[May 20, 2019] Yesterday, a good friend alerted me to a recent lecture by Thomas E. Ricks1 on why WWII generals were more successful than those in Korea, Vietnam, or Iraq/Afghanistan. There are several outstanding leader lessons but one on U.S. General George C. Marshall’s essential qualities of a general stood out, and I thought I would pass it along.
George C. Marshall was one of the most decorated military leaders in American history. But, you’ve probably never heard of him. After George Washington, Marshall is the most respected soldier in American history, yet he never had command of troops in battle.2 He became the Chief of Staff of the U.S. military the day WWII began. Interestingly, he is better known as a civilian and with the creation of the now-famous Marshall Plan.
Marshall wrote about what he learned as an aide to U.S. General Pershing in 1920.3 In it, he addressed the essential qualities of a general. These are:
- Good common sense
- Professionally educated
- Physically strong
- Cheerful and optimistic
- Energetic
- Extreme loyalty
- Determined
A rather surprisingly short list that describes what he thought was the key ingredients for any senior leader. Here is a key observation Thomas Ricks made of this list. It is a very American list. The list fits our culture and history of unpreparedness for war or any other major disaster. As such, Americans play a pickup game from the start. That is why these senior leader qualities are so valuable.
“Dashing, optimistic, resourceful type, quick to estimate with relentless determination and who possesses, in addition, a fund of sound common sense which operates to prevent gross errors due to repeatedness of action.” – U.S. General George C. Marshall
You won’t find any books written by General Marshall, but there are many about his accomplishments from WWI to WWII. More important, you can begin to understand his thinking, and that is the value of reading these books.
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- Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. Concurrently, his duties include writing an online blog for com called “The Best Defense.” The lecture can be found on YouTube (link here, 58:48 minutes).
- https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/george-c-marshall
- https://www.amazon.com/Memoirs-Services-World-War-1917-1918/dp/0395207258/ref=sr_1_4?keywords=george+c+marshall&qid=1558308125&s=gateway&sr=8-4
Let’s never forget the contributions made by Gen G. Marshall. There are a number of books out on him (note that he never wrote a book since that would have been against his character). I began reading about Marshall several years ago and I will say that they have been eye-opening for me. Some of you may disagree but I believe Marshall was more important than Gen Patton or Gen Montgomery. That assessment may not make much until you begin to see what he did during the war to ensure the allies won it.
Loved today’s article.
I’m going to have to think about Gen Marshall’s list. It’s pretty basic and, yes, very American in its character. Great job here.
Gen Satterfield’s focus on Gen Marshall is spot-on and should be commended for its breadth and depth. Gen Marshall was a man that made a huge contribution to the war effort and to the Western hemisphere after the war.
Dennis, I agree and thought so too. The list is something I posted on my refrigerator and will keep to read every morning before I go to work.
Same here. Tony, you beat me to it.
Good article. Thank you Gen. Satterfield.
I agree. Want to read more about him, see the History Channel.
https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-C-Marshall
As usual, I was relaxing this morning and drinking my coffee when I opened your blog to another article that caught my attention. The facts on US Army Gen George C Marshall was revealing … and I thought I knew a lot about this man. 🙂
General of the Army George Catlett Marshall dedicated his long life to serving the country he loved, and he served in many positions.
As the organizer of the American effort in WWII, Marshall’s service was unparalleled. This is what I teach my students and give plenty of examples. This is one man who should be looked up to as a role model for a patriot.
Marshall was absolutely revered by most Americans and certainly could have succeeded Truman had he wished to do so. What wonderful lessons for us all: dignity and morality achieved through unwavering adherence to high personal principles; self awareness and understanding that allowed him to always stay within himself; and an ability to look at the facts dispassionately,resulting not only in accurate interpretation of events and potential problems, but confidence in the path he should follow for optimal resolutions.
Excellent comment Max as usual when you write for this blog. Thanks.
Smart is as smart does.
Gen Marshall was smart, articulate, and a deep thinker. That’s why he was where he was and why he did such great things to usher America through the entire war.
There are many things in life that are indicators of someone who will succeed. I think that Gen Marshall’s list is pretty much on target. Of course, there is a much deeper meaning that is not mentioned in this short article. I suspect Marshall went beyond this in his writings.
I liked the idea of extreme loyalty. People today have absolutely no idea about the importance of this idea. They also don’t know what loyalty really means either. First, they don’t know that it doesn’t mean blind obedience. That’s kindergarten thinking and they should stop even making the comment. Second, without loyalty, the important idea of trust would be lost. No good things ever came from people who lacked the ability to trust.
Without loyalty you will get a bunch of backstabbers wherever you are. I saw this in several jobs I had. Today, I’m still surprised the company is still open. Their customer service also suffered. All their employees either quit or were fired annually. Not a good place to be.
Good article. Thank you. 🙂
Relevant experience means a great deal in leadership but the ability to “think” and possess essential qualities of leadership also play a key role.
You are correct, Army Captain. There are many complex facets of great leadership. Do away completely with any one or combination of them and you have a poor leader.
I think Gen Satterfield has made this point clear repeatedly. Not much in a leader that can be thrown out with the trash. I knew too many so-called leaders who were self-aggrandizing and too self-absorbed to be a true leader. Thanks for another article that both made me think and go out and read more on the topic.
Good comment, Doug. Thanks.
Smart and to the point. This is one of the reasons I come to read this blog every day (well, almost every day). I get to read some really intelligent comments that also make me think.
Thanks Army Captain for your insights.