Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders

by L. David Marquet

The problem with specifying the method along with the goal is one of diminished control. Provide your people with the objective and let them figure out the method.

Clarity means people at all levels of an organization clearly and completely understand what the organization is about.

What I learned is this: Taking care of your people does not mean protecting them from the consequences of their own behavior. That’s the path to irresponsibility. What it does mean is giving them every available tool and advantage to achieve their aims in life, beyond the specifics of the job.

USE YOUR LEGACY FOR INSPIRATION is a mechanism for CLARITY.

I sent out a survey asking the officers and chiefs what they thought the strengths of the command were and what our guiding principles should be.

If what you want is collaboration, then you are destroying it. Instead, have awards that are abundant, with no limit.

USE IMMEDIATE RECOGNITION TO REINFORCE DESIRED BEHAVIORS is a mechanism for CLARITY.

By taking action to support the individual, you will prove that you are indeed working in their best interest and always keeping the end in mind.

Are you mentoring solely to instruct or also to learn?

What will it take to redesign your management team’s schedule so you can mentor one another?

We realized that resilience and effectiveness sometimes meant questioning orders.

ENCOURAGE A QUESTIONING ATTITUDE OVER BLIND OBEDIENCE is a mechanism for CLARITY.

Do you want obedience or effectiveness?

Emancipation results when teams have been given decision-making control and have the additional characteristics of competence and clarity. You know you have an emancipated team when you no longer need to empower them.