Don’t ask your leader what you should do, tell them what you are going to do.
JOCKO WILLINKThe U.S. Navy SEAL Teams were at the forefront of this leadership transformation, emerging from the triumphs and tragedies of war with a crystallized understanding of what it takes to succeed in the most challenging environments that combat presents.
More Jocko Willink Quotes
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I had to take ownership of everything that went wrong. Despite the tremendous blow to my reputation and to my ego, it was the right thing to do—the only thing to do. I
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Stop researching every aspect of it and reading all about it and debating the pros and cons of it, Start doing it.
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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.
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Even the most competent of leaders can be overwhelmed if they try to tackle multiple problems or a number of tasks simultaneously.
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Leaders must always operate with the understanding that they are part of something greater than themselves and their own personal interests.
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Leadership requires finding the equilibrium in the dichotomy of many seemingly contradictory qualities, between one extreme and another.
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I can remember many times when my boat crew struggled. It was easy to make excuses for our team’s performance and why it wasn’t what it should have been. But I learned that good leaders don’t make excuses. Instead, they figure out a way to get it done and win.
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Our freedom to operate and maneuver had increased substantially through disciplined procedures. Discipline equals freedom.
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Good leaders don’t make excuses.
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Relax. Look around. Make a call.
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The only meaningful measure for a leader is whether the team succeeds or fails.
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Decisively engaged?
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The leader must own everything in his or her world.
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Motivation is fickle. It comes and goes.
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In the business world, and in life, there are inherent complexities. It is critical to keep plans and communication simple.
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Don’t try to plan for every contingency. Doing so will only overburden you and weigh you down so that you cannot quickly maneuver.
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After all, there can be no leadership where there is no team.
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As a leader, you have to balance the dichotomy, to be resolute where it matters but never inflexible and uncompromising on matters of little importance to the overall good of the team and the strategic mission.
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So how can a leader become great if they lack the natural characteristics necessary to lead? The answer is simple: a good leader builds a great team that counterbalances their weaknesses.
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If the plan is simple enough, everyone understands it, which means each person can rapidly adjust and modify what he or she is doing. If the plan is too complex, the team can’t make rapid adjustments to it, because there is no baseline understanding of it.
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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.
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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.
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Is this what I want to be? This? Is this all I’ve got—is this everything I can give? Is this going to be my life? Do I accept that?
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The greatest of these was the recognition that leadership is the most important factor on the battlefield, the single greatest reason behind the success of any team.
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Such concepts are simple, but not easy,
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leadership is the single greatest factor in any team’s performance.
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