Leadership Principles

Certain fundamentals are habitually followed by successful leaders in making decisions and taking action. The fundamentals used for the proper exercise of command are known as leadership principles. These are 11 fundamentals that are listed and explained in the following sections below.

Principle 1 - Be Technically and Tactically Proficient

a. To know your job thoroughly, you must possess a widefield of knowledge. You should be tactically able in the field of combat operations and understand all the technical aspects of your command.

b. Techniques for application.

(1) Seek a well-rounded military education through attendance at service schools and through independent reading, research, and study.

(2) Keep abreast of latest techniques in the field of communication to facilitate control of your unit and to disseminate information.

(3) Seek out and foster association with capable leaders. Observe and study their actions and application of leadership techniques.

(4) Broaden your field of knowledge through association with officers and men of other arms and services.

(5) Seek opportunity to apply knowledge through the exercises of command. Real leadership is acquired only through constant practice.

(6) Avoid overspecialization.

(7) Keep abreast of current military developments.

(8) By study and through frequent visits to subordinates, familiarize yourself with the capabilities and limitations of all elements of your command.

(9) Develop techniques for measuring performance of the unit.

(10) Develop skill as an instructor.

(11) Take every opportunity to prepare yourself for command at the next higher echelon.

Principle 2 - Know Yourself and Seek Self-improvement

a. It is your duty to evaluate yourself and recognize your own strengths and weaknesses. No one can become a successful leader until he knows his own capabilities and limitations and is, in fact, the master of himself. Strive to develop desirable traits of leadership.

b. Techniques for application.

(1) Analyze yourself objectively to determine the strong and weak points of your character. Make an effort to overcome the weak ones.

(2) Solicit, when appropriate, the candid opinions of others as to how you can make the most of your desirable qualities and eliminate the undesirable ones.

(3) Profit by studying the causes for the success or failure of other leaders past and present.

(4) Develop a genuine interest in people; acquire the human touch.

(5) Treat others as you desire to be treated.

(6) Master the art of good writing and speaking.

(7) Cultivate cordial relations with members of the other arms and services and with civilians.

(8) Develop a philosophy of life and of work. Have a definite goal and plan to attain it.

Principle 3 -Know Your Men and Look Out for Their Welfare

a. You will have a better understanding of how your subordinates react and function under various conditions when you make a conscientious effort to observe them, become personally acquainted with them, and recognize their individual differences. You should anticipate and make provisions for the needs of your Solders. By doing so you win their willing obedience, confidence, respect, and loyal cooperation.

b. Techniques for application.

(1) See the members of your command and let them see you; be friendly and approachable.

(2) Develop an intimate knowledge and understanding of your subordinates through

personal contact and available records. In small commands, it is imperative not only that the leader know and address his subordinates by name, but also that he be familiar with their characteristics.

(3) Interest yourself in the living conditions of the members of your command, including their family environment, food, clothing, and billeting.

(4) Make ample provision for, and give personal and visible attention to, the various personnel services including recreation, particularly those concerned with the personal problems of individuals.

(5) Provide for the spiritual welfare of your command by supporting religious activities.

(6) Protect the health of your command by active supervision of hygiene and sanitation.

(7) Support actively a safety program.

(8) Determine the mental attitude of members of your command by frequent in formal visits and by using fully all available sources of information.

(9) Administer justice impartially to all without fear or favor. When punishment is necessary, you should-

(a) Be fair, consistent, prompt, and impersonal.

(b) Punish in private, with dignity, and with human understanding.

(c) Never impose degrading punishment.

(d) Avoid punishing a group for the faults of an individual.

(e) Always make the individual feel that the punishment is temporary, and that improvement is expected.

(10) Insure fair and equitable distribution of passes, leaves, rotation, and other privileges.

(11) Encourage educational development by providing educational opportunities for members of your command.

(12) Provide sufficient athletic and recreational facilities within the organization and insure that your command is receiving its share of quotas for recreation areas and entertainment benefits.

(13) Share the problems of your men so that you may better understand them.

Principle 4 - Keep Your Men Informed

a. All Soldiers want to know how well they have done and what will further be expected of them.

The individual who is well informed, commensurate with security requirements, as to the situation and his mission is more effective than one who is uninformed. Keeping a Soldier informed promotes initiative and improves morale. This includes passing information down as well as up.

b. Techniques for application.

(1) Explain to your principal subordinates why any particular task must be accomplished and how you propose to do it.

(2) Assure yourself by frequent inspections and visits that subordinates are transmitting necessary information to the men.

(3) Keep your principal subordinates informed of plans for future operations, subject only to security restrictions.

(4) Disseminate information concerning the capabilities of our weapons compared to those of an active or potential enemy. Where an enemy has an initial advantage, show how this can be overcome.

(5) Be sure the troops are informed of the capabilities and limitations of supporting units, arms, and services.

(6) Be alert to detect the spread of false rumors. Stop rumors by replacing them with truth.

(7) Build confidence and esprit de corps by exploiting all information concerning successes of the command.

(8) Keep your unit informed about current legislation affecting their pay, promotion, privileges, etc.

Principle 5 - Set the Example

a. Soldiers instinctively look to you for examples that they may follow or use as an excuse for their own shortcomings. Your individual appearance and conduct must evoke from your subordinate’s praise, pride, and a desire to emulate you. Set the standard for your entire command by outstanding performance of duty. The commander who appears in an unfavorable light before his men destroys the mutual respect that must exist between a leader and his Soldiers.

b. Techniques for application.

(1) Be at all times physically fit, mentally alert, well groomed, and correctly dressed.

(2) Master your emotions. The commander who is subject to intemperate bursts of anger or to periods of depression will have difficulty in gaining and holding the respect and loyalty of his subordinates.

(3) Maintain an optimistic outlook. The will to win is infectious. Foster it by capitalizing on your unit's capabilities and successes, not on its limitations or failures. Maintain an air of outward calmness. The more difficult the situation, the more important this becomes.

(4) Conduct yourself so that your personal habits are not open to censure. Coarse behavior and vulgarity are the marks of an essentially weak and unstable character; these, together with a failure to be punctual and a tendency toward selfishness and self-indulgence in luxuries not available to the command in general, are inevitably resented by all ranks.

(5) Cooperate in spirit as well as in fact. Cooperation must work in two directions. It arises from a wholehearted desire by all members to further the effective operations of the team.

(6) Exercise initiative and promote the spirit of initiative in your subordinates.

(7) Be conspicuously loyal to those below you as well as to those above you. Support those under you as long as they discharge their duties conscientiously. The commander who seeks to protect an incompetent subordinate from correction by a higher commander is, however, himself disloyal. Loyalty is a primary trait of leadership and demands unqualified support of the policies of superior officers, whether the individual concerned personally favors them or not.

(8) Avoid the development of a clique of favorites. While it is difficult to avoid being partial to subordinates who have rendered loyal and superior service over a period of time, the temptation to show partiality should be vigorously resisted.

(9) Be morally courageous. The commander who fails to stand by his principles where the welfare of his command is concerned, or who attempts to avoid the responsibility for mistakes of his command, will fail to gain or hold the respect of his associates or subordinates.

(10) Share danger and hardship. A leader who has elements of his command subject to danger or to hardship of any kind should visit them as often as possible to demonstrate without ostentation his willingness to assume his share of them difficulties.

Principle 6 - Ensure That the Task is Understood, Supervised, and Accomplished

a. Give clear, concise orders that cannot be misunderstood. Supervise to make sure that the order is properly executed. This is the most difficult part to carry out. The able leader makes wise use of his subordinates to carry out his orders effectively. Any commander who fails to make proper and adequate use of his staff and subordinates demonstrates a fundamental weakness in leadership ability.

b. Techniques for application:

(1) Through study and practice, develop the ability to think clearly and to issue clear, concise, positive orders.

(2) Encourage subordinates to seek immediate clarification about any point in your orders or directives that they do not understand.

(3) Question your subordinates and assistants to determine if there is any doubt or misunderstanding as to the task to be performed.

(4) Supervise the execution of your orders. Your supervision must be firm and you must be insistent that your desires be carried out.

(5) Make every means possible available to your subordinates to assist them in accomplishing

their mission. Instruct your staff to be as helpful and loyal to your subordinates as your staff is helpful and loyal to you.

(6) Supervise the execution of your orders by personal visits. When appropriate, require your staff officers to do the same.

(7) Ensure that the need for an order exists.

(8) Utilize the established chain of command.

(9) Vary your supervisory routine and the points which you emphasize during inspections.

(10) Exercise thought and care in supervision. Over-supervision stifles initiative and creates resentment; under-supervision will not get the job done.

Principle 7 - Train Your Men as a Team

a. It is your duty to develop teamwork: through training of your command. Teamwork is the key to successful operations; it starts in the smallest unit and carries through to the largest organization. Teamwork concerns all aspects of military operations. The military organization involves many different arms and services, all working together as a team toward a common goal. Each member of the team must understand where he fits into the effort. The commander who fosters teamwork while training his command will obtain the desired degree of unit proficiency. Good teamwork requires good discipline, morale, and esprit de corps.

b. Techniques for application.

(1) Insure by inspections and training tests that your command is being trained in accordance with training programs and doctrine prescribed by higher authority.

(2) Make sure that the best available facilities for team training are provided and that maximum use is made of such devices as communication drills, battle drills, and realistic field exercises.

(3) Ensure that all training is purposeful and that the reasons for it are stressed.

(4) Ensure that each element of the command is acquainted with the capabilities and limitations of all other elements, thereby developing mutual trust, and understanding.

(5) Ensure that each subordinate leader understands the mechanics of tactical control for his own echelon of command.

(6) Predicate team training on modern realistic conditions.

(7) Insist that each officer and enlisted man know the functions of each other officer and enlisted man with whom he habitually operates. Insist that each of these know and understand each other, their traits, peculiarities, strengths, and weaknesses.

(8) Demand the highest standard of teamwork in all training.

(9) Seize opportunities to train with other units, both combat and service.

(10) Show each man his responsibilities and the importance of his role to the overall effectiveness of the unit.

Principle 8 - Make Sound and Timely Decisions

a. You must have the ability to make a rapid estimate of the situation and arrive at a sound decision. You must be able to reason logically under the most trying conditions and decide quickly what action is necessary to take- advantage of opportunities as they occur. The vacillating commander not only is unable to employ his command effectively but also creates hesitancy, loss of confidence, and indecision within his command. When circumstances dictate a change in plans, act promptly and without fear that the command may consider such action indecisive. Proper planning ahead will lay the groundwork for sound and timely decisions. Acquire the ability to make sound and timely decisions through constant study and training.

b. Techniques for application.

(1) Develop a logical and orderly thought process by constant practice in making objective estimates of the situation. Making an estimate is not restricted to the military. It is employed in the everyday life of all persons.

(2) So far as time and occasion permit, plan for every contingency that can reasonably be foreseen.

(3) Consider the advice and suggestions of your subordinates before making your own decisions.

(4) Announce decisions in time to allow subordinates to make necessary plans.

(5) Encourage concurrent estimates and planning in the various echelons of your command.

(6) Always make sure that your staff is familiar with your current policies and plans.

(7) Consider the effects of your selection on subordinates and supporting elements.

Principle 9 - Develop a Sense of Responsibility Among Subordinates

a. Proper delegation of authority accompanied by proper supervision engenders trust, faith, and confidence. It develops initiative and wholehearted cooperation. Reluctance to delegate authority often is a mark of retarded development in leadership.

b. Techniques for application.

(1) Utilize the chain of command at every feasible opportunity.

(2) Tell your subordinates what to do, not how to do it; hold them responsible for results. Delegate and supervise, but do not intervene except when necessary. Avoid usurping the prerogatives of your subordinates.

(3) Provide all possible personnel with frequent opportunities to perform duties of the next higher echelon.

(4) Be quick to recognize accomplishments of your subordinates when they demonstrate initiative and resourcefulness.

(5) Correct errors in the use of judgment and initiative in such a way as to encourage the individual. Avoid public criticism or condemnation. Be liberal in openly giving praise which is deserved.

(6) Give unstintingly of help and advice when it is requested by those under your command.

(7) Ensure that your personnel are assigned positions commensurate with demonstrated or potential ability.

(8) Be prompt and fair in backing subordinates to the limit. Until convinced otherwise, have faith in each subordinate.

(9) Demonstrate to your command that you are ready and willing to accept responsibility.

Principle 10 - Employ Your Command in Accordance With Its Capabilities

a. You must have a thorough knowledge of capabilities and limitations of your command if you are to employ it properly. Individuals in your command must be assigned duties commensurate with their capabilities. You must use sound judgment in the employment of your unit. Failure to accomplish the mission causes a loss of confidence, which in turn destroys efficiency and brings about the collapse of morale and esprit de corps.

b. Techniques for application.

(1) Know, understand, and apply the principles of war.

(2) Keep yourself informed as to the relative operational effectiveness of various elements of your command.

(3) Be sure that the accomplishment of tasks assigned to subordinates is reasonably possible, but do not hesitate to demand their utmost effort in order to achieve a quick victory or to avoid defeat.

(4) Analyze any task assigned. If means at your disposal appear' inadequate, inform your immediate commander and request additional means.

(5) Make every effort to equalize tasks proportionately, over appropriate periods of time, among the several elements of your command.

(6) Utilize the full capabilities of your unit before requesting assistance.

Principle 11 - Seek Responsibility and Take Responsibility for Your Actions

a. You must seize the initiative in the absence of orders. By seeking responsibility, you develop yourself professionally and increase your ability. Accept responsibility for all your unit does or fails to do.

b. Techniques for application.

(1) Learn the duties and responsibilities of your immediate supervisor.

(2) Seek diversified assignments that will give you responsibility and command experience.

(3) Take advantage of any opportunity that offers increased responsibility.

(4) Perform every task, large or small, to the best of your ability. Your reward will consist of increased opportunity to demonstrate your fitness to perform bigger and more important tasks.

(5) Remember that you are responsible for all your command does or fails to do.

(6) Accept justified criticism and admit mistakes.

(7) Adhere to what you think is right; have the courage of your convictions.

(8) Ensure that a subordinate leader's failure was not due to some error on your part before considering his relief. Get to the basic cause of his failure-manpower is valuable-and his replacement may be worse.

(9) Seize the initiative when a decision must be made and specific orders from higher headquarters are not forthcoming. Do what you think your superior would order if he were present.

Source: FM 22-100, pg.37-53

Photo by Matthew Hintz: https://www.pexels.com/photo/men-in-black-crew-neck-shirt-jogging-9845042/

Photo by Art Guzman: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-soldier-training-on-a-field-13742003/

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