Jocko Willink is a retired Navy SEAL, founder of a leadership consulting company Echelon Front, author of several New York Times bestseller books, a black belt in Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and a Podcaster. He achieved mainstream fame after his appearance on the Tim Ferris and Joe Rogan podcasts to promote his first book. I highly recommend you listen to/watch those two episodes, you’d be surprised at his seemingly out of this world discipline and intellect.

During his military career, he commanded the Task Unit Bruiser – a highly decorated unit of the Iraq War. Upon return, he was also responsible for training the SEAL teams back home.

He loves to talk about leadership and has written 3 insightful books on this topic. Extreme Ownership, The Dichotomy of Leadership and Leadership Strategy and Tactics: Field Manual 

Here, let me summarise the 6 most important battle tested leadership principles from these books that can be applied to all aspects of our everyday life.

Extreme Ownership

The first and the most important leadership principle mentioned in all of Jocko’s work is ” Extreme Ownership”.

Leaders must own everything in their world. There is no one else to blame.

The term “ Extreme Ownership” means exactly what it sounds like. You, as a leader, must take responsibility for everything in your world. Good or Bad. 

For example, If your team under performs, you can’t blame them. Instead, see how you can mentor them and communicate the mission’s importance clearly.

Saying “ It’s my fault “ takes humility and courage. Also, you have to really mean it and come up with an action plan to solve the mistake.

Even as a subordinate, if your boss blames you for something, Take ownership. It’s your fault. Period. Of course, it hurts when people blame you. But check your ego, take ownership of it and work towards a solution.

Cover and Move

In any military operation, one shooter provides supporting fire while the other team member moves. This is then repeated by the said member and that’s how units move under live gunfire.

In the real world, this means teamwork. In any organization, different teams must support each other to accomplish a greater mission. You need to build trust, relationships first and then earn the influence and respect to ask for help. Also, you should be willing to help the other team in their hour of need.

Team members, supporting assets, and all functions within an organization must always cover for each other rather than compete among themselves.

Simple

All missions must be simplified as much as possible. Plans need to be communicated in a simple, clear and concise manner. Everyone in the team must be able to understand what to do.  

“ A chain is only as strong as its weakest link “ goes a famous quote. In case of any unexpected event, a complex plan fails almost immediately because at least one team member would have not understood the mission clearly.

Prioritize and Execute

In battle, if a unit is facing multiple attacks, the best course of action is to take care of the most immediate threat and then move on to the next one. If they try to address everything at once, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the complexity.

In an organization, this means prioritizing your goals and executing them one at a time in their order of importance. Multitasking is not a real thing. When you as a leader or subordinate face multiple problems at once, Relax and focus on solving the most important one first. Then move on to the next item.

Decentralized Command

Any single individual cannot manage a team of more than 6 to 10 members all by himself. As the team gets larger, it’s impossible to be involved in every decision making situation.

The solution is “ Decentralized Command “. Your subordinates or junior leaders must be empowered to make their own decisions. It’s your responsibility to make sure they know the mission intent and let them come up with their own solutions.

For this to work, every team member must know not just what to do, but why they are doing it. Also, there must be clear and simple communication between the senior and junior management teams.

Dichotomy of Leadership

Dichotomy – a division or contrast between two things that are represented as being opposed or entirely different.

Dictionary Definition

Any leadership principle, even the good ones can result in bad outcomes when taken to the extreme. Therefore, it is essential for a good leader to have a balanced approach in any given situation. There is no “one size fits all” approach to leadership.

Here are a few dichotomies among the leadership principles that a leader has to balance

Being Aggressive vs Being Open and Approachable

Leading vs Following

Strict Discipline vs Giving freedom to create

Being Calm vs Robotic

Confidence vs Cockiness

Brave vs Foolhardy

Competitive vs Gracious

Being Attentive to detail vs Obsessive

Humble vs Passive

Taking Extreme ownership vs Giving Decentralized command

Summary

Taking ownership, supporting other teams, keeping things simple, prioritizing goals , empowering others and maintaining a balanced approach are principles that are not confined to just leadership. If you think about it, following these leadership principles in any relationships, personal or professional would make you a better person overall.

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