How dare you write about leadership!
I had a hunch.
This hunch was that there is a barrier between the leadership lessons that I ingest every day and the environment I work in.
The reason for this seemed straight forward to me: I work in an industry that aspires towards a more equitable and inclusive society. Also, I work in a European capital far away from any real conflict. How would my team react if I called for a meeting to enlighten them on "The 4 Laws of Combat"?
Since I did not serve in the military, I cannot even claim to come with first-hand experience. But still, when Jocko and his Echelon Front team talk about their leadership principles, they make total sense to me. I have studied the material for years now, so the language they use seems normal to me by this point.
But more importantly: these principles work. I might not tell my team about them, but I use them daily. At the same time, I am aware that I am stifling my team's and my growth by not sharing the "Extreme Ownership" leadership principles.
I saw two options of acting on my hunch.
I go ahead and call a training session with my team. I present the material as is and likely alienate my team. They will not feel comfortable embracing the leadership strategies that have elevated my leadership capabilities so dramatically and I fail in my desire to bring Extreme Ownership into the organisation.
I accept that I might feel like a fool, but I just go ahead and ask Jocko and his team directly.
I chose the latter and I am so glad that I did.
This week I attended one of the EF Online calls at which Jocko and his team discuss leadership problems that get posted from the live group attending the session. Several hundred leaders attend these sessions. The people who call in are, for the most part, fully on board with the leadership principles that fall under "Extreme Ownership".
The question that I posed was:
I am personally fully engaged in Extreme Ownership, listen to the podcasts, read the books, etc. I am working for a non-profit in the social care industry. The language in EO is seen as ‘alien’ to some members in the team. How would you approach ‘translating’ some of the concepts?
I was surprised to get instant feedback from some of the attendees in the chat that they saw value in this question. My hunch seemed to be on point.
Both the military language as well as the application of the principles in the US corporate world can result in communication barriers for people who do not come from those backgrounds. For example, one of the 4 Laws of Combat is "Cover and Move", which is after all a gun-fighting technique.
Nevertheless, Jocko and his team confirmed my understanding of his principles in that these are universally applicable. Jocko even came up with alternate translations for some of his key principles on the spot.
Cover and Move → Teamwork
Decentralised Command → Empowering our leaders
It is about the principle; the message; the intent. Indeed Jocko urged us to translate the principles for our industries.
Ok, so now I have my hunch answered. There is validity in my pursuit to translate these leadership tactics for my working environment to elevate my team's effectiveness.
But who am I to write, and through that teach, leadership?
As I explored here, my team can literally smell my dirty laundry. There is no smokescreen to hide behind. My life is an open book. And with that I cannot claim any level of expertise when it comes to leadership as I continuously fall short of my own standards.
But this is not the point. It is not about claiming a status.
This is simply a journey of exploring those leadership lessons, which I have found to deliver excellent results. I have found that I am a better CEO, father, husband and follower when I keep these principles front and center.
So far I have been simply consuming these lessons and applying them when a situation arose. I have not thoroughly digested these lessons and made them part of who I am and how I operate in my leadership roles. This is what the writing from here onwards aims at:
To become a producer and translator of leadership material for my current work environment.
I am embracing the role of a "permissionless apprentice" when it comes to the principles of Extreme Ownership. Through this I will accelerate my growth as a leader, because my team and my family need me to become better, to learn faster, to improve quicker and to strive for greatness.
Photo by Edurne Chopeitia on Unsplash
