Hal Moore Leadership Quotes

The discipline that makes an effective leader begins in the home.

Fewer things will impact a team’s morale than a leader who does not recognize their accomplishments and hard work.

If you seek to correct a subordinate’s overall behavior or performance, start by telling them what they do well, then tell them where they need to improve.

(1) He must be competent, (2) he must exercise good judgment, and (3) he must have character. By itself, competence is meaningless without character and good judgment. If

Leadership is a highly personal, individual matter. Each leader must establish his own approach based on an internal compass using a method geared to his personality, his capabilities but always oriented towards accomplishing the mission while knowing and taking care of his men.

On those occasions when one of my people did not perform as expected, I found that in many cases at least half the fault was my own. I had either not put out clear, clean instructions or I had not trained that person sufficiently, or I had given him a task with little or no possibility of accomplishment.

A leader is paid to do three things: Get the job done and get it done well. Plan ahead—be proactive, not reactive. Exercise good, sound judgment in doing all of the above.

No job is ever “beneath” you. In whatever you do, do it to the best of your abilities.

To be a leader, you must be willing to be a lifelong learner.

When nothing is wrong, there's nothing wrong - except there's nothing wrong. That's when a leader has to be the most alert. Complacency kills.

A leader's behavior, poise, appearance, vision, demeanor, "pressure", aura, his manner of speaking and listening - all reflect the person within, his principles and values.

There's always one more thing you can do to influence any situation in your favor. And after that, there's one more thing.

The best leaders in any enterprise see problems coming and stack the deck to prevent negative “what ifs” from happening. They also have contingency plans to take advantage of positive openings which occur in fleeting windows of time.

There are two things a leader can do: he can either contaminate his environment (and his people) with his attitude and actions, or he can inspire confidence. A leader must be visible to the people he leads. He must be self-confident and always maintain a positive attitude. If a leader thinks he might lose in whatever crisis or situation; then he has already lost. He must exhibit a determination to prevail no matter what the odds or how difficult the situation. He must have and display the will to prevail by his actions, his words, his tone of voice, his appearance, his demeanor, his countenance, and the look in his eyes. He must never give off any hint or evidence that he is uncertain about a positive outcome.

When taking over an organization,” Moore said, “you’ve got to stand out in front of your people, and state clearly what your goals are; what you expect from them; and what they can expect from you. Then shut up and let everybody go to work.

A leader must realize his subordinate leaders will be killed or wounded. He must prepare and train other leaders to step up and take over. He, himself, must train his next-in-line to take command in event he is killed, wounded, or evacuated.

Good leaders don’t wait for official permission to try out a new idea. In any organization, if you go looking for permission, you will inevitably find the one person who thinks his job is to say “No!” It’s easier to get forgiveness than permission.

When a member of a unit (military or non-military) loses his life, or when a member has a death in the family, it’s the duty of the leader to take sincere action in expressing personal condolences, sympathy or any other appropriate steps considering the circumstances.

If a subordinate performs a task and the outcome is not what you expected, don’t attack their intelligence or their character. Politely explain the deficiencies and offer an idea for a solution. Subordinates quickly lose respect for any leader who is “all problem and no solution.

Now, this not only means seeing the troops are fed, clothed and housed properly (the easy part), but more importantly, training them to perfection, anticipating their problems and needs while actively anticipating and eliminating problems before they occur. Among other attributes,

A leader should surround himself with persons who fit his requirements and standards—and then turn them loose to do their jobs. When you identify a toxic subordinate leader within your ranks, remove them. If you cannot remove them, reassign them to a role where their toxicity can be minimized. Their duty at their level was just as important as my duty at my level. Leaders lead from the front; managers lead from the rear. When the battle is over, there must be plans (made in advance) for follow-on actions. A leader must have clearly defined objectives. He must ensure these objectives are clearly understood by his subordinate leaders.

Look at what the words start with W and E—meaning “WE.” If the Army approved and supplied the pins, and you were my battalion and we were going to war, I would have every soldier wear a pin with the letters “WE,” denoting “WE” as a family and “WE” as without equal. This is a war-winning theme that would not let us go down in any battle…ever!

The leader must have trust in the people he leads; trust that they will perform their duties well. The people in the ranks must have trust in their leaders; trust that they will perform their duties completely. The people in the ranks must have trust and confidence in one another; trust that each will perform their duties well as members of the team.

It’s a key responsibility of the leader, in any field of endeavor (athletic team, military, or business) to assure the successful continuity or ability of his organization to carry on should he die or become incapacitated. It’s his duty to plan for such a contingency out of loyalty to his people and, if in a business endeavor, loyalty to his customers and, clients.

If you want something done, ask nicely. If a subordinate forgets to perform a task, don’t take it personally; just remind them nicely. In any organization, everyone has a “to-do” list. While juggling these tasks, some things will inevitably fall through the cracks. When that happens, don’t assume that the subordinate is lazy or stupid. Simply re-engage them on the task and, if necessary, emphasize why it’s a priority.

Commanders are not always leaders. Commanders are appointed. Leaders are unofficially “elected” by the troops in the unit. Likewise in other fields of endeavor. Every leader is put through an informal process in the first few weeks wherein his people judge him and decide whether or not he is worthy of their trust. He must earn that trust. How? A leader must prove himself by his actions, appearance, demeanor, attitude, and decisions.

There are at least five activities that must be kept in balance through proper time management. This is not easy for a busy executive with significant responsibilities, especially in this world of “information overload.” These five activities are: the job, physical fitness, personal time alone, recreation, and social relationships. Also, if they apply, two others—religion and family. If any of these get out of balance, then life gets out of balance. From my own personal experience and observation of others, being a workaholic is the most common area of imbalance.

The first impression a speaker makes on his audience is by his appearance and demeanor. Well-groomed or not? Self-Confident or not? Nervous or not? Paper-shuffler or not? All this and more before he says a word. The next impression is how the speaker talks. Forceful or not? Correct diction or not? Too much use of hands? Walking around? If so, too much? Any distracting mannerisms (such as always shoving his spectacles back up his nose)? Speaks too loud? Too soft? “Talks down” to the audience?The next impression is about what he says—the content of his talk. Are the thoughts well-organized? Or is he just “winging it?

He must have smart, well-trained people to run day-to-day activities. He must check up on them and make sure the job is getting done while he stacks the deck for future success.

there’s doubt in your mind, there’s no doubt at all.” In other words, if you know in your heart that an action is wrong, don’t do it.

The best leaders strive to create a “family environment” within their organization.

Even in the midst of defeat, carry yourself professionally and maintain your discipline. That is the quickest way towards recovery.

When in charge, take charge, but treat your subordinates with respect, dignity, and common courtesy.

everyone deserves respect until they did something to lose it.

An outfit does well the things the boss checks up on.

Praise in public; punish in private.

At an official reception, or dinner party, the real purpose of the event is to socialize, to talk with the other guests and participants—eating and drinking is secondary.

Put the welfare of your troops above your own. They eat before you eat; they sleep before you sleep.

Most importantly, a leader proves himself by demonstrating his concern for and relationship with the people under him. The old adage: “Take care of your people and they will take care of you.

Moore also realized that a good leader is also a good listener.

Don’t automatically assume that someone is stupid or indifferent because they haven’t mastered a particular task yet.

Thus, a leader’s task is to develop their subordinates’ will along with their skill. This begins with realistic training with consistent standards.

If you can’t justify the rationale of an order to yourself, don’t make your subordinates do it. Re-evaluate your reasons and find another method.

Leaders stay informed of current events, and they should anticipate challenges based on those events.

(1) He must be competent, (2) he must exercise good judgment, and (3) he must have character.

Finally, concerning professionalism, I believe even now the clock is bringing us closer to some few seconds, minutes or hours in the future when the professionalism we will have, or will not have, will make a life or death difference for the men placed under our leadership and whose families can only trust, hope, and pray we know our business.

Three strikes and you're not out. Two things a leader can do: He can either contaminate his environment (and his people) with his attitude and actions, OR he can inspire confidence.

Don’t complain to your boss. He wants solutions; not just problems.

Their style emphasized four bedrock principles: Surprise Aggressiveness Deception The leader’s personal presence in the battle.

You've got to have a dream to move towards, or you're dead in the water. Once you've realized that dream and accomplished that goal, get another!

Never say "no" to yourself when you need to ask for something. Make the other guy say "no".

Find a way to turn every "minus" into a "plus".

If given a choice between taking over a good outfit or a bad outfit, I'll choose the bad outfit every time. They'll have nowhere to go but up.

Trust your instincts

The discipline that makes an effective leader begins in the home.

No job is "beneath" you. In whatever you do, do it to the best of your abilities.

The Challenge of leadership: inspiring people to work hard and to execute tasks willingly. To meet that challenge, a leader must demonstrate three things: 1. He must be competent. 2. He must exercise good judgement. 3. He must have character.

The best leaders strive to create a family "environment" within their organization.

Never Quit! When you take a big hit, get back up. It's a lot easier to go down than to crawl back up when your morale is down. Just do it! You can control your will to win!

if there's doubt in your mind, there's no doubt at all.

Praise in public, punish in private.

At times, life will hit you and teach you lessons you have no desire to learn. When the "hits" and setbacks come, a leader simply picks himself up and keeps moving forward.

He must remain calm and cool - No fear. He must ignore the dust, the noise, the smoke, the explosions, the screams of the wounded, the yells, or the dead lying around him - that is all normal. He must never give off any hint or evidence that he is uncertain about a positive outcome, even in the desperate situations.

Doing the right thing at the right time for the right reasons.

He must exhibit a determination to prevail no matter what the odds or difficult the situation.

share this experience with you because to believe that you will prevail, in any endeavor, means everything.

WITHOUT EQUAL. Think about it. These words are even more powerful than the “Will to Win” or “#1”…ponder the feeling one gets from these words. I suggest you, embrace these words forever within your institution. And as you enlarge your circles around the world, make these two words your everyday life breath.

A leader should surround himself with persons who fit his requirements and standards—and then turn them loose to do their jobs.

Look for and find the really good “horses” in your organization and run them hard. Push them and challenge them with greater levels of responsibility.

Leaders at all levels must know their stuff, be dead honest, have unquestioned personal integrity, set the example, and treat their people “fair and square.

Place emphasis on the importance physical exercise plays in improving mental acuity.

Conduct fun, family-oriented events to enhance unit cohesion.

Never take a subordinate to the woodshed in front of others; do that in private.

When you identify a toxic subordinate leader, remove them. If you cannot remove them, reassign them to a role where their toxicity can be minimized.

We Were Soldiers Once…and Young

good leadership revolves around good judgment. That is the defining characteristic of a good leader.