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The leadership and team building principles used in the military are not that much different from those used in the civilian world. For example, I was recently re-reading a list of tips for non-commissioned officers (NCOs) and a number of them struck me as applicable to leaders in organizations of all types. All I had to do was replace the military-specific references (soldiers, NCO's) with more universal terms (team members, leaders) and I was struck by how the tips were descriptive of successful leaders in all walks of life.

Here, then, are five ways to know if you're doing it right:

• If you are doing it right, you constantly question whether you have done your best.
• If you are doing it right, your soldiers trust you unquestioningly.
• If you are doing it right, soldiers--to include soldiers from other teams, squads, platoons, etc.--see you out for counsel and advice.
• If you are doing it right, other NCOs seek you out for the same.
• If you are doing it right, you spend part of your limited free time finding answers to prolems that do not yet exist.

So what do you think--are you doing it right?

(The original article, Are You Doing it Right by Staff Sergeant Alan J. Marinoff, first appeared in NCO Update Volume 9 Number 3, May/June 2000, published by The Association of the United States Army)