Marine Corps Leadership Principles for Local Government

Marine Corps Leadership Principles for Local Government

For

Mayors, City Council Members, City Managers, and Planners





Craig Hulllinger AICP, Colonel Marine Corps Reserve Retired

The Marine Corps motivates American teenagers to wake up at 5:00 am, work hard, and charge machine guns uphill, all for minimum wage. The Corps trains effective and dynamic leaders who ensure top performance.

Mayors, City Council Members, City Managers, and Planners often reach their offices without formal leadership training. They learn to be leaders on the job. Understanding effective and proven leadership principles developed over many years by the Marine Corps can help officials improve their leadership performance.

I have served as a City Planner / Manager and as a Colonel in the Marine Corps Reserve, including service in Vietnam. In this article we focus on the leadership principles and traits developed by the Marine Corps and discuss how these qualities could and should be incorporated into local governmental leadership.

leader. Substitute citizens and employees for Marines.

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