The Marine Corps' 14 Leadership Traits – Overview
(March 2, 2011) |
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 Over the next few weeks, I'm going to examine the Marine
Corps' 14 leadership traits. We'll take a look at what they
are, define them, apply them to a Marine's life (through
real-world and/or hypothetical situations), and then dive
into how they can/should be applied once a Marine
transitions back to civilian life.
Let's start with a
broad definition of the Corps' leadership traits. They “...
are qualities of thought and action which, if demonstrated
in daily activities, help Marines earn the respect,
confidence, and loyal cooperation of other Marines. It is
extremely important that you understand the meaning of each
leadership trait and how to develop it, so you know what
goals to set as you work to become a good leader and a good
follower.”
(Interestingly, this definition is taken
from a page on an Air Force Web site. That's interesting
because if you Google “marine corps leadership traits”, not
a single organic Marine Corps result shows up. It's also
interesting because I think guess the Air Force has figured
out that we know a thing or two about leadership!)
So
basically, these traits help Marines follow their leaders
and, when the time comes, to be leaders of Marines. A leader
who embodies these traits will have the respect of his
subordinates as well as that of his peers.
The key –
as I see it – is to achieve a balance among all the traits
rather than concentrating solely on a couple of them.
So without further adieu, here is the list of the Marine
Corps' 14 leadership traits:
- JUSTICE
- JUDGMENT
- DEPENDABILITY
- INITIATIVE
- DECISIVENESS
- TACT
- INTEGRITY
- ENTHUSIASM
- BEARING
- UNSELFISHNESS
- COURAGE
- KNOWLEDGE
- LOYALTY
- ENDURANCE
The acronym J.J. DID TIE BUCKLE is used by Marines to help
remember these 14 leadership traits. | |
USMC SSgt. Greg Thomas
Reprinted from
Marines Blog
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