{"id":10440,"date":"2021-08-01T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-01T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/?p=10440"},"modified":"2022-06-30T18:40:06","modified_gmt":"2022-06-30T18:40:06","slug":"leadership-four-corps-principles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/navc.sitepreview.app\/todaysveterinarybusiness.com\/leadership-four-corps-principles\/","title":{"rendered":"Our Four \u2018Corps\u2019 Principles"},"content":{"rendered":"

When people hear about our Marine Corps-style \u201cclassic leadership\u201d approach, no doubt they imagine a drill instructor nose to nose with a nervous recruit, relentlessly barking orders and insults. So how, they might ask, could such a style succeed in the veterinary services industry? The answer: In more ways than you might think, but it has nothing to do with barked orders.<\/p>\n

In-your-face leadership is more a tired stereotype than a reality in today\u2019s U.S. Marine Corps. The fundamental tenet at the core of classic leadership is what the two of us learned in the Corps, and it remains at the heart of what we strive to do every day as the co-founders of VetEvolve: Bring out the best in people and set them up for success.<\/p>\n

Our mission-first mindset, coupled with a perpetual belief in taking care of people, is what drew us to veterinary practice ownership seven years ago. Since then, we have found that by empowering teams to make decisions and providing the resources they need, they succeed even during the most challenging times \u2014 as the pandemic brought to the forefront.<\/p>\n

We learned in the Marine Corps that amazing things could be accomplished with the right team, right leadership and right examples. Employees who see those leaders at the helm know they have the freedom to practice what they love: caring for animals.<\/p>\n

Marine Corps leadership is all about quality, real-life repetition. Each day, Marine leaders have multiple opportunities to lead from the front and set the example. Only in doing so can they earn the trust of those they lead. And it is through that trust that the true power of collaborative teaching and decentralized leadership accelerates. It is the path to the highest performance, whether a person is on the battlefield or in the comparatively tranquil confines of a veterinary clinic.<\/p>\n

The four components of leadership we learned in the Marines are with us today. Let\u2019s call them our Corps Principles.<\/p>\n

1. Leader\u2019s Intent<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This is the overarching \u201cwhy\u201d that shadows every task or initiative. By discussing intent at the start of a project, transaction or initiative, team members understand what to do in the absence of specific guidance. Intent tells them how to drive on with the initiative. When a project loses steam, we find that poorly articulated or misaligned intent is usually the root cause.<\/p>\n

2. Leadership Steps<\/strong><\/h3>\n

This helps us with planning, execution and follow-up. We have adapted the well-known Marine acronym BAMCIS to suit our purposes. Here it is spelled out:<\/p>\n