Jocko Willink, 2015
Extreme Ownership is written by Jocko Willink, a SEAL leader who explains how the lessons he learned in combat are relevant to leaders in any role. The importance of the team is emphasized—you are only as good as the men or women behind you. This book provides fundamental leadership lessons through Willink’s insightful combat experiences and stories. Willink examines a number of leadership concepts that have been proven effective in both combat and business scenarios.
Without a team—a group of individuals working to accomplish a mission—there can be no leadership. The only meaningful measure for a leader is whether the team succeeds or fails. For all the definitions, descriptions, and characterizations of leaders, there are only two that matter: effective and ineffective. Effective leaders lead successful teams that accomplish their mission and win. Ineffective leaders do not.
For leaders, the humility to admit and own mistakes and develop a plan to overcome them is essential to success. The best leaders are not driven by ego or personal agendas. They are simply focused on the mission and how best to accomplish it.
The leader is truly and ultimately responsible for everything. That is Extreme Ownership, the fundamental core of what constitutes an effective leader in the SEAL Teams or in any leadership endeavor.
On any team, in any organization, all responsibility for success and failure rests with the leader. The leader must own everything in his or her world. There is no one else to blame. The leader must acknowledge mistakes and admit failures, take ownership of them, and develop a plan to win.
When subordinates aren’t doing what they should, leaders who exercise Extreme Ownership cannot blame the subordinates. They must first look in the mirror at themselves. The leader bears full responsibility for explaining the strategic mission, developing the tactics, and securing the training and resources to enable the team to properly and successfully execute.
If an individual on the team is not performing at the level required for the team to succeed, the leader must train and mentor that underperformer. But if the underperformer continually fails to meet standards, then a leader who exercises Extreme Ownership must be loyal to the team and the mission above any individual. If underperformers cannot improve, the leader must make the tough call to terminate them and hire others who can get the job done. It is all on the leader.
Total responsibility for failure is a difficult thing to accept, and taking ownership when things go wrong requires extraordinary humility and courage. But doing just that is an absolute necessity for learning and growing as a leader.
When leaders who epitomize Extreme Ownership drive their teams to achieve a higher standard of performance, they must recognize that as a leader, it’s not what you preach, it’s what you tolerate.
Once a culture of Extreme Ownership is built into the team at every level, the entire team performs well, and performance continues to improve, even when a strong leader is temporarily removed.
In order to convince and inspire others to follow and accomplish a mission, a leader must be a true believer in the mission.
If a leader does not believe, he or she will not take the risks required to overcome the inevitable challenges necessary to win. And they will not be able to convince others.
Ego clouds and disrupts everything: the planning process, the ability to take good advice, and the ability to accept constructive criticism. Be confident, not cocky.
The most fundamental tactic, perhaps the only tactic. Cover and Move means teamwork. All elements within the greater team are crucial and must work together to accomplish the mission, mutually supporting one another.
Simplifying as much as possible is crucial to success. When plans and orders are too complicated, people may not understand them. Complexity compounds issues that can spiral out of control into total disaster. Plans and orders must be communicated in a manner that is simple, clear, and concise.
If your team doesn’t get it, you have not kept things simple and you have failed.
On the battlefield, countless problems compound in a snowball effect. But a leader must remain calm and make the best decisions possible.
When overwhelmed, fall back upon this principle: Prioritize and Execute.
To implement Prioritize and Execute in any business, team, or organization, a leader must:
Humans are generally not capable of managing more than 6 to 10 people, particularly under stress. Teams must be broken down into manageable elements with clearly designated leaders.
Junior leaders must be empowered to make decisions on key tasks necessary to accomplish the mission.
Planning begins with mission analysis. Leaders must identify clear directives for the team.
The mission must be carefully refined and simplified so that it is explicitly clear and specifically focused.
A leader’s checklist for planning:
Any good leader is immersed in planning and execution. But junior members of the team don’t automatically see the bigger picture.
If your team isn’t doing what you need them to do, you first have to look at yourself.
Leading up the chain requires tactful engagement with senior leaders to obtain decisions and support.
Waiting for the 100% right solution leads to delay, indecision, and failure. Leaders must be prepared to make an educated guess based on available intelligence and experience.
A leader must: