This, more often than not, results in the entire team becoming incapable and ineffectual. He also understood from experience that when a bad commander places blame on others and the situations, the attitude of blaming passes on to other members in the unit. Willink knew from the worst-case scenario training that he and his team undergo, that it is often during such training that a commanders attitude becomes apparent. Commanders like Willink who man up and shoulder responsibility for the failure consider criticisms as constructive and make detailed notes from their failures to make improvements in strategy and in their leadership abilities. Owning up was what actually saved his job and he was allowed to keep command of the unit.ĭuring SEAL training, when teams underperform or fail, many commanders are known to place blame on either the scenario itself, subordinates, or the troop itself. Willink came forth and took the responsibility for the consequences. The chaos of the cross-firing led to the death of one of the soldiers. What was initially thought of as firing from the mujahedeen, turned out to be firing from another SEAL unit. Jocko Willink, one of the authors, and a SEAL task unit commander in 2012 were in Ramadi, Iraq when he and his unit encountered heavy firing. However, what separates good leaders from others is their willingness to take responsibility for their own failures, as well as those their teams make. Taking Responsibility For FailuresĮvery leader, just as every team, whether it is in the navy or in the corporate world makes mistakes. Leaders in the tough business world have to take charge, make difficult decisions in difficult situations, and apply many strategies, much like commanders need to on the field.Įxtreme Ownership (2015) by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, two Navy SEAL task unit leaders, discusses these strategies that leaders in the business world can apply to overcome even the most challenging business battles. The complex combat situations of life and death that they deal with have underlying principles that can be applied to modern-day business. There are many lessons one can learn from the leadership tactics of the Navy SEAL commanders.

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