Applying the 11 Leadership Principles of the Marine Corps to the tech world
Nearly 20 years ago (2003 and 2004), I led Marines in combat operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. As a young man, recently allowed to legally purchase alcohol, I had no framework to understand how to lead. I quickly found myself guided by the Marine Corps leadership principles and traits to help me understand how to do my job as a squad leader.
Nearly two decades later 👴, as a leader of talented analysts and data specialists at Canva, a multi-billion dollar tech company, I still continuously struggle to identify how I can be a better leader.
I find myself falling back to the basics I learned a lifetime ago. <cue emotive music>
Be Technically and Tactically Proficient 🤓
Canva is a hypergrowth company, and thus career opportunities are ever-present. There is the very real possibility you can be promoted to a leadership or management position (there is a difference!) without having built the technical craftsmanship that forms the foundation in your field. In the data world, this means you need to hone your skills in coding SQL, Python/R, build your statistical knowledge base, and understand how to effectively build out data stories. If you fail to develop these foundational skills before you are promoted, you will not only have a more difficult time building out data strategies, but you’ll fail to gain the full respect of your team.
Know Yourself and Seek Self-Improvement
Quickly following on the first leadership principle, this one reminds us to be honest about our strengths, as well as our weaknesses. Don’t be afraid of the skills you lack; be afraid of your own fear paralyzing you into a lack of action. In the tech world, this ‘action’ translates to taking online courses, reading leadership books, attending workshops, or simply seeking out high-performers in your workplace who will take the time to show you new skills. The tech world moves fast, and if you aren’t constantly learning, you will fall behind. Admittedly, this fact, combined with having a 2-year old, has increased my rate of grey hair acquisition.
Know Your Marines and Look Out for Their Welfare
Everyone has their own personal journey in life. If performance is lacking, as a coach, you have no idea if they are going through a non-work challenge. Take the time during your 1on1s to step outside of ‘work talk’ and get to know what motivates them and what is going on at home. This level of care is not only important for struggling performers, but also high-achievers. Helping your team achieve success in the workplace requires fine-tuning the balance between the professional and personal life.
Keep your Marines Informed
My team at Canva knows everything I am allowed to tell them. Transparency is a key part in building trust with your team. Many leaders keep information compartmentalized due to an insecurity that if others know what is going on, they’ll lose some of their ‘power’ as a leader. This is a sign of a weak leader. A key part of this principle is not only telling your team the what, but also the why. When I’m making a coaching change for certain specialists, I’ll be sure to explain my reasoning and give the team time for feedback before the decision is cemented in place.
Set the Example
I’ve always found this the easiest leadership principle because it only requires effort. Work hard. When presenting, take the time with your slide decks to ensure they are of the highest quality. Ask for feedback. Ensure your code isn’t sloppy because you are now in a position of ‘power’. Simply take the time to make certain that if we move beyond cloning pets to cloning humans, you’d love to have another you on your team. However, I’m not sure my current team could handle that much freedom and motivation.
Ensure the Task is Understood, Supervised, and Accomplished ✅
Too often we have this completed plan in our heads for a project or task and we offload it to a team member. If you haven’t built up enough trust, they may be hesitant to ask clarifying questions on the chance you’ll doubt their skills. Next thing you know, that dashboard you asked for becomes a discussion with a Tableau sales agent who’s been told you want to talk. Wait, what?! This is why in the military, it is commonplace to order a subordinate to repeat the order back in their own words, in order to measure comprehension (perhaps don’t mimic this in an office). Finally, it’s one thing to have a clear plan, but wholly another to ensure it is seen through to completion. Status updates are key (not in 1on1s though), and recognizing when you need to step in to assist is also an important skill to develop.
Train Your Marines as a Team
Unless your workplace encourages a culture mimicking the Hunger Games, you’ll want to focus on developing your team as a collaborative unit, rather than a dozen individuals. This requires them to feel secure, and be open to asking questions from other team members. When you see it happen, perhaps avoid something like “Ollie, the fact that you can’t figure that out on your own is embarrassing and makes me want to disown you” and instead go with something more motivating, like “Ollie that was awesome work developing that dashboard when you had zero prior experience with Looker. Knowing how to collaborate is a skill I’m looking for at Canva!”
Make Sound and Timely Decisions
The more you are promoted, and the higher up the corporate ladder you climb, the more difficult the non-technical problems become. The easier ones to solve have already been gobbled up by the time they arrive at your doorstep! Therefore, it is common for self-doubting leaders to delay on key decisions because the problem is not simple and people can be afraid of being wrong. If you stick to leadership principle #1, you’ll have developed a solid foundation that allows you to make sound decisions in your specific field. In addition to making the a decision, making it in a timely manner is vital. As US General George Patton said, “A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.” Consider leaving out the ‘violent’ part.
Develop a Sense of Responsibility in Your Subordinates
If you are a leader that knows how to give away your legos, you’ll be developing responsibility and leadership within your team. In the military, during training in patrols, I would regularly simulate my death to see how smoothly my team would operate without me. While some leaders feel useless if their teams succeed without them, I say that leader has won the war! Building other leaders is incredibly rewarding, and it also allows you to operate more strategically in a company, assured that the more tactical, day-to-day operations are in good hands.
Seek Responsibility and Take Responsibility for Your Actions
The previous principle is all about developing leadership and responsibility within your team. It’s a slippery slope, however, as you can become lazy by simply giving away all your responsibilities! I do my best to seek out where I can make an impact and own a new project. I mainly do this out of frustration, when I see great ideas but a lack of leadership. Likewise, if I am that leader and am failing in any regard, it’s vital that I own up to it. At Canva, I’ve had stakeholders ask for forecasts to be built out for some key metrics. When those forecasts (that one of my team members had built) demonstrated poor performance, I didn’t blame the analyst. This was clearly my fault in not supervising and guiding the analyst toward what we needed. I investigated why and explained it back to the stakeholders, fully assuming the blame for this and how we would fix it going forward. Give credit to others at all times for the positives, and protect your team from the blame.
Employ Your Unit in Accordance With its Capabilities
If my wife asks me to fix a leaking pipe in the bathroom, there is admittedly a certain amount of pride that might push me toward trying to do it. However, plumbing is not in my skillset, and that whole situation could lead to a world of sewage, much like Washington DC. But I digress. Ensuring your team only takes on work that they should be doing plays to their strengths, and sets them up for success.
Perhaps after viewing the concept of leadership from a different perspective (hopefully a less violent perspective), you’ve been inspired. Every story, article, discussion, and book you read contributes to your formative view on how to inspire and guide your team toward excellence. Stay motivated!
