Army Leadership Principles

Success in any kind of unit, team, organization or community requires dynamic leadership. In my career as a Special Forces Team Sergeant and of course all the positions I held prior to that time, I learned the principles of leadership by following great examples of men AND women in the military, and my trusty Field Manual (FM) 22-100, Army Leadership. I still have a copy that must be 50 years old; however, these principles are ageless just as the principles of leadership that we find in ancient books like The Art of War, by Sun Tzu.

After I retired from the Army in 1995 I went into the civilian world as a salesperson and sales manager. As a sales manager, I had what some may consider attention getting success and I attribute a lot of my success

Character describes who a person is inside and at the core of their values. I grew up with certain values in the military that has served me well in my whole life. Those values are loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity and personal courage. As you present these kinds of leadership values, you influence your team members to live and grow with these same values. You build a strong and wonderful team. Your common values help your team understand the purpose of your vision and also the energy to initiate and act on methods for

You must always attain and improve your skills in four major areas:

Interpersonal Skills: Know your people and how to work with them as individuals and teams.

Job Related Skills: Know how the job is done. You do not have to be the best at any particular job function; however, you must know what the basic job function is and how to direct to get the most efficient results.

Leadership Skills: Leadership is natural and it is learned. Anyone can become a leader if they are decisive and apply the mind to learn and act.

Learning Skills: Continually improve your knowledge in your industry. Your focus and ability to stay with the constant changing curve in business whether it be from technology or other factors is a vital skill for your leadership success.

Do: Leadership Actions

Influencing, operating and improving are root leadership actions. The ability to influence others to work together for collective goals or to act individually requires giving reasons and challenges for action, not just tasks. There are three main ways that leaders demonstrate influence: great communication, quick decision making, and meaningful motivating. The strongest way that leaders influence others is with personal senses: face to face or voice to voice with encouragement, recognition, and a clearly understood intent.Today we have broadcast email, video and teleconferencing to influence at a broad