Chapter 1 – Extreme Ownership
Extreme ownership means the leader is responsible for everything that happens in their team. They admit mistakes and don’t blame others.
Good leaders make sure the team works well together to solve problems.If someone on the team is not performing well, the leader must first look at themselves because they are responsible for explaining the strategy and training the team. They help the struggling person, but if it doesn’t work, the leader has to replace them with someone better.
Leadership isn’t about taking credit but giving it to the team. Instead of blaming, leaders focus on finding solutions. There are two kinds of leaders: good ones who focus on the mission and team success, and ineffective ones who don’t. Effective leaders ensure the team functions well and can handle future challenges.
Chapter 2 – No Bad Teams Only Bad Leaders
Leadership is the most important factor for a team to do well. How a leader acts affects everyone in the team. The leaders attitude sets the tone for the team. If a leader doesn’t trust the team, the team won’t do their best. Belief in the team is crucial for success.
Chapter 3 – Believe
A leader’s actions matter more than words. They need to show the right behavior, not just talk about it. Belief in the team and the mission is crucial for success. If a leader stops believing in the mission, it’s very hard for the team to succeed.
The leader must know why the mission is important. If they’re unsure, they should ask higher-ups for clarity. Then, the leader must clearly communicate the mission, its goals, and its importance to the team. If anyone doesn’t understand, it’s their responsibility to ask questions until they do.
When the team understands and believes in the mission, the plan, and the leader, they can work together effectively.
Chapter 4 – Check the Ego
Ego clouds and disrupts our decision making, our ability to take feedback and our ability to create plans. It also prevents us from being objective and seeing the world as it is.
It becomes a real problem When your own goals become more important then the teams.
The fix is to stay humble and be willing to take the blame. Taking responsibility and the blame makes others relax which helps other understand the situation. If we blame others, they get defensive and can’t think clearly due to their ego. When people feel threatened, they can’t make good decisions because their judgment is clouded. It also more difficult to be objective when we are emotional.
Chapter 5 – Cover and Move
Cover and move means teamwork. It means that everyone one the team should have an important and clearly defined role that helps the team to succeed.
Everyone on the team must see each other as teammates and not as enemies. The success of the team is what’s important and not individual goals. Be willing to work with other teams.
The focus should always be to accomplish the mission. Have the the bigger picture in mind. When the team succeeds everyone on the team should get to share the success.
Chapter 6 – Simple
Simplifying plans is key for success. If plans are too complicated, people might not understand them. Clear, simple and straightforward communication is vital, reducing misunderstandings within the team. Everyone needs to know their role and who to turn to if problems arise.
Even if information is presented well, it’s useless if no one understands it. Leaders should encourage their team to ask questions when they don’t understand.
When things go wrong, complexity just leads to more confusion. When a plan is simple it’s easier for the team members to adjust when problems happen, which they almost always do. This rule is important in both business and life in general.
Chapter 7 – Prioritise and Execute
There is a high chance of failure if you try to tackle multiple problems at ones. Instead leaders must know what to prioritize.
Try to stay one or two steps ahead. That way you can better anticipate potential problems and be better prepared. You will also not be overwhelmed when those problems do occur.
It’s important for higher up leaders to always have the bigger picture in mind. That way they know better what to priorities.
Don’t be too fixed in you thinking on what’s the most important. The highest priority thing can easily change and the team should be prepared to adjust.
Chapter 8 – Decentralized Command
Be eager to learn and lead. Be humble and confident to command.
Humans are generally not capable of managing more than 10 peoples. That means their need to be a chain of command where junior leaders report up to senior leaders who then continue further up.
Junior leaders must know what’s in their decision making authority and responsibilities. It’s the senior leaders job to clarify but the junior leader should ask when things are unclear. The junior leader must also be willing to recommend advice to their senior that is outside of their authority.
Important information should be passed up and down throughout the chain of command.
It can happen that a senior leader is too far up in the chain of command that he doesn’t know what’s going on in the bottom levels. This senior leader then becomes ineffective and should not give out advice to the bottom level.
A person should lead only if they know what the situation is and have experience themself. Not just the theory.
In fast changing environments, leaders on all levels should be encouraged to make decisions and come up with suggestions.
Decentralized command requires trust up and down the chain of command. It requires you to trust you seniors above you and juniors below you. It requires everyone to have faith in their team and leaders.
Trust is not blindly given but earned over time. Open conversation builds trust. Solving problems and overcoming challenges builds trust.
Junior leaders must understand that their boss will support and back them up. This holds true even if the outcome of a decision is not perfect, as long as the intent was to accomplish the mission in the best possible way.
If you are a leader then care for your team. The team most know that you care for them and about their well-being.
Chapter 9 – Plan
Planning is about preparing for scenarios, problems and failures that can happen, not taking anything for granted and maximizing mission success.
Part of being a leader is making sure that everyone understands and believes in the plan.
Planning begins by understanding the task or mission. Big and unclear tasks has a higher chance of failure since there are more details and more room for error. It’s better to aim for small and specific tasks.
The goal of the mission must be clear. Different ways to accomplish the goal should be explored and discussed.
The plan must identify risks and problems and then try to reduce the chance of them happening. Plan for problems to happen.
Leaders should include their juniors in the planning process, as this results in a sense of ownership. Granting others ownership of the plan improves their understanding and belief in it. Senior leaders should focus on the bigger picture and let the juniors plan the small details.
If similar mission or tasks has occurred then study and learn from them.
Don’t be too fixed on the plan. Be willing to change the plan if new information appears.
Analyze the mission afterwards. Ask questions like: what went right? what went wrong?
The entire planning process and mission analysis should be standardized. There should be a checklist outlining the proper steps for both the planning process and the analysis of mission results.
Chapter 10 – Leading Up and Down the Chain of Command
Make sure that correct information and updates are passed between juniors and seniors effectively. Make sure that everyone understands their role and responsibilities clearly.
As a leader, if your team isn’t performing well, you first need to look at yourself. Instead of blaming them, ask yourself how you can communicate better and what you can do differently. Perhaps you assigned the wrong role to someone.
Similarly, if your manager is not meeting expectations, first examine yourself and consider what you can do better.
One of the most important tasks for any leader is to support your own boss. Understand that your boss is working with limited resources, and your priorities might not align at the moment.
Leading up the chain of command is more difficult than down. Telling you boss requires professionalism and respectful communication.
Chapter 11 – Leading up and Down the Chain of Command
Leaders can’t be paralyzed by fear during uncertain and crucial moments; this results only in inaction. They need to make the best decision based on the available information.
Leaders must be comfortable making decisions when things become uncertain and then be willing to adjust if new information appears. They should also rely on their previous knowledge and experience.
Chapter 12 – Discipline Equals Freedom
When you have the discipline to do difficult tasks, you are rewarded with a sense of pride and freedom. The greater your discipline, the easier tasks become. For example, waking up early rewards you with more free time.
Standardize routines so you don’t have to overthink them. Write down each step if you have a routine; this makes it easier to follow.
A leader must both lead and be prepared to follow. There are times when a junior member might have more experience, and it’s better to let them take the lead. A good leader welcomes this, as their responsibility is to ensure the team has the best chance of success.
Maintain closeness with your teammates, but not to an excessive extent. No one person should be more important than another or the mission itself.
Appendix Advice
Always be respectful and humble. Treat others with respect and they will respect you.
Listen to others. It can mean so much to them. If you say “ok let me take some notes on what you are saying”, that can mean so much for them. You connect with other when you listen to them which results in relationships.
Recognize that people have different personalities, and a good leader understands how to navigate these differences effectively.
Be honest and willing to ask questions if you don’t understand something.
Good performance comes from practice.
2 ways to gain trust: Admit and take ownership and responsibility for your mistakes. Do what you say and say what you do. Don’t lie.
If you’re afraid to ask a question, it might be due to insecurity.
Cast no blame, make no excuse, don’t complain. Instead develop solutions that solve problems.
