The Marine Corps recognizes eleven principles of leadership and fourteen traits of leaders. In this and coming editions of “Front and Center,” we will present these principles and traits, discussing them as the Marine Corps understands them, and considering them in a broader perspective as they apply more generally to Americans whether or not they…
Last month, we considered the first principle of leadership recognized by the Marine Corps: Know yourself and seek self-improvement. We considered also the first trait of a leader: Justice. This month, we will examine the second principle, which is to be technically and tactically proficient, and the important trait of judgment. The Marine Corps’ understanding of technical and tactical proficiency holds…
In an essay titled “On Remembering Who We Are,” the late Melvin Bradford observed the following: “Yet as [Michael] Oakeshott insists, moral conduct is an art, insofar as it concerns the relations of men—an art learned by apprenticeship. And society is the necessary context of that learning.” The point that is made here is meant to…
Last month, we considered the Marine Corps leadership principle of knowing one’s people and looking out for their welfare. The next principle, keep your Marine personnel informed, is an extension of this, and it presents to us the interesting task of defining what is meant by being “informed.” In the discipline of biomedical ethics, the…
In his excellent book Memoirs of a Superfluous Man, Albert Jay Nock discusses in part his impatience with what he calls “social legislation” aimed at improving society presumably by improving human beings through the force of law. In an interesting discussion of a long-time friend who had been active in the effort to compel human beings to…
Marine Corps recruits at Parris Island, South Carolina have the interesting experience of a pattern guiding the way drill instructors train them. In an ordinary day at that extraordinary place recruits will learn several skills. The pattern begins with one or more drill instructors explaining the task to the recruits and repeating themselves when necessary…
When pianists learn a challenging piece of music, they often will learn the music for each hand separately and then, when the left and right hands have control of their parts, put the two together training to perform the piece as it is meant to be done. The structure of this process is found in…
Upon hearing the Marine leadership principle of making sound and timely decisions, one might reasonably respond, “Right, but how?” We get a sense of how to understand what it means to take decisions that are “sound” from the description of this principle, and we find, interestingly, that demonstrating this leadership principle seems to be rather…
When someone is sworn into a branch of the armed services, he takes an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic. The purpose of a constitution is to establish a government of whatever form a people choose and to make clear what are that government’s…
Some people are capable of self-reflection, others are not. One indicator that someone is able to examine himself is that when a mistake is made, the first instinct is to consider how he may have contributed to the problem and to make the proper correction. Usually, people who do not readily examine themselves will find…
We have arrived at the eleventh and final principle of Marine Corps Leadership: seek responsibilities and take responsibility. The idea of responsibility asserted in this leadership principle is comparable to the ideas of duty and obligation, but there is another, compatible meaning one may attach to “responsibility” that can cast some light on the idea…
A year ago, we began publishing each month in “Front and Center” a discussion of one principle of Marine Corps leadership and one trait of a leader. Last month, we finished our consideration of the eleven principles of leadership and the eleventh of fourteen leadership traits. This month we will consider the three remaining…
