Extreme Ownership: Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
Most people think that leadership is solely how a boss, manager, or someone in a position of authority treats their “subordinates”. In reality, leadership is how people, in every rank, carry themselves, problem solve, and contribute to a goal (whether it be their own or their team’s). This applies to the lowest guy on the totem pole, all the way up to the top of the chain and is applicable to any type of hierarchical relationship. In a business setting this would be the front line employees, all the way up to the CEO. For a sports team, the most rookie player, all the way up to general manager/owner of the team. It could even apply to a personal trainer and trainee relationship.
Extreme ownership breaks down how to act as an effective leader, no matter what level you are at. For teams or units to operate effectively and at their highest level, it is important for everyone to take ownership. “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.” This includes taking ownership of other peoples’ mistakes. When subordinates are not doing what they need to or performing at the right level, the leader needs to take accountability for the shortcomings. There are a plethora of reasons of why subordinates are not performing, and it always* can be linked back directly to the leader (there are obvious some limited exceptions to this, but for 99% of issues it is true). The amazing thing about following extreme ownership, is even though the leader takes complete ownership of what is going on, it creates a lead by example effect. In turn subordinates will begin to adopt extreme ownership themselves. Then by having a whole cohesive unit of individuals who are willing to own problems, a team of people who execute and succeed is formed.
The book itself is broken up into three main parts. Part one both describes the principles of extreme ownership and lays out the characteristics leaders need to have when trying to develop themselves. Then part two details the actionable steps and principles that leaders can put into place to develop their teams. Lastly, part three is about the sustainability of your leadership style and the sustainability of your team. Each of the 12 chapters starts out with a story from either the authors’ intense training to become Navy Seals or actual war stories from their time in the service. The story sets the scene and provides the most extreme case of how the principle was learned. Then the actual principle is explained. The chapter is then finished up by giving a real world business example that the 2 authors encountered in their Leadership Coaching business they started when they ended their time as Navy Seals.
One of my favorite chapters in the book deals with how to take ownership when your leader is not acting like a leader. I find a lot of people will use this as an excuse to not fulfill their responsibilities. They figure, if my “leader” is not performing, why should I. Rather than have this negative mentality, it is actually an awesome time to step up and practice your own leadership capabilities. You don’t want to go stepping on your boss’s toes when you do this, but you can tactfully take ownership of the situation and ensure things get done. This will not only help groom you to be a better leader, but it will also help you stand out among your peers. That way when it is time to receive a promotion, you will be in the spotlight as someone who stepped up and took charge.
“Simple, Not Easy”
All of the concepts and strategies outlined in the book are very simple and a lot can even be considered common sense. The authors even bring to light they are “simple, not easy”. When I was reading some of the concepts, I thought to myself, these are almost too obvious. But just because they are simple concepts, does not make them easy to execute on. It takes both discipline and a want, to be an effective leader. I also think you can’t expect do everything perfect, especially when you just start implementing the concepts outlined in the book. You’re going to fail, overlook things, and struggle when trying to become the best leader you can be. This is why you need to check your ego, trust in your people (two other concepts covered in the book), and take Extreme Ownership.