Page 214 - The extraordinary leader
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A CASE STUDY IN
LEADERSHIP
DEVELOPMENT—THE U.S.
MARINE CORPS
Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character. But if you must
be without one, be without strategy.
—General Norman Schwarzkopf
A question that continues to linger on most people’s minds is “Can you really
develop leaders?” “Aren’t they born that way?” The general population con-
tinues to wonder whether the thing called “leadership” is something
implanted at birth or if it can be developed. If it could be shown that even
one organization successfully transforms “regular” people into effective lead-
ers, that question could begin to disappear. One key reason for this chapter
describing the work of the U.S. Marine Corps is our attempt to put that ques-
tion to bed, once and for all, by describing an organization that successfully
develops leaders.
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