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Such lessons transfer well to the business world, where real teams are too rare
and the mercenary drive is often too strong, says Useem, author of The Leadership
Moment: Nine True Stories of Triumph and Disaster and Their Lessons for Us All. But
the demand for speed to market and emerging customer impatience, he says, are
just two elements that have placed the premium on collaborative teamwork in the
business world.
"Companies need team leaders, not primadonnas; if you're a showboat, you're
not going to build the enterprise. Our leadership program puts a premium on
collaboration," says Useem, who completed the course himself earlier this year.
This April, he joined his first group of student recruits and eagerly observed their
reactions to real-life lessons he believes they will carry with them for the rest of
their careers.
Though it's become all the rage to pay lip service to the importance of team
building in today's companies, too few actually build effective teams and cultivate
leaders. The Marine Corps, on the other hand, has a decades-old, integrated
approach to leadership. The fact that commanders must rely on their frontline
officers gives credence to the idea that many within a team can lead. Indeed, in
the Corps, those at the top are often forced to rely on subordinates to make the
right decisions in critical situations. For such initiatives to be successful in the
boardroom, CEOs must similarly adopt an aggressive sense of camaraderie and
a willingness to delegate and trust.
Inside the men's barracks, two rows of men stand alert before their bunks. One
sergeant prowls up and down between them, stopping now and then to bellow
into a pallid face. Only 15 minutes have passed since their arrival, but the students
seem to have already disappeared. In their place stands a pack of soldiers who snap
to attention and bark answers as one.
"Ears!" shouts the sergeant.
"Open!" the students shout back.
Creating a sense of urgency in a chaotic and unpredictable environment is a
critical aspect of the training experience, says Major Patrick Kelleher, operations
officer at Quantico. "We try to expand the students' exposure to leadership styles
and techniques. By taking the course, they gain an understanding of Marine Corps
philosophy as it pertains to decision-making. We train leadership. We make
Marines to win battles," says the 34-year-old. "But the fundamentals are different.
A bad decision in the business world means you may lose some money; in the
Marine Corps, you could get someone killed."
Drill sergeant Lee Bonar explains to the students how to attach their canteens
to their belts. He tells them they are not to be without these belts during their
entire stay.
"I'll be daggoned if one of you is going to dehydrate and go down as a heat
casualty," Bonar says. He then tells them how to make their beds, explaining that
the Marines have a special way of making their beds, a special way of sleeping in
the building. He gives them 10 minutes to make their beds, or sleep on the floor.
Frantic activity erupts in the men's barracks, with sheets flying from one end
of the long room to another. The sergeant yells at a few men who have finished.
"Why do you think you are finished?" he bellows. "If you got time, you
help someone else!"
"Two minutes," Bonar roars to the frenzied group.
"Time!"
The students stand by their footlockers as Bonar strides to the end of the room,
his displeasure unmistakable. "You call this a neat bed, soldier? Do you? Answer
me when I'm talking to you."
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