SKINNING THE CAT

Sergeant Udelhofen, SM

Analytical Essay

Gunnery Sergeant Baldwin

March 20, 2023

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There is more than one way to skin a cat. The unique idiom applies directly to leaders and

the characteristics they use to lead. Leading people appears to be a simple task, but there are

many different ways for leaders to lead their subordinates. With many different leadership styles,

the variance between effective leaders can be large, but there are many similarities hidden within

the differences. Three common attributes all great leaders have are inspiration, technical

proficiency, and moral responsibility. Mark Zuckerberg was an inspiration to many people and

used that ability to inspire those around him to be better and wiser. Hundreds of thousands of

people in the United States Military use their technical proficiency to guide their subordinates

every day. Trust forges a bond between people that can only be achieved through common

morals. Examples of great leaders exist everywhere. It takes a keen eye and a moment of

observation to analyze them and recognize the importance of those characteristics.

Inspiration can be an extremely valuable tool to get people motivated and excited to

perform the task at hand. The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Meta Platforms inspired his

team and the world when he said, “Am I doing the most important thing I could be doing?…

Unless I feel like I’m working on the most important problem that I can help with, then I’m not

going to feel good about how I’m spending my time” (Johnson 2016). Mark Zuckerberg’s end

goal was to inspire his team to work on what they felt was the most important project at the

moment and foster a like mindedlike-minded environment. He wanted them to understand how

important their time was and to use it in a wise manner to form a creative, but focused team of

individuals. He wanted to inspire them to create a change in their current environment an create a

habit conducive to the work environment he was fostering. Working on challenging and

important projects would have showed his team how well he can do his job, but his team needed

to be inspired to perform just as well as himself. Zuckerberg was a talented leader and took the
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time to ensure his team wanted to succeed. Ultimately, it was his inspiration, not his technical

skill, that transformed his company from a small social networking platform to the technology

giant it is today.

A truly transformational leader is also capable of inspiring their subordinates using their

technical proficiency and knowledge of their job. They do not focus on one aspect of leadership

to lead their subordinates, but rather a multitude of traits. Army Command Sergeant Major John

Wayne Troxell spoke of Non CommissionedNon-Commissioned Officers (NCOs) in an

interview when he said, "They provide inspiration, purpose, motivation, direction and discipline

to the troops they lead, and they are also responsible for the individual training of those in their

charge” (Garamone 2019). Sergeant Major Troxell explained how NCOs in the United States

Armed Forces are vastly different from soldiers in foreign militaries and provide a distinct

advantage in combat operations. NCOs use their technical proficiency to train junior Marines and

soldiers in their Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). They must know the ins and outs of

their job and be able to perform at a high level to train the people seeking advice under their

charge. A Marine will not strive to follow an NCO if they are not good at their job as it shows a

lack of professionalism. Still, should a Marine decide to follow an NCO who does not have any

idea of how to perform the task at hand, they would be unable to learn, and unlikely to perform

at the satisfactory level expected of an NCO in the armed forces.

Technical skills are important to show subordinates the example of what to do and to

provide confidence, but a leader can be useless without providing a moral baseline. Any good

leader has a set of morals they stand by and uphold on a daily basis. Morals give subordinates the

ability to follow someone without fear, knowing they always have the best interest of those

around them in mind. “Only moral authority can build trust, inspire colleagues, create meaning
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and help people imagine a better future” (Seidman 2021). The ability to trust a leader is one of

the most important characteristics people can have when leading others. Marines must trust that

their leaders will take care of them and lead them into situations they can handle. Leaders of

multiple billion dollarbillion-dollar companies must be trusted to keep the businesses afloat and

thriving. A Wwalmart employee must trust that their managers will keep a tight schedule and

provide them with enough hours to make a livable wage. Trust is the foundation of the

relationship between leaders and subordinates that can only be built with a strong moral compass

by both parties. It is the responsibility of all leaders to uphold their morals and provide trust to all

of their subordinates so they too can trust their subordinates.

Whether a leader chooses to focus on one particular style of leadership to lead their

followers, or a leader adopts a combination of leadership styles, one fact remains true.

Inspiration, technical proficiency, and moral responsibility play vital roles in forming a

successful relationship between a good leader and their subordinates. Inspiration is used to

encourage positive behavior and a like mindedlike-minded goal. Technical proficiency allows for

knowledge to be passed between people and forges confidence among members of a team. Moral

responsibility generates a level of trust and an understanding between leaders and their

subordinates. A common theme amongst vastly different leaders shows the significant

importance of these factors. There are many examples of great leaders similar to Mark

Zuckerberg and the NCOs Army Command Sergeant Major John Wayne Troxell spoke about.

All it takes is a moment to examine a few leaders to see the impact they had on the people

around them and how important their ability to use their influence on them was.
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References

Johnson, Cynthia. “7 Life Skills We Can Learn from Mark Zuckerberg.” BusinessCollective,
April 21, 2016. https://businesscollective.com/7-life-skills-we-can-learn-from-mark-
zuckerberg/index.html.

Garamone, Jim. “Noncommissioned Officers Give Big Advantage to U.S. Military.” U.S.
Department of Defense, November 7, 2019. https://www.defense.gov/News/News-
Stories/Article/Article/2011393/noncommissioned-officers-give-big-advantage-to-us-
military/.

Seidman, Dov. “Moral Leadership Matters Now More than Ever.” World Economic Forum,
February 19, 2021. https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/02/why-moral-leadership-
matters-now-more-than-ever/.