The Fourteen Leadership Traits

Introduction

Brethren,

This writing aims to investigate the markings of exceptional field leadership beyond empty accolades or hollow boasts. Combat experience strips earthly priorities of pretense, revealing the underlying characteristics that drive devoted men into battlefields where ephemeral glory cannot protect blood and bone.

I write not to preach but to critically assess, from a leadership perspective, what constant attributes permit campaign success across multiple fronts against changing circumstances. Beyond swaggering bravado comes hard discipline created during uncounted engagements, crystallizing fundamental characteristics that the prudent leader cultivates inside themselves and their fellow knights alike.

In the coming pages, we will consider personal integrity, comprehensive knowledge, both practical and ethical, physical courage and moral wisdom, decisive instincts and dependable judgment, proactive innovation balanced with reactionary prudence, resilience that endures bitter seasons, inspirational motivation through camaraderie, technical mastery bearing and command presence, an unselfish sense of duty beyond personal elevation, loyalty to ideals, and how justice is applied to serve beyond vain ambition or selective interpretation.

Every being deemed leader by whatever authority creates the creature, even one of marginal worth, possesses varying levels of each leadership trait thus mentioned. However, what makes all the difference in the world is how high or low these values are in the individual. Woe to the knight and troops commanded that do not possess, at minimum, a moderate amount of each, for they will be found wanting.

I invite anyone who presses toward higher elevation to emulate the above qualities rather than rely on station or fluttering heraldry. Many may surge into a roaring battle, but enduring legacies emerge from a select few chosen not by divine right or birth but by persistent deeds, demonstrating solid leadership through purpose and deed.

Dame Brionna Valsun

Green Company Knight Commander

Integrity

Integrity is adhering to a consistent standard of honesty and trustworthiness through acts that do not compromise ethical principles. Beyond vague platitudes, integrity serves as the foundation for measuring functional leadership aspirations that go beyond virtuous pretenses.

For knights sworn to lofty rules of conduct, decisions on and off the field test the consistency of actions. When faced with difficulty, conviction is the genuine measure of integrity, not heraldry or titles. A good leader will provide a principled example from the top down.

Importantly, integrity binds force cohesiveness beyond tactics and technique. When leaders violate ethical standards through privileged entitlement, trust in policy erodes, and cooperation quickly devolves into toxic dissent. Nothing pierces hearts more quickly and sharply than tone-deaf hierarchy.

Knowledge

Whereas integrity connects words and will, sound knowledge guides purpose through uncertainty’s cloud. When utilized correctly, knowledge creates insight, allowing success to emerge from chaos, even when faced with overwhelming odds.

Ignorant leaders fall into classic traps, dooming the forces that follow them. Enlightened leaders, on the other hand, avoid such pitfalls through training, recollection, and adherence to solid tactical lore and successfully applying it at the appropriate time. Knowledge deployed by such informed concepts can reshape the battlefield quickly.

There is a risk in recognizing the value of knowledge, understanding your mission parameters, and moving fearlessly to achieve the goal. You will not always have the appropriate knowledge. Your intelligence may be limited, your adversary is unknown, and the task assigned seems beyond your powers. Such things may cause hesitation, panic, or fear. Nonetheless, you must persevere because your mission is to achieve victory without wasting your people’s lives. Assess and analyze the issue, then adjust and act based on your best judgment.

Furthermore, such comprehension necessitates balance; learning never stops as situations change. Wisdom also recognizes when new concerns challenge old information. To avoid stagnation, we must walk such thin lines carefully but aggressively.

Courage

Courage is boldness in facing adversity, whether charging a line, enduring brutal assault, or waiting to confront unknown danger. True courage follows an inner moral compass rather than seeking external affirmation. Crisis reveals pretenders who are unprepared to stand, stripped of the trappings of rank that so oft protect the weak of heart. But the stalwart is resilient and capable of drawing on inner stores of stability and calm.

For knights, courage is essential in rallying troops to face the terror of battle, for your people will play off your presence, be it bold or shaken. Ensure that it is not the latter, for a lance must be girded by the valor of its commanding chivalry, or it will fail.

Thus, courage prioritizes substance above symbolism. Nervous glory seekers recklessly attack threats, half panicked, half eager to quit the field. However, steadfast leaders face uncertainty with the knowledge that dedication overcomes fear, maintaining composure, wits, and focus.

Decisiveness

Decisiveness involves using critical thinking to make confident, timely choices and deliver orders without hesitation. However, an astute leader recognizes that not everything necessitates haste. There is a balance between being reactive and proactive. Seasoned leaders begin by assessing how time affects the consequences of each decision.

While spontaneous choices are necessary on battlefields, administrative concerns also benefit from competent advice and alternatives. Flexibility is vital to each method, rather than pushing issues toward blind adherence to protocol. Dithering breeds skepticism in abilities while overthinking the situation, frequently resulting in calamity. Achieving this balance demonstrates effective and decisive leadership.

Officers’ inability to make prompt choices leads to delays, confusion, and further issues. They do not plan ahead or adapt quickly. On the other hand, commanders who confidently issue orders while under duress instill confidence. Decisiveness entails not always rushing for a speedy victory but moving purposefully and confidently toward campaign objectives. Effective strategists regularly examine their situation while remaining focused on their broader strategy.

Dependability

Dependability means completing obligations reliably and fulfilling the responsibilities of your station through consistent leadership. To your command, this manifests as a reasonable assumption that, when put to task, you will execute directives efficiently and to a high degree of completion. You are seen as an asset, not a liability. To achieve and even exceed this standard needs be the goal of every worthy knight.

Dependable officers ensure fundamentals such as establishing and maintaining discipline, force readiness, morale, support, and supply. Distracted leaders allow eroding neglect to undermine hard-won unit cohesion. Do not fall to this. Devoted commanders sustain the momentum of their lances by embracing a selfless commitment to institutional integrity over smug ambition. Your people, their efficiency, and their conduct reflect you, their leader.

Unlike the dependable knight, inconstant officers confuse priorities, only showing predictability in failing to meet basic expectations. It is a cancerous thing, resulting in chaos mirrored down to their troops. When one is revealed, great consideration is often given to this type of officer, for neglecting course correction or removal from post oft results in unfortunate loss. Do not find yourself wanting in this regard.

Initiative

Initiative is proactively completing duties without orders using critical foresight, ingenuity, and responsibility, identifying unmet needs before superiors explicitly announce them. However, competent judgment must guide initiative to avoid unintentionally complicating the goal or overall plan.

Although initiative is a powerful weapon in the knight’s inventory, it is bolstered by discipline and good preparation, allowing for full use of improvisational flexibility. Do not find yourself wanting in these areas because you rely too heavily on your capacity to think and react quickly. This trap inevitably results in terrible circumstances that may have been averted with but adequate forethought.

In contrast, ill-applied, impetuous initiative, lacking clear judgment, splits larger efforts through misaligned disruption without understanding strategic repercussions. For example, well-intentioned but disorderly and undisciplined charges could capture ground briefly before succumbing to catastrophic overextension as troops in the rear try to divert, maneuver, and close the gaps left in its wake.

The initiative is the most challenging trait to embrace because it is scrutinized by the desire to act boldly while exercising sound judgment. I’ve seen many a brave fool charge forth in a courageous blaze of glory, only to be butchered shortly afterward due to lacking perception of the tactical ramifications. Be brave and determined, but don’t be a fool. Balance your daring disposition with great tactical acumen.

Tact

Tact: The textbook definition is maintaining morale through respectful conduct and communications, promoting unity of vision between ranks. Blunt rebukes in response to perceived slights frequently result in simmering bitterness rather than genuine course adjustment. Seasoned mentors first comprehend issues, strategically advise, and exercise patience as policies gradually align to meet legitimate concerns. Truth with empathy leads to smoother compliance.

What’s the brutal truth? We’re knights and soldiers. Hurt feelings, sensitive hearts, and uncontrolled emotions will get you killed on the field. There is a time for blunt, direct command and instant obedience to orders, and there is a time for civil rebuke that preserves the basic dignity of your subordinates.

You are also a knight and commander, not a friend or a confidant to the force you lead. There needs be a level of separation that walks the fine line of respect and admiration that does not cross into friendship, for too much attachment leads to clouded judgment when harsh calls needs be made.

Respect, and optimally, mutual respect, must be earned and maintained. Your responsibility is to concern yourself with leadership by example, completing overall objectives, your lances’ preparedness, and being mindful of their morale. Your sergeants are responsible for the minutia involving your troops, including enforcing discipline, maintaining gear, hygiene standards, and proper conduct. Should the untoward behavior of a subordinate capture your attention, it is your right and responsibility to appropriately and tactfully rebuke the soldier as befitting the transgression. You then hold the senior sergeant responsible and rest assured that the situation will be rectified.

Thus, skillful leaders inspire willing performance rather than demand it alone. Blunt commanders, without accompanying empathy, breed toxicity by answering hostility with condescension that goads the subordinate toward brooding anger. The thoughtful leader’s words balance sternness with compassion, aiming for accountability with support. A knight uses subtlety to discern the limits of raw authority and secure cooperation without completely succumbing to base emotion and response.

Bearing

Bearing combines dignified mannerisms, speech, emotional control, and overall disciplined conduct to provide an exemplary example to your subordinates. One of the goals of any leader is to have your people look to you in earned admiration, with the ideals, character, and ability for one to aspire to. Such an individual breeds confidence that translates to unit cohesion and increased morale, thus increasing overall effectiveness.

Then there is the ill-tempered, slovenly, crass, and undisciplined knight, overly reliant on breeding and station to bend others to will. This type of leader often attempts to hold a force together through heavy-handed discipline, only achieving the begrudging kind of compliance born from fear of punishment. Such a lance will crumble when pressed toward extremes.

Endurance

Endurance, as it applies to the knight, regards persisting through pain, fatigue, stress, and hardship without compromising the objective. In short, it is possessing both mental and physical toughness. It is your duty to endure and motivate your people to do likewise, understand their limits, and grasp realistic expectations.

Seasoned commanders sleeping among weary troops in frozen passes, fighting and bleeding alongside their people, and feeling the same pressures, such as overcoming fear, hunger, and loss of endeared comrades, build a powerful shared experience and a profound bond. Understand the sacred trust such solidarity builds and why a commander needs possess a sense of uncompromising resilience in the face of duty. Enduring together with other appropriately applied leadership traits will raise the knight’s esteem in the eyes of their subordinates and peers alike, creating a fighting force capable of extreme dedication and effectiveness. You must strive to create such a bond.

By contrast, the entitled, pampered dandy will desire to dismiss as many tests of endurance as possible, surrounding themselves with privilege and luxury, unable to recognize how such disconnection is perceived in their people. Although the officer must maintain a level of distance, widening the gap through removing oneself from the harsh aspects that every soldier must endure upon campaign creates resentment, disdain, and a loss of genuine respect. Limit your privileges within the field. There is a place for that back in garrison during a well-deserved reprieve.

Enthusiasm

Enthusiasm is the expression of genuine interest and optimism while carrying out one’s duties and commitments with passion. Exuberance frequently comes naturally amid ceremonial triumphs when there is glory and an admiring audience to be had. However, retaining genuine vigor and passion over long, grueling campaigns or the grind of daily tasks is the real deal. Project an upbeat mindset, which will be contagious, raising your and your subordinates’ spirits.

The seasoned knight will keep themself composed in the face of escalating losses, stress, and adversity, demonstrating spiritual resilience independent of validation. They serve as beacons, bolstering the spirit of battered ranks that look to them for direction and inspiration. The average soldier is no fool. They recognize the absence of substance behind the false conviction and will return the favor with half-hearted zeal to satisfy the vein and trifling high-born that leads them. This is dangerous because such a force will likely crumble like a poorly built wall when finally tested by extreme hardship.

The vein knight only pretends to be concerned, with no investment beyond superficial attachments. They avoid being overly bothered with the day-to-day tasks bereft of chance at glory, only displaying interest in deeds with the potential to elevate esteem. This type of officer is shallow, frequently lacking in more than simply enthusiasm, and irritating to work with and for.

Reference

The Fourteen Leadership Traits for Success in the USMC

https://www.indeed.com/career-advice/career-development/marine-corps-leadership-traits