SIX ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF LEADERSHIP: Marine Corps Wisdom of a Medal of Honor Recipient.

SIX ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF LEADERSHIP: Marine Corps Wisdom of a Medal of Honor Recipient. By Col Wesley L. Fox. Published by Naval Institute Press. 224 pages. Stock #1612510248. $22.46 MCA Members. $24.95 Regular Price.

Whether you’re planning to guide your son’s Scout troop into the wilderness, or you are commanding a craggy bunch of gunslingers up against a determined and resourceful enemy, here’s the book on leadership you need to read, internalize and seek to incorporate.

Medal of Honor winner Colonel Wes­ley L. Fox, USMC (Ret) examines what he considers the six essential elements of leadership. This fine volume is highly readable and hits upon the important leadership skills necessary for success as a Marine, and beyond.

Col Fox “rose from the ranks” to serve his country in two major wars of the mid-20th century. Cutting his combat teeth in Korea, he went on to command a rifle com­pany in Vietnam and win our coun­try’s highest award for valor.

At the end of his luminous career, he commanded the Of­ficer Candidates School at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va. Ad­ditionally, he wrote two other superbly informative books, “Marine Rifleman: Forty-three Years in the Corps” and “Cour­age and Fear.” Col Fox retired from active duty in 1993.

In his latest work, Col Fox draws heavi­ly on his personal experiences as a leader of Marines. His vast leadership learning curve includes lessons from his first squad leader to various well-known leaders of our Corps.

Col Fox devotes a chapter to each of the six leadership elements he considers essential; these traits include care, per­sonality, knowledge, motivation, commit­ment and communication. Each of these elements is carefully examined, explained and supported by his considerably dis­tin­guished military know-how and experience.

He suggests that the born leaders, even great ones, must continue to study the art of war as they master it at each rank. How­ever, even if one has a deficiency in one or more of these essential leadership ele­ments, through extra effort, one may still prevail.

He writes: “The bottom line is that I learned that when I was directly involved with my Marines, when I looked them in the eye and told them, ‘This is what we want to accomplish,’ we got it done. … For me, the rank of colonel never kept me out of the trenches or from being directly involved with my Marines. I loved it.”

In Col Fox’s book, the idea of caring for one’s Marines is crucial. He writes: “Over the years I have come to under­stand that the word ‘care’ is the difference between leadership and management.

A leader has to care. This care is shown by actions, not words, and is easily read by the subordinates.” A successful leader exudes the living spirit we Marines have come to know as “esprit.”
Mustang officers, or officers who were former enlisted Marines, are generally revered and hold a special place in the hearts and minds of their Marines. Mind and body tough, they seem to have a sharp and perceptive no-nonsense understand­ing of the Marines in their command. Of­ficers and enlisted personnel will benefit, hugely, from reading “Six Essential Ele­ments of Leadership” and take pleasure in learning something of the storied ca­reer of Col Fox: a Marine Medal of Honor winner and a celebrated combat leader of Marines.

SIX ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF LEADERSHIP: Marine Corps Wisdom of a Medal of Honor Recipient.
By Col Wesley L. Fox.
Published by Naval Institute Press. 224 pages.
Stock #1612510248.
$22.46 MCA Members. $24.95 Regular Price.