees with revenues in the billions. I suspect that many of the other 83 companies also practice much of what’s known as servant leadership, but simply don’t formally recognize or state this in various documents that convey their company’s vision, mission, culture, and leadership philosophies.

Contrary to popular belief, being a leader does not mean you have earned the right to simply boss people around and have them do things to make your life better. Being a leader isn’t about prestige or controlling others, it’s about supporting your teammates in any way possible. It is about providing the leadership, guidance, and resources to enable those who work with you to do the best job possible. It’s about serving your team so that they can perform at their very best.

Leadership is always about service. Remember it and practice it.

Always!

Chapter 6

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Self-Leadership

Marine Corps leaders are taught that before they can lead others well by becoming servant leaders, they must learn how to lead themselves; they must practice the concept of self-leadership.

Self-leadership essentially equates to the leader practicing self-discipline in every aspect of his or her life. This includes taking care of one’s health, seeking education and professional development, and maintaining personal and professional relationships. Self-leadership is what inspires individuals to take purposeful action to acquire, enhance, and sustain the character and inner-strength that are necessary for servant leadership. And that’s essential to the Trust-Based Leadership™ model.

Self-leadership involves continuous reflection on and development of three aspects: self-awareness, self-confidence, and self-belief.

•  Self-awareness is about defining and remaining true to your personal core values, and being vigilant about identifying anything that