Page 233 - The extraordinary leader

210 • The Extraordinary Leader

● The organization can be flatter. The Marine’s have 8.7 enlisted
personnel per officer, in contrast with the U.S. Air Force’s 4 per officer
or the U.S. Army’s 5 to each officer.

Leaders Should Be Held Accountable for the Level of Commitment and
Morale of Their People. In the private sector, we have had the strange notion
that while the corporation owned all of the hard assets, money, and intellec-
tual property, managers could do whatever they chose with their people. Some
have been reluctant to conduct company-wide employee attitude surveys, lest
they be seen as intruding on the leaders’ domains. We contend that the com-
pany needs to know of declining morale, and managers should be held
accountable for any degeneration in commitment and loyalty to the firm. And
leaders need to be accountable for developing leaders in their sphere of
responsibility.
Leadership Development Requires a Feedback-Rich Environment That
e
r
Emphasizes Learning from Failure, Rather Than Punishment for Mistakes.
One of the keys to the Marines’ leadership experience is an environment that
creates receptivity to, and provides an ample supply of, feedback. The culture
is extremely tolerant of failure, realizing that failure is the most powerful
teacher.
Leadership Development Occurs Best in an Egalitarian Culture. The
Marines emphasize the need for open, frank debate on all decisions. That dia-
logue occurs only when the culture reinforces an attitude in which authority
can be challenged with no negative consequences. It also requires a culture
in which leaders specify end results but refrain from telling people the means
by which tasks are to be accomplished. This develops initiative and creativ-
ity, along with a high sense of ownership.

CONCLUSION
It is obvious that over the 234 years of the Marine Corps’ existence, the Corps
has learned a great deal about developing leaders. The Marine Corps’ expe-
rience has shaped its views regarding the real requirements of leadership, as
well as the optimum ways to select and develop its leaders. Its experience in
developing leaders appears to have shaped its culture, just as its strong cul-
ture has molded its practices of leadership development. Because of the
Corps’ extraordinary skills and resourcefulness, Marines transport the