11. ENDURANCE. A five-foot team leader once led his men through 10 days of field training. He topped it off with a two day hike 36 miles back to camp. When asked how aman of his size developed such endurance, he said, "It was easy. I had 12 guys pushing me all the way." What he meant, of course, was that 12 others were dependent on his endurance to pull them through. He couldn't think about quitting. Every leader must have endurance beyond that of his men. The team leader must check everyone's work in addition to doing his own. On the march he will often carry part of another's load in addition to his own. He also has the burden of command upon him. An unfit body or an undisciplined mind could never make it.
Keep yourself fit, physically and mentally. Learn to stand punishment by undertaking hard physical tasks. Force yourself to study and think when tired. Get plenty of rest before field work. Don't stay out till the last place is closed. The town will still be there when you get back. You'll enjoy it more then anyhow.
An old saying is that you don't have to be trained to be miserable. That's true. But you do have to be trained to endure misery.
12. UNSELFISHNESS. Leaders don't pull the best from the case and leave the rest to the team. They get the best they can for all the team members, all the time. Leaders get their own comforts, pleasures, and recreation after the team has been provided with theirs. Look at any chow line in the field. You'll see the leaders at the end of the line. This more than a tradition. It is unselfishness.
Share with your team all hardships. Then the privilages that go with your rank will have been earned. Don't hesitate to accept them when the time is right, but until it is, let them be. When your team is wet, cold and hungry -- you'd better be too. That's the price you pay for leadership. What it buys is well worth the cost. The dry clothes, warm bed, and full belly can come later.
Give credit where credit is due. Don't grab the glory for yourself. Recognize the hard work and good ideas of your team and be grateful you have such people. Your leader will look after you in the same way. They know the score, too.
13. LOYALTY. This is a two-way street. It goes all the way up and down the line. You should live by it. Marines even quote Latin fot it --- "Semper Fidelis". As a leader, every word, every action, must reflect your loyalty -- up and down. Back your team when thery're right. Correct them when they're wrong. You're being loyal either way. Pass on orders as if they were your own idea, even when they are distasteful. To raley on the rank of the person who told you to do a job is to weaken you own position. Keep your personal problems and the private lives of others to yourself. But help you men in their difficulties, when it is proper to do so. Never criticize your team or your boss in the presence of subordinates. Make sure they don't do it either. If deserving persons get into trouble, go to bat for them. They'll work harder when it's all over. When it comes to spreading corruption, the proverbial rotten apple couldn't hold a candle to the damage that can be done by a disloyal leader.
14. JUDGEMENT. This comes with experience. It is simply weighing all the facts in any situation, application of the other 13 traits you have just read about, then making the best move. But until you acquire experience you may not know the best move. What then do you use in the meantime? Well, there are hundreds of years of experience out there. Some is available to you just up the line. Just ask and you'll recieve the benefit of their experience. Seek and ye shall find.