Apply the fundamentals of marksmanship to lead your team and accomplish your goals

All Marines share a common warfighting belief that makes them the deadliest fighting force in the world. The essence of this belief is that every Marine, regardless of their specialty, is able to effectively employ the fundamental principles of marksmanship to deal with situations at any level of intensity and engage their enemy. Being properly trained in these fundamentals increases the confidence of Marine Riflemen and allows them to deliver effective fire under the most adverse of conditions, leading to mission accomplishment.

Over the last few years, I have coached many people on transitioning out of the military, making career transitions from one field to another, and developing enhanced leadership skills. In helping others, I’ve found that the same rules I learned as an 18-year-old Marine Corps recruit on the Parris Island rifle range, apply at every level of achieving our career and personal goals.

The first step to applying the fundamentals of marksmanship is preparation, both physical and mental preparation. To be effective in combat, Marines must perfect the physical skills of marksmanship so that they become like second nature. You must maintain proper balance and control and quickly assume a position that allows you to efficiently engage your target, without trying to exceed your own physical capabilities. Remember my saying: Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast. When it comes to mental preperation, Marines very quickly learn that the situation around us is constantly changing and concentration is key for effective target engagement. First you need knowledge of your environment. Be aware of your surroundings and the changes or things that seem out of place. Next, have a plan of action. Identify and evaluate possible courses of action and develop a plan that is appropriate to the requirements of the situation.

There are 4 fundamentals of marksmanship: steady position, aiming, breathing, and proper trigger control.

Steady position

You have to steady your position and be confident in it. Before you are ready to fire (pull the trigger on your goals) you have to make sure that you have established a stable foundation. When I was on the rifle range, I learned to set my position, close my eyes, take a normal breath, and reopen my eyes. If my sight picture/sight alignment (covered in the next section) were still correct, I knew that my position was stable, if not, I needed to adjust my position accordingly.

When you are trying to accomplish your career or personal goals, you have to make sure your position is stable. Close your eyes and take a breath. If your focus is still the same, take action. It is absolutely critical that you stay focused and stable. Having a stable mind and stable temperament allows you to make better decisions. To establish a steady position, your goals need to be SMART.

• Specific – Goals need to be as clear and specific as possible. The narrower they are, the better you can outline the steps to achieve them.

• Measurable – Define how you will measure your progress. Setting milestones along the way will give you the opportunity to re-evaluate and adjust as needed.

• Achievable – Make your goals something that can be reasonably accomplished within a specified time frame. This allows you to keep yourself motivated and focused.

• Relevant – Your goals need to have a real benefit attached to them. You need to understand why the goal matters to your or your organization. When your goals are relevant, they directly relate to a skill what you want to improve or change. Any milestones that you set or actions that you take should directly influence your progress.

• Time based – Set a realistic timeline and end date for your goal and milestones. Your timeline should allow plenty of opportunity for course correction.

Aiming

Aiming is the process of aligning your weapon onto the target. Having proper sight picture/site alignment is critical to hitting your target. Develop your vision, identify your target and maintain consistency. Remember the step I said before. Once you aim, close your eyes, take a normal breath, open your eyes, check to make sure you are still on target. Choose your vision, communicate it clearly, and make sure that all of your efforts and are in alignment with that vision. Maintaining sight picture/sight alignment means making sure that you keep your target in your full field of view.

Don’t be afraid to make bold adjustments. Sometimes when we miss our target, we are tempted to make small adjustments until we get it right. But our time and ammunition (resources) are limited. Make bold adjustments to correct your aim. You can always adjust back if you over correct. Don’t waste time and ammunition (resources) playing it safe. Make your bold adjustments and keep shooting.

Breathing

Breathing is the most basic function of life. If you can’t control your breathing, how can you ever expect to control your life? As you breathe, your body moves. Because of this it is important that you take your shot during your natural respiratory pause. Take a normal breath. There is a brief pause between the time you finish exhaling and the moment you start to take your next breath. This is the point where your body is the most relaxed and the most stable. It’s the best time to make your most accurate shot. Create time in your schedule, a “natural respiratory pause,” where you spend time writing down your ideas and defining what is important to you and your team.

Don’t try to force it by holding the pause to long because your body will start to distress from waiting to long for new air. If you miss the window of the natural pause, wait for the next one. Make your decision and take action when your body or your organization is at it’s most stable and relaxed point between the breaths. When evaluating someone’s marksmanship, you can always tell who tried to fire while breathing because the rounds will form a vertical line rather than a tight efficient group.

Trigger squeeze

Very little pressure is needed to actually pull a trigger. Proper trigger control involves the skillful manipulation of the trigger without disturbing the sight picture or sight alignment. To do this, take a firm grip and slowly squeeze. Jerking the trigger too quickly will cause the muzzle to move ,leading to the rounds impacting in the wrong place. Apply a consistent amount of tension within the position throughout the shot process in order to allow recovery of the sights back on target as quickly as possible. It’s no different when you are leading your team/organization or working towards a goal.

There are many things you can not control in your business/life, but you can control your decisions and processes. Limit your movements and follow through. You can’t force your actions or those around you or else you will miss your target.

In summation, maintain consistent site picture/site alignment and slow steady squeeze between the breaths. If you are needing leadership consulting or career transistion coaching, send me a message here on LinkedIn or reach out to me on Instagram or Twitter @the_nicklong. Let's talk about how I can help you acheive your goals! Also, please leave your comments below.