“Turn the Ship Around” by L David Marquet

  • Leader-leader vs leader-follower
  • Leader/Follower is optimized for extracting physical work
    • The message is empowerment but the actions require the leader to empower
    • Instead, all can lead
  • “Captain, I intend to…”
  • Give broad guidance
  • Empowerment is needed because we have disempowed people
  • “It doesn’t matter how smart the plan is if the team cannot execute it”
  • The system doesn’t track performance in the long run, limiting the scope of decisions being made
  • Performance decreasing on departure is treated as compliments for a great leader rather than problematic that the team wasn’t better trained
  • Questioning is not the same as being curious
    • What do you hope we don’t change
    • What are you hoping gets changed
  • Criticality can come after trust is established
  • Focus on excellence, not just avoiding errors
  • Move authority to the information, not shuffling the information to the authority
  • Have a clear goal and talk about it all the time
  • Don’t be afraid of short, early conversations
  • Trust is different from reality
    • (Issues of accountability are not issues of trust)
  • “We/I will” instead of “Can we/I”
  • “What do you think I am thinking about this?”
  • If the decision can be delayed, get input and make a decision
  • Even if the decision needs to be made quickly, try to get inputs
  • Lack of informal conversation impedes learning
  • Taking deliberate action gives a chance for the team to reduce mistakes
  • Competence needs to grow with control
  • Don’t brief, certify
  • Make sure your leaders are engaged in team processes
  • Emancipation is the step beyond empowerment