Marine Leadership

Develop a sense of responsibility among your students

Train your students to accept responsibility for themselves and their actions. Teach them that all actions have consequences, and that the skills they learn in the dojang should guide them in all aspects of their lives, from home to school to the workforce. Teach them that their responsibility is to their God, their families, themselves, to the dojang, and to society and that their actions will reflect either positively or negatively on all of these. Today's society has created many theories and "diseases" to except individuals from taking responsibility for their own actions. Teach students that only they are responsible for their own actions and that as leaders, they are responsible for the actions of their subordinates.

Make sound and timely decisions

Indecision destroys the morale of armies and the lives of citizens. When a decision is called for, consider your options, use your best judgment, and make a decision. Leaders are decisive. Great leaders throughout history have made decisions, and even if a decision was the incorrect one, they took responsibility for it. Today, in an attempt to avoid the taking of responsibility and making the tough decisions, many have embraced the numerous management fads like Total Quality Management in which decisions are reached by consensus. Unfortunately, leadership does not work by committee, but with one lone person at the top who has accepted the responsibility of leadership. As a leader, take charge of yourself, the situation, and the people you lead and make the tough decisions and then accept the consequences of that decision.

Set the example

As an instructor, you are the person students look to for advice and approval. Students will follow the example that is set for them by those they respect. You must constantly set the example through your actions and deeds. Students will immediately be put off by the "Do as I say, not as I do" mentality. Every aspect of your life will be scrutinized by those that you lead. Your morality, integrity, personal convictions, and personal habits are open to inspection by others. Your corrections and advice are more likely to be followed if you are not guilty of the same things you are trying to correct.