Col McClam is a career infantry officer and currently the Commanding Officer of The Basic School in Quantico, Virginia. Col McClam discusses the acronym "MOAS," which stands for Mentorship, Opportunity, Advocacy, and Sponsorship.
This episode is filled with great "Moments in Leadership" that should be heard by every leader, both officer and enlisted, especially by TBS Lieutenants and Midshipmen and Officer Candidates.
Embedded in MOAS is the importance of performance and how it is the currency by which every leader is evaluated for future potential in the Marine Corps. He pulls no punches and makes it clear that performing is a contact sport. He discusses the importance of performance because while you cannot always control where you get assigned, you CAN ALWAYS control your performance.
He teaches performance is underpinned by two metrics: Relationships and Personal Brand. The key is understanding how to navigate the complex territory of performing consistently on a daily basis while maintaining relationships and demonstrating your personal brand. It is performance in all situations and environments…not just in your PMOS. He feels every officer should be taught this from OCS until retirement.
He tells the young officers at TBS not to believe or think they are being left out because of their differences. He knows it's not about changing WHO you are; it is about changing HOW you are in this complex ecosystem called the United States Marine Corps. He believes, accurately, I may add, that we all have to assimilate when we join organizations - it happens at Google, Apple, Amazon, and Waffle House, to name a few. He told me he has changed "how" he is within the Corps and how you may need to do the same.
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Relevant Resources & Other Mentioned Episodes:
Moments In Leadership Supercast Support:
Get Col McClam's Mentor Doc referenced in the episode here: http://bit.ly/3ZzBnfN
Listen to Ep 15: LtGen Karsten S. Heckl, USMC - Addressing Force Design 2030, Death in Aviator/Combat Training, and Risk Assessment https://bit.ly/3ckkm5K
Listen to Ep 11: LtGen David G. Bellon – Commander MARFORRES, "I almost didn't accept my commission" https://bit.ly/3A45RwL
Listen to Ep 22: 1stSgt Shamus Flynn, USMC – From Motor T Mechanic to MARSOC – What Emerging Leaders Need to Know About Setting the Example, Admin, and Awards http://bit.ly/3Z2UjDj
Listen to Ep 21: The Hotwash – A Leadership Panel of Six Officers Discuss their Opinions of the Past Episodes http://bit.ly/3xzTkPn
What is Moments in Leadership?
Moments in Leadership is a podcast where you will hear firsthand about the careers of senior military leaders as they share their unique and individual experiences. Moments in Leadership will immerse you in real-life stories where you will learn about the challenging situations these accomplished leaders faced and discover the lessons they learned early in their careers that were the most influential in developing their overall leadership style.
Conceptualized by a group of friends who served together as young officers in the early to mid-1990s sitting around a firepit telling funny leadership stories, Moments in Leadership is designed to provide some relatable context to the formal leadership training leaders of all ranks and services receive throughout their military careers through the power of storytelling.
Why Should You Support this project?
I realize all of the leaders who listen to the episodes are at different levels of life, and my goal is to be able to have this project remain free and available to anyone who wants it and your donations help go towards that. Your donations go towards offsetting my costs of producing high-quality episodes. Additionally, since this is a part-time hobby project for me, I'm forced to outsource a good deal of work to others to maintain a regular publishing schedule. Your donations help offset these costs as well.
Check out my Supercast site and see if any level is a good fit for helping: https://bit.ly/3C8g7Ua
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Visit our website: https://bit.ly/3SA2XHe
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Other Podcasts Interviews with David B. Armstrong
Scuttlebutt Podcast EP 38: https://apple.co/3py1Wly
Former Action Guys Podcast EP 161: https://apple.co/3d1GVN0
Former Action Guys Podcast EP 141 https://apple.co/3Ppz4GU
Former Action Guys Podcast EP 60 https://apple.co/3Pi128c
Former Action Guys Podcast EP 54 https://apple.co/3Pi128c
About the Host:
David B. Armstrong, CFA, is President and Co-Founder of Monument Wealth Management, an independent wealth management firm he started in 2008 in Alexandria, Va. David received his BA from the University of South Carolina in Government & International Relations and his MBA at the University of South Carolina's Moore School of Business in International Finance. He was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant through the Navy ROTC program and served on Active Duty in the Marine Corps from 1990-1997 as an Artillery Officer and then received a secondary MOS as a Tank Officer. He re-entered the Selected Marine Corps Reserves in 2003 and served in several billets across the Artillery, Tank, and Light Armored Reconnaissance communities. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel in late 2018.
