Justice: The 14 leadership traits of the United States Marine Corps and how they apply to your business.

The United States Marine Corps is legendary for not just winning battles but for making superb leaders. The Marine Corps thrives in the worst of conditions not because of the equipment that they carry, but because of their leadership. In combat, strong leadership saves lives and wins battles. Why is Marine Corps leadership unique compared to the other branches of the armed forces? Well, for one thing, size matters. The Marine Corps is made of just over 200,000 personnel, less than 10% of which are officers. Compare that to the Army made up of roughly 544,000 soldiers, approximately 16% of which are officers; the Navy made of roughly 327,000 sailors, with approximatley 15% being officers; and the Air Force, with over 325,000 Airmen, with almost 20% of the personnel being officers. This unique dynamic within the Marine Corps means that enlisted personnel are forced to assume roles of leadership and responsibility much earlier than their counterparts in the other services. Because of this, the concept of leadership is instilled from day one of recruit training.

Marines are taught to adopt 14 specific leadership traits designed to motivate and influence those under their responsibility. These traits don't leave once the uniform is packed away and the Marine returns to the civilian world, which makes them highly sought after in the corporate world as they are not only invaluable to the battlefield, but also the boardroom.

I am certainly not the first to write about how the Marine Corps' 14 leadership traits can benefit business and I won't be the last. I highly recommend "Semper Fi: Business Leadership the Marine Corps Way" by Dan Carrison and Rod Walsh, as well as "The Marine Corps Way: Using Maneuver Warfare to Lead a Winning Organization" by Jason Santamaria, Vincent Martino, and Eric Clemons; and "14 Core Leadership Traits:A Marine Corps Approach to Business Leadership" by Frank Gustafson.

So what are the 14 leadership traits of the United States Marine Corps? I'm glad you asked! As with pretty much everything in the military, Marines are taught to remember the 14 traits using an acronym, specifically JJ DID TIE BUCKLE. Over the next 14 days, I will share thoughts with you on each of these traits and issue a leadership challenge to you.

Justice

Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times! (Psalm 106:3)

Websters dictionary defines justice as:

1. The maintenance or administration of what is just especially by the impartial adjustment of conflicting claims or the assignment of merited rewards or punishments

2. The quality of being just, impartial, or fair

3. Conformity to truth, fact, or reason

As leaders, we are often faced with difficult choices. We have to make important business decisions as well as personnel decisions (who to hire, who to fire, who to promote, who to demote, who to reward, who to punish). There are 3 types of justice that a leader must consider. The first is distributive justice, which involves the perceived fairness of the allocation of outcomes or rewards to organizational members. Next is procedural justice, which involves the perceived fairness of the process by which rewards are distributed. Third is interactional justice, which involves the sensetivity and respect with which employees are treated. Research suggests that the perceived fairness of a decision is more important to employees than the process by which one actually goes about making the decision. This would indicate that communication with employees is critical when it comes to decision making. Let them know that decisions were made based on facts, rewards are tied to objective measures, and promotions tied to merit.

There is a 4th type of justice that we should not overlook, called deontic justice. Deontic justice involves seeking to correct an injustice in a way that appears to be against one’s own self interest because it is the right thing to do. Anyone that has ever taken the blame for a leader/managers bad decision understands what this is about. Leaders are still human and still make mistakes. Maybe you made a mistake and gave someone an award that probably should have gone to another employee. Maybe you were unfairly harsh on an employee for a percieved mistake. Maybe you lost your temper or composure. Mistakes happen. The important thing is to make them right. Employees need to know that you are willing to admit to mistakes and right a wrong, even if it comes are the cost of your own interests.

Your challenge:

Examine your rewards, punishments, and promotions policies. How are these practices communicated with your employees. In what way do you allow those you are responsible to have a voice in the practices? How can your improve the way they perceive these practices as fair?

Comment here on what conclusions you came to so that you can share your ideas, successes and failures with other leaders so that we can all grow together. Share this article as well with your friends and colleauges so that we can get their thoughts as well.