The Leader's Code: Mission, Character, Service, and Getting the Job Done

by Donovan Campbell

What does it take to be a great leader? In a character. This unique book by decorated U.S. Marine Corps veteran Donovan Campbell, the New York Times bestselling author of Joker One , draws on his years of training and combat experience to reveal the specific virtues that underpin effective leadership—and how anyone can stand up, serve others, and make a difference in the world by bringing out the best in a team.
 
The Leader’s Code is a practical action plan that can be applied to any situation in which exemplary leadership is required, whether that be at home or in the workplace. Moreover, The Leader’s Code unpacks the military servant-leader model—a leader must take care of his mission first, his team second, and himself a distant third—and explains why this concept of self-sacrifice is so needed in today’s world. Focusing on the development of character as the foundation of servant-leadership, Campbell identifies character’s six key humility, excellence, kindness, discipline, courage, and wisdom. Then, drawing on lessons from his time in the Corps and stories from history, Scripture, and American business, he shows us how to develop those virtues in order to take the helm with confidence, conviction, and a passion to bring out the best in others.
 
Being a leader is about being worthy of being followed. True leaders, Campbell argues, foster compassion for others and they pursue excellence in all that they do. They are humble and know how to self-correct. Campbell’s exploration of these vital qualities is wide-ranging, as he takes us from the boardrooms of the world’s most successful companies to the Infantry Officer Course, the intense twelve-week training gauntlet that Marines use to prepare their leaders to sacrifice themselves for the welfare of others.
 
With faith in our political and business leaders at an all-time low, America is in the midst of a crisis of trust. Yet public opinion polls show that there is one institution that still commands widespread respect because of its commitment to character and the United States military. The Leader’s Code shows that this same servant-leader model can help us all become our best selves—and provide a way forward for our nation.

Advance praise for The Leader’s Code
 
“A refreshing model for leadership, offering convincing principles and motivating examples that are sure to make a difference in a leader’s personal and professional life. I can’t remember a leadership book that has had more influence on my thinking.” —Steve Reinemund, dean of business, Wake Forest University, and retired chairman and CEO, PepsiCo
 
“Donovan Campbell has written a superb, thoughtful, all-encompassing examination of leadership and leaders. His key lessons, easily understood and well articulated, are applicable at home, within the community, and to professionals in all walks of life. The Leader’s Code is an important book for anyone concerned about today’s leadership crisis in our country and in our communities.” —General Mike Hagee, USMC (Ret.), 33rd Commandant of the U.S. Marine Corps
 
“Donovan Campbell nails it as he speaks to our country’s need for leadership at every at home, in the marketplace, in education, in government, and in the military. The Leader’s Code is a clear call to be focused on the right mission, in the right way, and at the right time. This is a thoughtful book that will keep you awake at night and challenge you to dream in the daytime!” — Dennis Rainey, president and CEO, FamilyLife

Genres: Leadership, Business, Military Fiction, Nonfiction

256 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Wayne McCoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

'The Leader's Code' by Donovan Campbell lays out a system of servant leadership based on the United States Marine Corps. It's definitely one of the better business books I've read recently.

There are anecdotes from Campbell based on his time in the military, but these are used to illustrate the building blocks of the code. We start with mission, but along the way we also find humility, courage and discipline among other things.

In a time when we've seen corruption among our leaders in some of the worst business scandal, the book serves as a kind of wake up call. It made me appreciate the way our military trains leaders and made me evaluate my own leadership style. Every chapter ends with a summary and reflection questions based on the material, and the book includes an appendix with a practical application of the principles learned.

Clear direction and clear action are missing in a lot of the business literature I read. Often I finish one of those books and wonder what the take away is. Not so in this book. Campbell's message and call to action are loud and clear. Well executed.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Random House and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

[Brian Stout · Rating 5 out of 5]

I started this book expecting to be underwhelmed by another book with trite formulas for "leadership." I came away thinking this is one of the most insightful and clear-minded contributions to the literature in a long time. Campbell presents his approach through an appealing combination of data, anecdote, and philosophy that leave the reader nodding along at each premise until reaching the conclusion: troubling, but unassailable (you mean I have to act ethically in ALL areas of my life? But can't I still be a good leader if I just "forget" to include something on my tax return?)

The book also has the single best mini-essay on Humility that I've even seen: and I've been looking for over a decade. Unsparing, comprehensive, and deeply resonant.

In short: this book should be mandatory reading for anyone seriously concerned about the global leadership crisis today, and anyone interested in pursuing authentic moral leadership. His prescriptions aren't easy (discipline, excellence... not for the faint of heart) but they are presented on a solid foundation as part of a coherent and battle-tested (in his case, literally) theory. Kudos to Mr. Campbell.

[Betsy Hover · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was delighted to receive this book from Goodreads Giveaway. I was totally impressed and surprised with the direction of this book of getting back to the basics of what the character our forefathers stood for as men.

The Leader’s Code introduces as a military servant-leader model—a leader must take care of his mission first, his team second, and himself third—and explains why this concept of self-sacrifice is so needed in today’s world. The author identifies character’s six key attributes: humility, excellence, kindness, discipline, courage, and wisdom.

I appreciate all six Key Attributes but the one that has been lost the most in the last few generations is Discipline. I like how the author describes: Discipline Defined. I have two young sons (22yrs,21yrs), discipline was instilled to share them into the fine young men that they have become. I have always indicated to them from a very young age to be a "Man of their Word" and that it will define them as "Men of Integrity". Which our society seems to be missing.

[Filippo Diotalevi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maybe the 5 stars are a bit of a stretch, but my expectations from leadership, management and self-help books are so low due to the inundation of worthless books on the topic, and "The Leader's Code" really stands out.
The "leadership" explained in the book heavily borrows from marine's leadership training, but it feels very applicable to both personal and work life.
The book is well structured around 6 main virtues, presented at the beginning and analyzed in each chapter; each chapter also has the same structure, which makes it very easy to follow, even if you don't read the book front to cover.
There is an abundance of examples that is typical of this kind of books, and whose goal is probably just to increase the number of pages to meet publishers' target, but all in all a recommended book.

[Adrienne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent leadership read. The book provides reflection question throughout, and would be great in a classroom or small group setting.

[Zack · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit redundant at times but stereotypical personal leadership theory style of book. A few high points but a lot of slogging to get there.

[Alain Burrese · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked “The Leader's Code: Mission, Character, Service, and Getting The Job Done” by Donovan Campbell, former Captain in the United States Marine Corps. It's a leadership book based on practical military training and experience, not untried theory. Besides his own training and experiences, Campbell includes many examples from both history and modern day events. The information in this book will help anyone become a better leader, regardless if that is running a military operation, a large corporation, small business, or just leading yourself and your family. The principles here will not only help you lead, they will help you be a better person.

There are eight chapters, and each tackles an element of leadership that when combined make the whole. These are mission, humility, excellence, kindness, discipline, courage, wisdom and finally virtue and the servant-leader. Campbell not only does an excellent job of describing each of these leadership characteristics, but also how they work together. Again, having one of these is not enough, you must incorporate all of them to be the most effective leader you can be, and Campbell shows you how to do just that.

Besides the examples and showing how the principles work together, each chapter contains reflection and summary sections near the end. These help to reinforce the important concepts of each chapter and get the reader thinking about how to incorporate the lessons into actual practice. Because, make no mistake about it, this book aims to help you put these ideas, concepts, and principles into practice. I'm sure that is from Campbell's military training. Being a veteran myself, I know that theory is one thing, but what mattered most was what worked when things were going down. Maybe this is why I also use military leadership training and other things learned from my time in the service as a civilian now as well.

“The Leader's Code” is a book I highly recommend to anyone desiring to be a better leader and wanting to know what it takes to be a successful servant-leader. The six key attributes of humility, excellence, kindness, discipline, courage and wisdom will again, not just make you a better leader, but a better person. And that will undoubtedly lead to greater success in all areas.

Read this book, learn from Campbell's military experience and the other illustrations he provides, and develop those attributes and harness them in order to take the helm of any organization or group with confidence,, conviction, and passion. Do this to bring out the best in yourself, and to bring out the best in others.

[Spin Scholar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was pleasantly surprised by the leadership advice from this book. I must say, the reader should be willing to divulge himself of seeing it merely as anecdotal advice. I grew up with both a cultural and generational gap between my parents and myself. Oftentimes, the wisdom of my parents seemed obsolete to what I believed was reality--especially as a teenager! But now, I see the truths behind an "old school" unwavering standard that defines leadership as compared to the changing atmosphere of our fickle environment that tries to set the standard for leadership. This is a very deep book, but only if the reader is willing to look deep within himself to actually reflect on the items that Campbell draws attention to. This is a book I would read every year to keep at the forefront of my mind. The practical application in the appendix is a bit overwhelming since it requires change on many fronts to put these ideals into action. However, choosing one or two aspects of it at a time seems achievable.

[Michael Griswold · Rating 4 out of 5]

Donovan Campbell is a former Captain in the United States Marine Corps. But the Leaders Code extends far beyond a military book on leadership.

Campbell mixes his military experience with examples from history, politics, and business to illustrate the concepts of leadership he illustrates. Each chapter talks about a virtue of leadership from mission, humility, excellence, kindness, discipline, courage, and wisdom. Much of the material echoes the literature on leadership and the servant-leader ideal.

This book may be useful for leadership courses because its written in a fairly clear, straightforward manner. Each chapter contains reflection questions that allow students to reflect on the central ideas of each chapter based on their own lives. The chapters also contain bullet pointed summaries which make it fairly easy to internalize the lessons from each chapter without much effort. Would love to see what a seasoned leadership professor could do with this book.

[Danny Brzozowski · Rating 3 out of 5]

Drawing on his experience as a Marine Captain, Campbell presents practical advice for ethical leadership and management. This is not cut-throat advice for the corporate ladder climber but rather a novel style of leadership (in the civilian world) that emphasizes service to your team and goal oriented commitment to the success of the group as a whole. I plan to take this strategy back to my own workplace as I believe it will help my department become more successful in general and a more cohesive group specifically. This in turn will improve my own performance because my success is based on that of my team. I am not sure the business world is ready for the sort of reform Campbell suggests but I am glad he's promoting the idea of ethical leadership as a support rather than impediment to productivity.

[Jared · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received an advanced copy of this book and was excited to read it. As a leadership educator, I have read lots of leadership books, and this fits in nicely to any library. The difference though is that this book is really less about "LEADERSHIP" and is more about the how to be a person of character. A lot of Campbell's book very closely describes Level 5 leaders from Collins' book, Good to Great. One of the points that I think Campbell really did a nice job with was the chapter on humility. So often when people talk about humility they describe it as being self-depricating. Instead, Campbell defines humility as the skill of knowing what you are good at and admitting those things that you are not great at so you can rely on the strengths of others. I had the opportunity to have dinner with Donovan and he was quite an impressive guy; very down to earth and enjoyable to talk with.

[Burt · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was much too faith-based and anecdotal for me. As well, I sometimes felt that the point(s)being made by Campbell's anecdotal examples were less than strong examples for leadership situations under conditions not very narrowly fitting the specific anecdotal situation given. For those of us who had both the honor and the privilege of serving as officers of U. S. Marines, there was very little here, beyond the several faith-based principles, with which we were not instilled from our first day at Officer Candidates School.

[Michal Stransky · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ive never thought that military leadership is so different from my stupid point of view of hierarchy and discipline. Its so good that mr. Campbell wrote this book.

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't get nothing from this book unfortunately, I just couldn't get going with it strongly advise people to read 48 laws of power fantastic book