The Marine Corps leadership traits and principles are the backbone of how the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) develops leaders. There are 14 leadership traits, remembered with the acronym JJ DID TIE BUCKLE, and 11 leadership principles. The traits describe who a leader is, and the principles describe what a leader does.
Every Marine memorizes them in recruit training or officer candidate school. They work just as well in an office as on a battlefield, which is why business leaders keep borrowing them. Below you’ll find all 14 traits and 11 principles with the official definition, a plain-English meaning and a real workplace example for each, plus a free printable handout.
Quick Answer: The 14 Traits and 11 Principles
The 14 Marine Corps leadership traits (JJ DID TIE BUCKLE):
- Justice
- Judgment
- Dependability
- Initiative
- Decisiveness
- Tact
- Integrity
- Enthusiasm
- Bearing
- Unselfishness
- Courage
- Knowledge
- Loyalty
- Endurance
The 11 Marine Corps leadership principles:
- Be technically and tactically proficient
- Know yourself and seek self-improvement
- Know your Marines and look out for their welfare
- Keep your Marines informed
- Set the example
- Ensure the task is understood, supervised, and accomplished
- Train your Marines as a team
- Make sound and timely decisions
- Develop a sense of responsibility among your subordinates
- Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities
- Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions
Free download: get the 11 leadership principles and 14 traits as a printable PDF handout for training, a desk reference or your team wall.
In This Guide
- Leadership traits vs leadership principles
- The 14 Marine Corps leadership traits explained
- How to remember them: JJ DID TIE BUCKLE
- The 11 Marine Corps leadership principles explained
- How the traits and principles work together
- Using Marine Corps leadership at work
- FAQ
Leadership Traits vs Leadership Principles: What’s the Difference?
Marines learn the two lists together, and people often mix them up, but they do different jobs:
| Leadership traits | Leadership principles | |
|---|---|---|
| How many | 14 | 11 |
| What they describe | Qualities of character: who a leader is | Rules of action: what a leader does |
| Memory aid | JJ DID TIE BUCKLE | No official acronym, usually memorized as a numbered list |
| Example | Integrity, Courage, Judgment | “Set the example”, “Keep your Marines informed” |
| How you use them | To evaluate and develop yourself | As a checklist for how you lead others |
Both serve the two objectives of Marine Corps leadership: mission accomplishment and troop welfare. Get the job done, and take care of the people doing it. Every trait and principle supports one or both of those goals.
The 14 Marine Corps Leadership Traits Explained
Here are all 14 USMC leadership traits with the Marine Corps’ own definitions and what each one means in plain English. Below the table, each trait gets a workplace example and a way to build it.
| # | Trait | Official definition | In plain English |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Justice | Giving reward and punishment according to the merits of the case in question. The ability to administer a system of rewards and punishments impartially and consistently. | Treat people fairly and consistently, and make sure praise and consequences match what someone actually did. |
| 2 | Judgment | The ability to weigh facts and possible courses of action in order to make sound decisions. | Look at the facts and the options, then make the call that makes the most sense. |
| 3 | Dependability | The certainty of proper performance of duty. | People can count on you to do the job, and do it right, without being chased. |
| 4 | Initiative | Taking action in the absence of orders. | See what needs doing and do it, without waiting to be told. |
| 5 | Decisiveness | Ability to make decisions promptly and to announce them in a clear, forceful manner. | Make decisions on time and state them clearly, so people know what to do next. |
| 6 | Tact | The ability to deal with others in a manner that will maintain good relations and avoid offense. More simply stated, tact is the ability to say and do the right thing at the right time. | Deliver hard messages in a way that keeps the relationship intact. |
| 7 | Integrity | Uprightness of character and soundness of moral principles. The quality of truthfulness and honesty. | Be honest and do the right thing, especially when no one is watching. |
| 8 | Enthusiasm | The display of sincere interest and exuberance in the performance of duty. | Show real energy and interest in the work, because it’s contagious. |
| 9 | Bearing | Creating a favorable impression in carriage, appearance, and personal conduct at all times. | Carry yourself in a way that earns respect: calm, composed and professional. |
| 10 | Unselfishness | Avoidance of providing for one’s own comfort and personal advancement at the expense of others. | Put your team’s needs before your own comfort or credit. |
| 11 | Courage | Courage is a mental quality that recognizes fear of danger or criticism, but enables a [person] to proceed in the face of danger with calmness and firmness. | Feel the fear and act anyway. That includes moral courage: speaking up when it’s unpopular. |
| 12 | Knowledge | Understanding of a science or an art. The range of one’s information, including professional knowledge and an understanding of your Marines. | Know your job inside out, and know your people just as well. |
| 13 | Loyalty | The quality of faithfulness to country, the Corps, the unit, to one’s seniors, subordinates, and peers. | Stay faithful to your organization, your boss, your peers and the people who work for you. |
| 14 | Endurance | The mental and physical stamina measured by the ability to withstand pain, fatigue, stress, and hardship. | Keep performing through stress, long hours and setbacks, without falling apart. |
1. Justice
Definition: Giving reward and punishment according to the merits of the case in question. The ability to administer a system of rewards and punishments impartially and consistently.
What it looks like at work: Two people miss the same deadline. One is your top performer, one is new. A just leader applies the same standard to both and explains why.
How to build it: Write down your standards before you need them, and check whether you treat your favorites differently.
2. Judgment
Definition: The ability to weigh facts and possible courses of action in order to make sound decisions.
What it looks like at work: Before cutting a feature to hit a launch date, a manager with good judgment checks the data, asks the people closest to the work and weighs the trade-offs.
How to build it: After big decisions, write down what you expected to happen. Compare it with what actually happened a month later.
3. Dependability
Definition: The certainty of proper performance of duty.
What it looks like at work: You deliver what you promised in the meeting, on time, without anyone needing to follow up.
How to build it: Promise less than you think you can deliver, and track your commitments somewhere visible.
4. Initiative
Definition: Taking action in the absence of orders.
What it looks like at work: A customer complaint keeps coming up. Instead of waiting for a ticket, you dig into the cause and propose a fix to your manager.
How to build it: When you spot a problem, bring it to your boss together with a proposed solution.
5. Decisiveness
Definition: Ability to make decisions promptly and to announce them in a clear, forceful manner.
What it looks like at work: Your team has debated two vendors for three weeks. You set a decision date, make the call and explain it in one short message.
How to build it: Give every decision a deadline, and remember that a good decision on time beats a perfect one too late.
6. Tact
Definition: The ability to deal with others in a manner that will maintain good relations and avoid offense. More simply stated, tact is the ability to say and do the right thing at the right time.
What it looks like at work: You give critical feedback in private, focus on the work rather than the person, and end with a clear way forward.
How to build it: Before a difficult conversation, decide the one thing you need the other person to hear, then plan how to say it.
7. Integrity
Definition: Uprightness of character and soundness of moral principles. The quality of truthfulness and honesty.
What it looks like at work: You report a mistake in your own numbers to the client before they find it, even though it’s uncomfortable.
How to build it: Never shade the truth in status reports. Your team copies whatever you tolerate in yourself.
8. Enthusiasm
Definition: The display of sincere interest and exuberance in the performance of duty.
What it looks like at work: You kick off a tough quarter by showing the team why the goal matters, instead of reading out targets.
How to build it: Connect daily tasks to the bigger purpose, and say it out loud to your team.
9. Bearing
Definition: Creating a favorable impression in carriage, appearance, and personal conduct at all times.
What it looks like at work: When a major client threatens to leave, you stay calm in front of the team. Your composure sets the tone for everyone else.
How to build it: Notice how you react under stress (tone, body language, messages sent in anger) and slow down.
10. Unselfishness
Definition: Avoidance of providing for one’s own comfort and personal advancement at the expense of others.
What it looks like at work: You give your team the credit for a win in front of senior leadership, and take the blame yourself when something goes wrong.
How to build it: In the Marine Corps, leaders eat last. Find your workplace version of that habit.
11. Courage
Definition: Courage is a mental quality that recognizes fear of danger or criticism, but enables a [person] to proceed in the face of danger with calmness and firmness.
What it looks like at work: You push back on a senior executive’s unrealistic deadline, with data, even though it might cost you politically.
How to build it: Practice moral courage in small moments, like disagreeing in meetings, so it’s there when the stakes are high.
12. Knowledge
Definition: Understanding of a science or an art. The range of one’s information, including professional knowledge and an understanding of your Marines.
What it looks like at work: A sales manager who still understands the product and the customer can coach reps on real deals, not just on numbers.
How to build it: Block regular time for learning, and have one-on-ones that go beyond status updates.
13. Loyalty
Definition: The quality of faithfulness to country, the Corps, the unit, to one’s seniors, subordinates, and peers.
What it looks like at work: You disagree with a decision in private, then support it in public once it’s made, and you defend your team when they’re criticized unfairly.
How to build it: Disagree upward, in private. Back your people, in public.
14. Endurance
Definition: The mental and physical stamina measured by the ability to withstand pain, fatigue, stress, and hardship.
What it looks like at work: During a months-long turnaround, you keep your standards and your temper, and you keep the team going.
How to build it: Protect sleep, exercise and recovery. Endurance is built in the boring weeks, not in the crisis.
How to Remember Them: What Does JJ DID TIE BUCKLE Stand For?
JJ DID TIE BUCKLE is the acronym Marines use to memorize the 14 leadership traits. Each letter is the first letter of one trait, in order:
| Letter | Trait |
|---|---|
| J | Justice |
| J | Judgment |
| D | Dependability |
| I | Initiative |
| D | Decisiveness |
| T | Tact |
| I | Integrity |
| E | Enthusiasm |
| B | Bearing |
| U | Unselfishness |
| C | Courage |
| K | Knowledge |
| L | Loyalty |
| E | Endurance |
Read it as “JJ did tie buckle”, picturing someone named JJ fastening a belt buckle, and the 14 letters fall into place. Recruits drill it until they can recite the full list in order in seconds.
The 11 Marine Corps Leadership Principles Explained
If the traits are the character, the 11 USMC leadership principles are the playbook. They’re practical rules any leader can follow from day one.
| # | Principle | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Be technically and tactically proficient | Know your job well enough to do it yourself and to teach it. People follow competence. |
| 2 | Know yourself and seek self-improvement | Understand your own strengths and weaknesses, and keep working on them. |
| 3 | Know your Marines and look out for their welfare | Know your people as individuals: their goals, their situations, what drives them. Take care of them. |
| 4 | Keep your Marines informed | Share what’s happening and why. Informed people make better decisions and trust you more. |
| 5 | Set the example | Don’t ask your people to do anything you wouldn’t do yourself. Your behavior sets the standard. |
| 6 | Ensure the task is understood, supervised, and accomplished | Give clear instructions, check that they were understood, follow up, and make sure the job gets done. |
| 7 | Train your Marines as a team | Build a unit that works together, not a collection of individuals. |
| 8 | Make sound and timely decisions | Gather the facts, decide, and act quickly enough for the decision to matter. |
| 9 | Develop a sense of responsibility among your subordinates | Give people real ownership so that they grow into leaders themselves. |
| 10 | Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities | Assign tasks your team can actually accomplish. Don’t set them up to fail. |
| 11 | Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions | Step up for hard assignments, and own the results, good or bad. |
1. Be technically and tactically proficient
Know your job well enough to do it yourself and to teach it. People follow competence.
At work: An engineering manager who can still read the code and challenge an architecture decision earns more trust than one who only manages schedules.
2. Know yourself and seek self-improvement
Understand your own strengths and weaknesses, and keep working on them.
At work: You ask for 360-degree feedback, accept that you interrupt people in meetings, and actively work on it.
3. Know your Marines and look out for their welfare
Know your people as individuals: their goals, their situations, what drives them. Take care of them.
At work: You notice a strong performer is quiet and burned out, ask what’s going on, and adjust their workload before they quit.
4. Keep your Marines informed
Share what’s happening and why. Informed people make better decisions and trust you more.
At work: When budgets get cut, you tell the team early and honestly, instead of letting rumors fill the gap.
5. Set the example
Don’t ask your people to do anything you wouldn’t do yourself. Your behavior sets the standard.
At work: If you want people to stop sending emails at midnight, stop sending them yourself.
6. Ensure the task is understood, supervised, and accomplished
Give clear instructions, check that they were understood, follow up, and make sure the job gets done.
At work: After assigning a project, you ask the owner to play back the goal and the deadline, then hold short check-ins until it ships.
7. Train your Marines as a team
Build a unit that works together, not a collection of individuals.
At work: You run cross-training so that two people can cover every critical task, and you debrief projects as a team.
8. Make sound and timely decisions
Gather the facts, decide, and act quickly enough for the decision to matter.
At work: A competitor drops their price. You analyze the impact over two days, not two months, and respond.
9. Develop a sense of responsibility among your subordinates
Give people real ownership so that they grow into leaders themselves.
At work: You let a junior team member own a client relationship from start to finish, with you as backup rather than a supervisor.
10. Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities
Assign tasks your team can actually accomplish. Don’t set them up to fail.
At work: You turn down a third major project this quarter because the team doesn’t have the capacity, instead of overloading them.
11. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions
Step up for hard assignments, and own the results, good or bad.
At work: When your project fails, you explain what you got wrong in the post-mortem instead of blaming another department.
How the Traits and Principles Work Together
The principles are how the traits show up in behavior. Following a principle consistently builds the traits behind it. The table below is our own mapping, not official doctrine, but it’s a useful way to pick a principle to practice if you want to strengthen a specific trait.
| Principle | Traits it builds |
|---|---|
| 1. Be technically and tactically proficient | Knowledge, Dependability |
| 2. Know yourself and seek self-improvement | Judgment, Integrity |
| 3. Know your Marines and look out for their welfare | Unselfishness, Justice, Knowledge |
| 4. Keep your Marines informed | Loyalty, Tact |
| 5. Set the example | Bearing, Integrity, Enthusiasm, Courage |
| 6. Ensure the task is understood, supervised, and accomplished | Dependability, Decisiveness |
| 7. Train your Marines as a team | Loyalty, Endurance |
| 8. Make sound and timely decisions | Decisiveness, Judgment |
| 9. Develop a sense of responsibility among your subordinates | Initiative, Justice |
| 10. Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities | Judgment, Knowledge |
| 11. Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions | Courage, Initiative, Integrity |
Using Marine Corps Leadership at Work
You don’t need a uniform to use any of this. The traits and principles hold up in business because they’re built around the same two goals every manager has: deliver results and keep good people. A simple way to put them to work:
- Run a self-assessment. Rate yourself from 1 to 5 on each of the 14 traits, then ask someone you trust to rate you too. The biggest gap between the two scores is your development goal for the next quarter.
- Use the principles as a weekly checklist. On Friday, ask yourself: did I keep my team informed? Did I make my decisions on time? Did I set the example?
- Pick one principle per month for the whole team. “Ensure the task is understood, supervised and accomplished” alone can fix a lot of missed deadlines.
- Use them in hiring and promotions. Judgment, dependability and initiative are easier to discuss in an interview when you have shared words for them.
If you’re interested in how other branches approach this, see our guide to the Army values and leadership. For the civilian side, compare authoritative vs democratic leadership and read about the leadership mistakes that hurt team morale, many of which are simply these principles being ignored.
Free Printable: Marine Corps Leadership Traits and Principles PDF
Want the full list on paper? Our free handout puts all 14 traits with their definitions and all 11 principles on a clean, printable reference. Use it for training sessions, leadership workshops or as a desk reference.
FAQ: Marine Corps Leadership Traits and Principles
What does JJ DID TIE BUCKLE stand for?
JJ DID TIE BUCKLE stands for the 14 Marine Corps leadership traits: Justice, Judgment, Dependability, Initiative, Decisiveness, Tact, Integrity, Enthusiasm, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty and Endurance.
What are the 14 Marine Corps leadership traits?
The 14 leadership traits are Justice, Judgment, Dependability, Initiative, Decisiveness, Tact, Integrity, Enthusiasm, Bearing, Unselfishness, Courage, Knowledge, Loyalty and Endurance.
What are the 11 Marine Corps leadership principles?
The 11 leadership principles are: be technically and tactically proficient; know yourself and seek self-improvement; know your Marines and look out for their welfare; keep your Marines informed; set the example; ensure the task is understood, supervised and accomplished; train your Marines as a team; make sound and timely decisions; develop a sense of responsibility among your subordinates; employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities; and seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions.
What is the difference between the leadership traits and the leadership principles?
The 14 traits describe the qualities of character a leader should have (who you are). The 11 principles are guidelines for action (what you do). Following the principles consistently is how the traits are built and shown.
What are the two objectives of Marine Corps leadership?
The two objectives of Marine Corps leadership are mission accomplishment and troop welfare.
What are the Marine Corps core values?
The Marine Corps core values are Honor, Courage and Commitment. They are separate from the 14 leadership traits and 11 leadership principles, but all three support each other.
Does the Army use the same leadership principles?
The Army’s older leadership doctrine used a nearly identical list of 11 principles. Today the Army focuses on its seven values (LDRSHIP) and the Army Leadership Requirements Model instead.
Sources
- U.S. Marine Corps, MCWP 6-10, Leading Marines
- Leadership Traits and Principles (Training Command, U.S. Marine Corps)
- Leadership Principles (Marine Corps University)