SgtMaJ Reynolds, Don
Sergeant Major, USMC
Former Infantry Unit Leader
Husband. Father of 2
@norseman_9 on Instagram
The Eulogy vs. Resume Virtues
Written by SgtMaj Reynolds, Don
Resume Virtue – What skills do you bring to the table?
Eulogy Virtues – What will they say about you when you are gone?
The simple fact of the matter is, we exist in a highly competitive military society where choice billets, professional military education, and fitness reports dominate the playing field for advancement.
I’m sure at some point we have all met the officer or enlisted person who treats each billet as a stepping stone for the next move or a box to check that will look favorable on the next promotion board. They are in frequent contact with their career monitor and are always scheming for the next good duty station. For them, subordinates are pawns or merely background noise. They talk a good game about leadership but it’s merely a giant ego wrapped in a shroud of fake humility.
They have fallen victim to the pitfalls of vanity, ambition, and deceit. And when they are re-assigned they are eulogized by an eye roll and a heavy sigh of disgust by the unfortunates who languished under their command.
While it’s important to stay current and qualified in your professional military education and competitive for promotion, it’s not the end… it’s the beginning.
Our biggest asset in the realm of leadership is the ability influence by using the technical skills and experience we have acquired and melding it with compassion, integrity, humility, and wisdom. These characteristics are what will inspire your subordinates to perform and will serve as a beacon for them to rally around when times get difficult. How you apply them in your day to day interactions will dictate how effectively you can build a cohesive team that will willingly trust your decisions and place their lives in your hands. If you’re prone to bark orders, shift blame, never explain the why, and blame others, you may very well be highly qualified by virtue of rank and education, but you’re still an absolute novice and a liability to your unit.
No one cares how many times you were the honor graduate or how many personal awards you’ve received. What they care about is how invested you are in their personal growth and well-being. What they are dying to know is, can they trust you to keep them alive and make sound decisions in dire and dark circumstances. Will you show them the skills and characteristics they need to succeed both on and off the battlefield through your OWN personal example?
If you can do these things, they will talk about you long after you are gone….. not with an eye roll or a sigh of disgust, but with a smile, and a story about how you changed their life for the better.
The Leaders Huddle 