Ethos is the distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person or group.
For those who live by a higher standard, ethos is more than belief—it is action, and the warrior ethos embodies this through resilience, courage, and an unwavering pursuit of excellence.
What is Ethos?
“The warrior ethos is an unshakable commitment to mission success, resilience under pressure, and the courage to do what is right—driving leaders to overcome adversity, take decisive action, and pursue excellence with honor and purpose.”
— Dr. Luke Bray, CEO
The US Army Ranger school which is one of the greatest leadership development platforms ever built by and for warriors. Ranger school is famous for developing warriors in each of the three major domains: mine, body, and spirit.
Be tactically and technically proficient: you will accomplish all tasks to a standard that are required to accomplish the wartime mission.
Process professional character traits: courage, commitment, candor, competence, and integrity.
Know the four major factors of leadership and how they affect each other: the lead, the leader, situation, and communications.
Know yourself and seek self-improvement: strengths and weaknesses of your character, knowledge, and skills. Continually develop your strengths and work on overcoming your weaknesses.
Know your warriors and look out for their well-being: Train them for the rigors of combat, take care of their physical/safety needs, and discipline, and reward them.
Seek responsibility and take responsibility for your actions: leaders must exercise initiative, be resourceful, and take advantage of opportunities on the battlefield that will lead to victory. Accept criticism and take corrective actions for mistakes.
Make sound and timely decisions: rapidly assess the situation and make sound decisions. Gather essential information, announce decisions and time for soldiers to react, and consider the short or long-term effects of your decision.
Set the example: be a role model for your warriors. Set high, but attainable standards, be willing to do what you require of your soldiers and share dangers and hardships with your warriors.
Keep your subordinates informed: keeping your subordinates informed helps them make decisions and execute plans within your intent, encourage initiative, improve teamwork, and enhance morale.
Develop a sense of responsibility to subordinates: teach, challenge, and develop subordinates. Delegation indicates you trust your subordinates and will make them want even more responsibility.
Sure the task is understood, supervise, and accomplish: warriors need to know what you expect from them, what you want to be done, and what the standard is, and when you want it.
Build a team: train and cross-train your warriors until they are confident in the team's technical/tactical abilities. Develop a team spirit that motivates them to go willingly and confidently to combat.
The ethos leader is a leader who decides to live by the warrior ethos, that is, the knowledge skills and attributes of tested warriors. If you want to see a dramatic leap in your leadership ability, the outcomes of your work, and the performance of your organization or team, then you will do everything possible to learn this ethos for yourself, display it in your actions, and teach it to your organization.