“The supreme quality for leadership is unquestionably integrity.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower
As we gathered for physical training early one spring morning on the battalion parade field, the chatter around the back of the formation was the motor officer, who was conspicuously absent.
“The MPs picked him up last night loading CUCV tires into his Blazer outside the motor pool,” another lieutenant whispered. “I don’t think he’s going to be coming back anytime soon.”
He was right.
I don’t think we ever knew why he did what he did, but it ran much deeper, as we later learned. His Chevrolet Blazer shared more than a few components with the tactical version of the same vehicle, the Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle, or CUCV. As the motor officer, he was able to order parts for his own vehicle or, as in the case of the tires, liberate them from the motorpool using what my platoon sergeant called “the five-fingered discount.”
It was my first lesson in leadership ethics. It would not be my last.
The Roots of Ethics
In truth, that lesson really wasn’t all that earth shattering. Everyone – including our motor officer – knew it was clearly wrong. For the first few years, most of those lessons were what we called “blinding flashes of the obvious.” Meaning, issues with clear definitions of right and wrong. But ethics – the moral framework that guides our conduct – runs much deeper than debating the sins of stealing CUCV tires at midnight.
The earliest ethical norms evolved organically from cultural values. Ancient thinkers debated honor, duty, and the collective good; in turn those concepts shaped expectations – and laws – governing the conduct of war. Christian theology eventually influenced the concept of just war tradition, the framework that distinguishes between just causes for war (jus ad bellum) and just conduct in war (jus in bello), both of which are foundational today.
By the 19th century, ethical conduct was codified and institutionalized in the armed forces through both professional education and military doctrine. Articulated values – such as the U.S. Army’s use of the values-based acronym LDRSHIP – reinforce ethical behavior in both war and peace. Along the way, we’ve embraced the understanding that ethics deals with far more complex – and often poorly understood – issues that challenge our understanding of ethics.
Why Ethics Matter
Ethics shape how armed forces apply military power in moments when the consequences are most severe – where issues of life, death, legitimacy, and public trust are typically at stake. Our armed forces exist to protect society; without a strong ethical foundation, that protective role can erode into coercion or abuse, risking the public trust and transforming a society into a militaristic state.
Military ethics are rooted in four principles broad principles. First, military ethics safeguard moral restraint in violence. War is inherently destructive, but ethical norms – such as discrimination between combatants and noncombatants and proportional use of force – set boundaries on how violence is employed. Such principles are not abstract ideals; they directly reduce civilian harm, limit atrocities, and preserve a sense of humanity even amid conflict.
Second, ethics are essential to legitimacy and trust. Democratic societies grant extraordinary authority to exercise the lawful use of lethal military force. That authority rests on public confidence that military power will be applied responsibly and legitimately. Third, military ethics protect the profession itself. Ethical standards are central to the profession of arms, helping uniformed service members navigate morally ambiguous situations and maintain personal integrity under extreme pressure. Finally, ethics guide adaptation to new forms of warfare. Ethical reasoning provides a necessary compass when law is unclear, helping leaders decide not just what can be done, but what should be done.
The Tenets of Ethical Leadership
Ethics are not unlike most things you experience in the military – no matter how complicated they might seem at first, someone eventually breaks it down Barney-style. Whenever an ethical learning moment presented itself, I could count on someone reducing the situation down to a few simple words of country wisdom.
Over time, that country wisdom formed the core of my thinking on much of military ethics. I might not remember the finer points of how our ethical norms evolved, but the tenets that underpinned them certainly stuck. Some of it can be found on the covers of bestselling leadership books, like Leaders Eat Last, while other elements come out when bantering about a lieutenant caught stealing tires.
1. Walk the talk.
Leaders have to live the values they preach to their subordinates. It can never be “Do as I say, not as I do.”
2. Actions speak louder than words.
Integrity is proven through your behavior, not promises. You can talk the talk all day long, but if you don’t walk the talk, it’s all meaningless.
3. Do the right thing, even when no one is watching.
Truth is, someone is always watching. But don’t let that stop you from doing the right thing.
4. Lead from the front.
Model the standard you expect from others. Show them what right looks like.
5. Take the moral high ground.
Choose principle over pettiness or expedience. Even if it’s a harder road, follow the high ground.
6. Own your mistakes.
As Harry Truman said time and again, “The buck stops here.” Accountability is a core leadership virtue. For a good reason.
7. Character is what you do in the dark.
See No. 3. True ethics are revealed when you think no one is looking.
8. Trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets.
As my platoon sergeant would always remind us, “One ‘Aw, sh*t’ is worth a hundred ‘Atta boys.’” Ethical lapses destroy credibility far faster than you can earn it.
9. Don’t ask anyone to do something you won’t do yourself.
Leadership is not a fire and forget missile. Roll up your sleeves and pitch in when the dirty work comes due. Hypocrisy kills morale, credibility, and legitimacy.
10. Stand your ground.
Hold true to your values regardless of pressure or opposition.
