Book notes: Extreme ownership

Table of Contents

Lessons:

No Bad teams, only Bad leaders
- ultimatelly its leader fault when teams fail
  - Story example: It was a shocking turn of events. Boat Crew VI, the same team in the same circumstances only under new leadership, went from the worst boat crew in the class to the best.
leader, it’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate. When setting expectations, no matter what has been said or written, if substandard performance is accepted and no one is held accountable—if there are no consequences—that poor performance becomes the new standard. Therefore, leaders must enforce standards.
Once a culture of Extreme Ownership is built into the team at every level, the entire team performs well, and performance continues to improve.
So, if you ever get a task or guidance or a mission that you don’t believe in, don’t just sit back and accept it. Ask questions until you understand why so you can believe in what you are doing and you can pass that information down the chain to your team with confidence, so they can get out and execute the mission. That is leadership.”
Ego clouds and disrupts everything: the planning process, the ability to take good advice, and the ability to accept constructive criticism. It can even stifle someone’s sense of self-preservation. Often, the most difficult ego to deal with is your own.
SEAL combat leaders utilize Prioritize and Execute. We verbalize this principle with this direction: “Relax, look around, make a call.” Even the most competent of leaders can be overwhelmed if they try to tackle multiple problems or a number of tasks simultaneously. The team will likely fail at each of those tasks. Instead, leaders must determine the highest priority task and execute. When overwhelmed, fall back upon this principle: Prioritize and Execute.
“We’ve got to establish a planning process,” said the company’s vice president of emerging markets. “Our success has stemmed from sending our experienced people into new areas. They figure things out, put a plan in action, and as a result, we win. But as our company grows—as we enter new markets—we need a standardized process for planning, a repeatable checklist others with less experience can follow.”
We even had individual platoon members brief back portions of the plan to us to verify they had a clear understanding and could run the mission themselves if needed. When something wasn’t completely clear, our SEAL operators asked for clarification, which enabled us to feel confident they understood and were taking ownership of their role.
when a leader thinks his troops understand the bigger picture, they very often have difficulty connecting the dots between the tactical mission they are immersed in with the greater overarching goal.
But there was, and is, a dichotomy in the strict discipline we followed. Instead of making us more rigid and unable to improvise, this discipline actually made us more flexible, more adaptable, and more efficient.
Every leader must walk a fine line. That’s what makes leadership so challenging. Just as discipline and freedom are opposing forces that must be balanced, leadership requires finding the equilibrium in the dichotomy of many seemingly contradictory qualities, between one extreme and another. The simple recognition of this is one of the most powerful tools a leader has. With this in mind, a leader can more easily balance the opposing forces and lead with maximum effectiveness.

I. Winning the War Within

Extreme Ownership > Page 50 · Location 614 what you told me to say,” the VP retorted. “The reason that this mission was unsuccessful was my failure as a leader to force execution.”
No Bad Teams, Only Bad Leaders > Page 53 · Location 630 No Bad Teams, Only Bad Leaders
No Bad Teams, Only Bad Leaders > Page 60 · Location 739 was a shocking turn of events. Boat Crew VI, the same team in the same circumstances only under new leadership, went from the worst boat crew in the class to the best.
No Bad Teams, Only Bad Leaders > Page 65 · Location 809 shoulders. If their platoons underperformed, it was up to them to solve problems, overcome obstacles and get the team working together to accomplish the mission. Ultimately, they must fully accept that there truly are no bad teams, only bad leaders.
No Bad Teams, Only Bad Leaders > Page 66 · Location 820 it’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate.
No Bad Teams, Only Bad Leaders > Page 66 · Location 820 When setting expectations, no matter what has been said or written, if substandard performance is accepted and no one is held accountable—if there are no consequences—that poor performance becomes the new standard. Therefore, leaders must enforce standards.
No Bad Teams, Only Bad Leaders > Page 67 · Location 828 Once a culture of Extreme Ownership is built into the team at every level, the entire team performs well, and performance continues to improve,
Believe > Page 96 · Location 1253 So, if you ever get a task or guidance or a mission that you don’t believe in, don’t just sit back and accept it. Ask questions until you understand why so you can believe in what you are doing and you can pass that information down the chain to your team with confidence, so they can get out and execute the mission. That is leadership.”
Check the Ego > Page 110 · Location 1444 PRINCIPLE Ego clouds and disrupts everything: the planning process, the ability to take good advice, and the ability to accept constructive criticism. It can even stifle someone’s sense of self-preservation. Often, the most difficult ego to deal with is your own. II. Laws of Combat
Prioritize and Execute > Page 168 · Location 2235 PRINCIPLE
Prioritize and Execute > Page 168 · Location 2237 To do this, SEAL combat leaders utilize Prioritize and Execute. We verbalize this principle with this direction: “Relax, look around, make a call.”
Prioritize and Execute > Page 168 · Location 2238 Even the most competent of leaders can be overwhelmed if they try to tackle multiple problems or a number of tasks simultaneously. The team will likely fail at each of those tasks. Instead, leaders must determine the highest priority task and execute. When overwhelmed, fall back upon this principle: Prioritize and Execute. Multiple problems III. Sustaining Victory
Plan > Page 215 · Location 2849 APPLICATION TO BUSINESS “We’ve got to establish a planning process,” said the company’s vice president of emerging markets. “Our success has stemmed from sending our experienced people into new areas. They figure things out, put a plan in action, and
Plan > Page 222 · Location 2957 We even had individual platoon members brief back portions of the plan to us to verify they had a clear understanding and could run the mission themselves if needed. When something wasn’t completely clear, our SEAL operators asked for clarification, which enabled us to feel confident they understood and were taking ownership of their role.
Leading Up and Down the Chain of Command > Page 233 · Location 3101 when a leader thinks his troops understand the bigger picture, they very often have difficulty connecting the dots between the tactical mission they are immersed in with the greater overarching goal.
Discipline Equals Freedom—The Dichotomy of Leadership > Page 276 · Location 3698 But there was, and is, a dichotomy in the strict discipline we followed. Instead of making us more rigid and unable to improvise, this discipline actually made us more flexible, more adaptable, and more efficient. It
Discipline Equals Freedom—The Dichotomy of Leadership > Page 277 · Location 3709 PRINCIPLE Every leader must walk a fine line. That’s what makes leadership so challenging. Just as discipline and freedom are opposing forces that must be balanced, leadership requires finding the equilibrium in the dichotomy of many seemingly contradictory qualities, between
Discipline Equals Freedom—The Dichotomy of Leadership > Page 277 · Location 3711 one extreme and another. The simple recognition of this is one of the most powerful tools a leader has. With this in mind, a leader can more easily balance the opposing forces and lead with maximum effectiveness. A leader must lead but also be ready to follow. Sometimes, another member of the team—perhaps a subordinate or direct report—might be in a better position to develop a plan, make a decision, or lead through a specific situation. Perhaps the junior person has greater expertise in a particular area or more experience. Perhaps he or she simply thought of a better way to accomplish the mission. Good leaders must welcome this, putting aside ego and personal agendas to ensure that the team has the greatest chance of accomplishing its strategic goals. A true leader is not intimidated when others step up and take charge. Leaders that lack confidence in themselves fear being outshined by someone else. If the team
Discipline Equals Freedom—The Dichotomy of Leadership > Page 278 · Location 3718 those in charge, but a leader should not seek that recognition. A leader must be confident enough to follow someone else when the situation calls for it. A leader must be aggressive but not overbearing. SEALs are known for their eagerness to take on tough challenges and accomplish some of the most difficult missions. Some may even accuse me of hyperaggression. But I did my utmost to ensure that everyone below me in the chain of command felt comfortable approaching me with concerns, ideas, thoughts, and even disagreements. If they felt something was wrong or thought there was a better way to execute, I encouraged them, regardless of rank, to come to me with questions and present an opposing view. I listened to them, discussed new options, and came to a conclusion with them, often adapting some part or perhaps even all of their idea if it made sense. If it didn’t make sense, we discussed why and we each walked away with a better understanding of
Discipline Equals Freedom—The Dichotomy of Leadership > Page 278 · Location 3725 we were trying to do. That being said, my subordinates also knew that if they wanted to complain about the hard work and relentless push to accomplish the mission I expected of them, they best take those thoughts elsewhere. A leader must be calm but not robotic. It is normal—and necessary—to show emotion. The team must understand that their leader cares about them and their well-being. But, a leader must control his or her emotions. If not, how can they expect to control anything else? Leaders who lose their temper also lose respect. But, at the same time, to never show any sense of anger, sadness, or frustration would make that leader appear void of any emotion at all—a robot. People do not follow robots. Of course, a leader must be confident but never cocky. Confidence is contagious, a great attribute for a leader and a team. But when it goes too far, overconfidence causes complacency and arrogance,
Discipline Equals Freedom—The Dichotomy of Leadership > Page 279 · Location 3732 which ultimately set the team up for failure. A leader must be brave but not foolhardy. He or she must be willing to accept risk and act courageously, but must never be reckless. It is a leader’s job to always mitigate as much as possible those risks that can be controlled to accomplish the mission without sacrificing the team or excessively expending critical resources. Leaders must have a competitive spirit but also be gracious losers. They must drive competition and push themselves and their teams to perform at the highest level. But they must never put their own drive for personal success ahead of overall mission success for the greater team. Leaders must act with professionalism and recognize others for their contributions. A leader must be attentive to details but not obsessed by them. A good leader does not get bogged down in the minutia of a tactical problem at the expense of strategic success. He or she must monitor
Discipline Equals Freedom—The Dichotomy of Leadership > Page 279 · Location 3739 and check the team’s progress in the most critical tasks. But that leader cannot get sucked into the details and lose track of the bigger picture. A leader must be strong but likewise have endurance, not only physically but mentally. He or she must maintain the ability to perform at the highest level and sustain that level for the long term. Leaders must recognize limitations and know to pace themselves and their teams so that they can maintain a solid performance indefinitely. Leaders must be humble but not passive; quiet but not silent. They must possess humility and the ability to control their ego and listen to others. They must admit mistakes and failures, take ownership of them, and figure out a way to prevent them from happening again. But a leader must be able to speak up when it matters. They must be able to stand up for the team and respectfully push back against a decision, order, or direction
Discipline Equals Freedom—The Dichotomy of Leadership > Page 280 · Location 3746 could negatively impact overall mission success. A leader must be close with subordinates but not too close. The best leaders understand the motivations of their team members and know their people—their lives and their families. But a leader must never grow so close to subordinates that one member of the team becomes more important than another, or more important than the mission itself. Leaders must never get so close that the team forgets who is in charge. A leader must exercise Extreme Ownership. Simultaneously, that leader must employ Decentralized Command by giving control to subordinate leaders. Finally, a leader has nothing to prove but everything to prove. By virtue of rank and position, the team understands that the leader is in charge. A good leader does not gloat or revel in his or her position. To take charge of minute details just to demonstrate and reinforce to the team a leader’s authority is the mark of
Discipline Equals Freedom—The Dichotomy of Leadership > Page 280 · Location 3754 inexperienced leadership lacking in confidence. Since the team understands that the leader is de facto in charge, in that respect, a leader has nothing to prove. But in another respect, a leader has everything to prove: every member of the team must develop the trust and confidence that their leader will exercise good judgment, remain calm, and make the right decisions when it matters most. Leaders must earn that respect and prove themselves worthy, demonstrating through action that they will take care of the team and look out for their long-term interests and well-being. In that respect, a leader has everything to prove every day. Beyond this, there are countless other leadership dichotomies that must be carefully balanced. Generally, when a leader struggles, the root cause behind the problem is that the leader has leaned too far in one direction and steered off course. Awareness of the dichotomies in leadership allows this discovery, and thereby enables the correction.

Extreme Ownership

Title: Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win Authors: Jocko Willink and Leif Babin ISBN10: 1250183863 ISBN13: 9781250183866