This Veterans Day, we’re handing the mic to Lushin coach Wade Rowan, who learned to lead in the United States Marine Corps long before he coached sales, leadership and customer service teams. He was taught that true courage is what you do in the face of fear, and that idea runs through how he grows leaders today. Here are the three qualities Wade says make a leader worth following, and what to look for in any program that claims it can build them.
The Marine Corps teaches 11 leadership principles, and three of them shape how Wade develops leaders today: know yourself and seek self-improvement, know your people and look out for their welfare, and make sound and timely decisions. Together they build leaders who take responsibility, earn trust, and act with confidence, then keep improving through honest debriefs and a plan-do-check-act rhythm.
Leading requires that we not only seek responsibility but also take responsibility for our own actions. Speed of the leader, speed of the team. We are to never cease self-improvement. This means in the areas of our command we are to be both technically and tactically proficient. Does this mean that we are the ones carrying all the load? By no means. Great leaders understand that effective delegation is a must and battles are not won alone.
Leaders not only know themselves, but they know their greatest asset: their people, and they know them well. They have trained them, run the process with them, gotten in the dirt when needed, and proven that they have the best interest of those in their command at the forefront of their intentions.
In my time in the Marine Corps, I am sure that as a leader I was not always liked, but that was not my concern. Sometimes people (even Marines) do not like challenge, growth, and change. Our role as leaders is to take our people on mission and know the resources of the human capital we are called to steward. Along the way, we are to keep others informed and continue to train and condition the team, as we ensure the tasks and duties are clearly understood, supervised, and accomplished.
Excuses and saying “I was just too busy” are not welcome in the dialogue of Marines. Semper Fidelis is the Latin phrase for “always faithful.” Faithfulness requires extreme self-awareness and emotional intelligence. It goes beyond personal preference and temporary comfort. Instead, it places high value on the needs and health of the organization to accomplish the mission. As leaders, we never stop influencing. The dots always connect.
Daily, I find myself telling others that “leaders will only allow other leaders to help them make decisions.” How you see yourself as a leader (or human) will impact how others see you. Great leaders not only make timely decisions, they also make good decisions.
In one of my leadership schools, the instructor would wake us at all hours of the night and force us to immediately make very important decisions. He would say, “When your feet hit the floor, men. When your feet hit the floor.” Personally and professionally, leaders are required to make important decisions. I am fortunate that I have been trained to Observe, Assess, and Recognize the path forward with little hesitation.
Have I made mistakes? Yes! More than I can count. But we learn in the honest debrief, and an honest debrief requires honest people. Speak truth, set the example, and develop a sense of responsibility among your subordinates.
Never stop making plans for success.
Look for a program that builds these habits over time instead of in a single workshop. It should help leaders know themselves through assessment and feedback, coach them on knowing and developing their people, and practice real decisions followed by honest debriefs. For a more in-depth checklist, read Wade’s What to Look for in Leadership Development Programs.
What are the Marine Corps leadership principles?
The Marine Corps teaches 11 leadership principles. They include knowing yourself and seeking self-improvement, knowing your Marines and looking out for their welfare, and making sound, timely decisions.
How do military leadership principles apply to business leaders?
They translate directly. Business leaders also need to take responsibility, develop their people, and make clear decisions under pressure to accomplish the mission.
What does “speed of the leader, speed of the team” mean?
A team rarely moves faster or grows further than the person leading it. When leaders keep improving, the whole team’s pace rises with them.
What is the plan, do, check, act cycle?
It’s a continuous improvement loop. You make a plan, carry it out, check the results, and act on what needs to change before planning again.