.

) No Bad Teams, Only Bad Leaders

"What did the new boat crew leader do differently?" asked another of the department heads.

"When the leader of Boat Crew Two took charge of Boat Crew Six, he exhibited Extreme Ownership to the
fullest," I explained. "He faced the facts: he recognized and accepted that Boat Crew Six's performance was
terrible, that they were losing and had to get better. He didn't blame anyone, nor did he make excuses to justify
poor performance. He didn't wait for others to solve his boat crew's problems. His realistic assessment,
acknowledgment of failure, and ownership of the problem were key to developing a plan to improve
performance and ultimately win. Most important of all, he believed winning was possible. In a boat crew
where winning seemed so far beyond reach, the belief that the team actually could improve and win was
essential."

I continued: "The new leader of Boat Crew Six focused his team on the mission. Rather than tolerate their
bickering and infighting, he pulled the team together and focused their collective efforts on the single specific
goal of winning the race. He established a new and higher standard of performance and accepted nothing less
from the men in his boat crew."

"Why do you think Boat Crew Two, which had lost its strong leader, continued to perform well, even with the
far less capable leader from Boat Crew Six?" asked another department leader.

"Extreme Ownership—good leadership—is contagious," I answered. "Boat Crew Two's original leader had
instilled a culture of Extreme Ownership, of winning and how to win, in every individual. Boat Crew Two had
developed into a solid team of high-performing individuals. Each member demanded the highest performance
from the others. Repetitive exceptional performance became a habit. Each individual knew what they needed
to do to win and did it. They no longer needed explicit direction from a leader. As a result, Boat Crew Two
continued to outperform virtually every other boat crew and vied with Boat Crew Six for first place in nearly
every race."

2.) Check the Ego

“That is another critical component of leadership,” I quickly replied. “Dealing with people’s egos. And you
can do so by using one of the main principles we have taught you during our course: Extreme Ownership.”

Gary responded, "Ownership of what? He’s the one that screwed this up, not me." It was clear Gary’s ego was
getting in the way of the solution to this problem.

if you put your own ego in check, meaning you take the blame, that will
allow him to actually see the problem without his vision clouded by ego.
“Ownership of everything!" I answered. "This isn’t his fault, it’s yours. You are in charge, so the fact that he
didn’t follow procedure is your fault. And you have to believe that, because it’s true. When you talk to him,
you need to start the conversation like this: ‘Our team made a mistake and it’s my fault. It’s my fault because I
obviously wasn’t as clear as I should have been in explaining why we have these procedures in place and how
not following them can cost the company hundreds of thousands of dollars. You are an extremely skilled and
knowledgeable superintendent. You know more about this business than I ever will. It was up to me to make
sure you know the parameters we have to work within and why some decisions have got to be run through me.
Now, I need to fix this so it doesn’t happen again.’”
“Do you think that will work?” asked Gary, sounding unconvinced.

“I’m confident it will,” I replied. “If you approached it as he did something wrong, and he needs to fix
something, and he is at fault, it becomes a clash of egos and you two will be at odds. That’s human nature. But,
if you put your own ego in check, meaning you take the blame, that will allow him to actually see the problem
without his vision clouded by ego. Then you both can make sure that your team’s standard operating
procedures— when to communicate, what is and isn’t within his decision—making authority—are clearly
understood.”

3.) Cover and Move

Cover and Move: it is the most fundamental tactic, perhaps the only tactic. Put simply, Cover and Move means
teamwork. All elements within the greater team are crucial and must work together to accomplish the mission,
mutually supporting one another for that singular purpose. Departments and groups within the team must break
down silos, depend on each other and under- stand who depends on them. If they forsake this principle and
operate independently or work against each other, the results can be catastrophic to the overall team’s
performance.

Within any team, there are divisions that arise. Often, when smaller teams within the team get so focused on
their immediate tasks, they forget about what others are doing or how they de- pend on other teams. They may
start to compete with one another, and when there are obstacles, animosity and blame develops. This creates
friction that inhibits the overall team’s performance. It falls on leaders to continually keep perspective on the
strategic mission and remind the team that they are part of the greater team and the strategic mission is
paramount.

Each member of the team is critical to success, though the main effort and supporting efforts must be clearly
identified. If the overall team fails, everyone fails, even if a specific member or an element within the team did
their job successfully. Pointing fingers and placing blame on others contributes to further dissension between
teams and individuals. These individuals and teams must instead find a way to work together, communicate
with each other, and mutually support one another. The focus must always be on how to best accomplish the
mission.

Alternatively, when the team succeeds, everyone within and supporting that team succeeds. Every individual
and every team within the larger team gets to share in the success. Accomplishing the strategic mission is the
highest priority. Team members, departments, and supporting assets must always Cover and Move—help each
other, work together, and support each other to win. This principle is integral for any team to achieve victory.