I 100% agree that it's better to have guys on your team that don't require accountability or supervision. But I also realize that for someone like Jocko working with an elite unit, "accountability" seems like a trivial concept. The problem is this - most people in the private sector don't have a fraction of the self-discipline as someone in the SEAL teams, and as a result it IS sometimes necessary to apply pressure to the guys underneath you in order to get the best out of them.
IMO a Great book on Accountability and being a Leader is- *It's Your Ship: Management Techniques From The Best Damn Ship In The Navy* by D. Michael Abrashoff In the 90s Captain Abrashoff took command of the worst performing battleship in the Navy. He transitioned from the "Accountability- command and control" method into "This is your battleship. You're accountable to yourself and team". That shift made it the highest performing battleship in the Navy.
That's a very good observation and actually the way it works is is when it becomes his trash he becomes the white part of the yang so as not to be accountable for his own trash not realizing persecuting self he will flip back and forth every time taking an innocent vessel and destroyed
Good Lord, the thought of Mr. Willink waking me up in the morning and holding me accountable for all things in my Life just gave me chills and afraid to create any more excuses for not performing 100% despite crippling disease. I'm still not dead, so I have to keep owning EVERYTHING, despite my Ego. Thank you, Sir.
In business culture, and perhaps in general culture, we have confused holding people accountable with holding people responsible. Holding someone accountable means that they are required to give account to previous actions or outcomes. Holding someone responsible means they are required to take responsibility to previous actions or outcomes. Two different things. Jocko, you're talking about holding people responsible. Accountability is a tool for root-cause analysis, system/process improvement, and professional growth, responsibility is a tool for the remediation of failed outcomes. Accountability is what you aim for when trying to improve things - it answers the question "Does everyone know how to do their job?" Responsibility is what you aim for when people aren't doing their jobs - it answers the question "Who f***ed up?"
Leadership is an emotional tightrope. You have to balance the emotions of your employees with the needs of the task at hand. In one instance, I had a helper who decided to do a set of chores in a certain order. I realized that would be inefficient, and instructed him to take the tasks in a different order. In another instance, I gave a list of tasks to a different helper, in the order I wanted them done, then went away to do things only I could accomplish. When I returned, I was disappointed to find he had ignored my top priorities and skipped down the list to tasks he preferred. You can’t control other people. You can only control yourself, and then, only with effort.:)
Accountability isn't so much about blame or punishment, but about recognizing an error was made and not repeating it. If a person is refusing to learn from mistakes is when punishment enters the picture. Extreme ownership is about learning from every mistake you can find and make, usually you make far fewer mistakes in the long run.
Jocko touched on something that I too have learned. People almost always will rise or sink to the expectations placed on them. If you, as a leader, effectively communicate that the expectation is excellence, live in an exemplary way, demonstrating that you expect excellence of yourself and your team, excellence will be the minimum you and your team will deliver.
Jocko understands leadership dynamics. It is a balance between initiative, delegation and guidance. Tough enough off the battlefield, almost impossible on the battlefield.
I have a leadership role in my career and the insight to people management and the intricacies of operating within a team that you have shared have been extremely beneficial. Subordinating my ego is the most powerful and effective technique that I have learned from you. From Australia with Thanks
In my experience, I find enjoyment in exceeding the expectation of my leaders. However, I’ve been in those places where everything was imposed accountability. What my experience is that everything is negative, one minor failure means your a worthless employee. It seems to have always been the only thing that then mattered. As a leader we should be empowering, this means giving people freedom to succeed or fail. When they fail we must point it out so they can correct the error. This builds people instead of tearing them down.
I know it sounds super basic to people that have discipline and tend to handle their shit on their own without being told. My parents divorced when I was 7 and it was kind of like well, make something of yourself or be a piece of shit I'm too busy working to follow you around and make sure you do your homework and stay out of trouble. Other people have parents that constantly hover over them and force them to handle their shit by babying them and spoiling them where the only reward for doing what you're supposed to is fleeting material gain. Other times they have no idea why they need to do something other than their dad's belt hurts like hell. These folks grow up, join the workforce, and get all flustered because they're conditioned to having someone tell them to do everything step by step every single time. And when they finally just do what they're told and get an "A+" for being a good boy,they expect toys and candy. You handle your shit so that your life and the lives of your friends and family benefits not just cause mom or teacher or dad or coach or whatever said so. Not ground breaking info by any means, but when you're dealing with people that don't know their ass from a hole in the ground, it's all ground breaking.
@@icychillgrill3 Very well said. I think you made very good strong points because it relates to how I was raised and me lookin at todays generation, makes your point valid. In my opinion.
Man, this spoke directly to me. I’m young but I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve in various leadership positions. I remember I used to always be at crossroads when it came to disciplining my peers or holding them accountable on something they knew better about. It always irked me to be honest, because I felt like I was short changing myself. This really helped me understand a better perspective on how I can approach things like this in the future.
Superb. Very aligned with my own limited experience in leadership and having worked for a boss who was much the same way as your 2nd platoon leader. Unbelievable leader (by example and character).
Jocko’s experience is with highly motivated alpha personalities who have a natural ownership mindset or else they wouldn’t be a SEAL. Those people are in short supply in the private sector. I think the balance between ownership and accountability lies in an agreement between team leader and subordinate. When a team leader transfers ownership of a project or task, they need to convey what a successful outcome looks like. If the subordinate agrees and takes ownership, it’s important to have accountability. If the subordinate falls short when they have ownership, there must be consequences. If they meet or exceed expectations, they need rewards. It’s all about communication and mutual agreement between both sides.
My company is 180 strong, split between (office, mechanics, dump drivers, concrete, shotcrete/drilling, dirt work) each individual group doesnt hold each members to the highest of expectations, they say they are but nobody except a few guys are stepping up to the plate and making each group they work with make shit happen. The other groups are always behind or not commanded properly to hold accountability to their work. Were having a company meeting this friday and I can feel the tensions within the ranks. They are afraid for the first time that they are going to get their asses chewed. It is a comfort to me to know that the lowest guy on the totem pole just got leverage with our voices about how this program is running and how we need to improve with our communications. Good listen.
geez i got PTSD just from hearing you talk about radios. getting a platoon to sit still long enough to teach them to learn their radios was like hearding cats
It hit me around the 5:17 mark when Jocko said "My guys did it, they wanted to be the best" that yeah what he is saying here is good, but a big part of why he can do that is because of the people he is working with. SEALs and DEVs are high quality people, if they were not, they wouldnt be SEALs and DEVs...If you have a group of people who are not inspired, either because they dont enjoy the job or are not motivated, and you are unable to get them motivated, you have to police them more so than what he is talking about here. You have to do the weapon inspections because if you dont, it wont get done.
That’s right but he is hoping and expecting to inspire people to step up... if they are watching these videos. “Infantry” ... trying infants... you have to watch over, look after, dress, wash, feed, keep track of their sleep, equipment, make sure they have handle on things... it’s like the difference between puppies pissing on living room rug... and service dogs leading the blind out of a burning building. It’s NCO’s and Officers that make that transformation possible. It’s like next level babysitting and it never ends. LOL... the leadership teams necessary to create the training and transformative process rarely get recognized for their accomplishments because its expected to be accomplished. Which creates the tiers of accountability and different meanings and perceptions. People know the name of a “race car driver”... race car driver knows the names of the people working in their pit crew... or people don’t know their name but they get paid to drive and not win. There are many instances where a similar dynamic paradigm plays out. Team building and development creates membership.
This advice is great if you get to pick your team. Rarely anyone in the real world aka public domain gets to pick there team. I love you bro and I watch all your videos. This advice doesn't work in corporations because there's always somebody ahead of you. Like HR
It's true we can't pick our Teams. It then becomes up to us what we ultimately mold them into what we want. Just as Jocko said -- if you teach and train your people to learn the "Why" of what they are doing, they will usually follow through. For those of who don't care, no matter how many times you've conceptualized things to them, they will be held accountable. Sometimes, there are just people who only want the job "For the money" -- they don't care about why they are doing their job. So, you have to explain them into a way that they will want to keep their very job. I deal with a lot of people in their early 20's, so a lot of them don't really care about their job, thinking its temporary, or they just need the money. Eventually, they either quickly move onto something else, get fired, or quit. People without motivation or care just don't last. If they do, that's where the Management needs to take ownership of how they are leading, or be held accountable for not cutting out people who just won't get it. The people who don't want to work or who aren't motivated are very few and far between. Most of us just need a good reason to care, and that falls on us.
Jocko: "Someone in my platoon made a mistake. That's my fault!" EXTREME OWNERSHIP Alexander Solzhenitsyn: "I'm in a Gulag. The Soviets tyrannize the people of Eurasia. The World is at war. That's my fault!" INSANE OWNERSHIP Jesus: **gets himself nailed to a cross for the sins of mankind** Jocko & Sasha: "Now that's going too far!"
Based on your experience with leadership, is there an effective way to instil peer accountability? Where team members are engaging and comfortable enough to hold each other accountable? Or is it a top-down system from leadership onwards? Thank you so much!
I hold my ex accountable for her narcissism and the betrayal she committed. If you were on a mission, and one of your guys turned and shot you or stabbed you in the back, you'd hold them accountable. But at the same time, I own my shit, because I was gullible enough to believe my ex. She taught me a lot about trusting wrong. This is my balance. She ain't off the hook, but neither am I. That being said, I love this video. Jocko makes a great point. When you have people who care, they don't need to be held accountable. And good leaders look for the right people, same with relationships. Look for the right person to share your foxhole.
Sounds like he's saying the best way to lead is to have good followers. The people you lead need to have a desire to be lead and a desire to do well for themselves and each other. Without that there can be no balance between micromanaging and over delegating. He also never answers the question of how to find that balance, only ever saying that you need to.
Craig W disagree. Don’t have a job you want to be successful for? Find a new one. Can’t find a new one? Fine, challenge accepted, get disciplined for the job you don’t want to work hard for, not for them but for yourself. Don’t make excuses, you are an aspect of the problem if you do.
Third Position you sound vexed and unhappy, you should work in that. I am speaking from the perspective of a manager as well, and I’m not sure if you’re aware but often times even the higher end management are still considered employees, you work for someone often times no matter how high up the ladder you are.
@@michaelmanteo6525 well... If you like to sync state between server and client all the time, be my guest. Otherwise trust the client and let it take on responsibility :D while the client is out there in the field, executing business logic the server can concentrate on other things like persistence, logging, user management and providing the client with all necessary resources to get the job done 😊
MultiGladiator and the teams maintaining both should take extreme ownership of their systems 1) the infra team takes ownership of reliable service 2) the app team takes ownership of building a service resilient to delays in network or persistence.
@@Yetipfote The client should be responsible for whatever business logic is directly responsible for turning the domain data into a great UX. The server should be responsible for whatever business logic is responsible for keeping the domain data consistent, persistent, and queryable.
How do you get the buy-in from family, friends, roommates etc? How do you get the people around you to crave and hunger for victory and performance? I've heard some people say that you need to surround yourself with people who want to succeed as much as you or who are already successful, but what about those you are stuck with? What if they just coast? They think that putting the 40hrs/week earns you the right to sit in front of the tube or stay in bed and they slack around the house.
When they get their balls stomped on by life they tend to change... I’ve been using the word team allot ect, we, us... let’s... get a shared vision ect... Goal, effort, attainment With a feeling of autonomy... Love makes a difference. Do it with and for love and express it. Your in need of studying leadership. Get a good handful of books n start mastering it. Lastly we vibe at different levels... different energy points ect. Factor it in-
the difference between jocko and other gurus: he has real examples to justify what he's talking about. Most people are making stuff up that sounds good.
One thing my Leaders have taught me is that it's not fair to start holding people accountable until you've done every effort you can to make their reasons, actions, and motivations a focus. It's not fair to suddenly write someone up, when, for weeks, one hasn't been setting the standard of "This is how things should be done". There has to be consistent and equal follow-up for the entire Team first before one can move to accountability.
Teaching middle school I must hold them accountable, because that 'want to' is not totally developed in all of them. There are a few 'baby Kobe's', but at 13-14 I have to be exacting and demanding. The 'why's' have to be simple and short term, e.g., "get outta here on time" or "earn that free-dress for the week." It's no coincidence that they appreciate it more when they leave me, that these habits become part of what they do later in life.
It's easy to take this approach when you are dealing with a group of SEALs where everyone takes their job very seriously and has a high level of competence.
No procedure manual can be written tight enough to make up for an unconscientious person with low personal ownership. Bottom line - you can only hold people as accountable as they hold themselves.
Question on this regard, what happens when you have no or very ineffective training as a new employee and you are expected to perform at the highest level ( for example in sales).
Thanks Echo! Any chance we can get the clip of Jocko saying sorry to Tim Kennedy for the army cancelling bayonet training? Ps loving the gritty footage from the old days. Very legit. Thanks again brah!
1:00 As I see it, extreme ownership and decentralized command are NOT contradictory. If you decentralize command, it's to people you've developed relationships with and trust them to carry out the "commander's intent" (different nation/army, different terms, same ideas)...which seems to be what the rest of this clip was about. If someone under your command does something that requires being held to account, that's STILL on you. It doesn't need to go upstairs and can be handled in-house, but it's still on you to handle it and you can likely find a way you could have headed it off. If someone is on board only because they're going to be taken to task for it, you've failed them. I always did weapon inspections. It reminds them that there is always a mark to meet, there's always someone watching and it gives you that time in the barracks where you can get a good idea what else is going on that might need to be "headed off". That said, once you're working with with a group of pros (vs candidates/recruits), it's not really about the "inspection" anymore, it's about the routine and that face-time. Accountability is indeed a crude tool, mainly because it's reactive, not proactive.
Thank you Jocko! I’m so glad you said that accountability is only a tool, not an end unto itself. I wish my boss would learn this, but he is amazingly bad as a leader. He had a chip on his shoulders before change of command, and has refused to learn while in the job, creating a culture of lying, hiding, and faking. Everyone knows to never tell the truth if it affects his image in any bad way. It is possible that Article 138s are coming.
Are you a distractible person watching this? Here’s how to apply the lesson: 1) *Insist* on knowing the “why”. Ask for the strategic vision. Exercise leadership of yourself. 2) Learn the signs of incremental success. Distractability is your brain thinking that some other path will earn your goals. Your brain wants to eat berries and save you from wasting time. Spotting partial wins tells your brain “see? This is the right path.” Video games do this to leas your brain to play the game. Take ownership of your distractible-tendency and don’t loathe yourself: lead your brain. Find the questions to ask to enable you to imagine, and anticipate steps of success at the task. Pursue those answers even in the face of rudeness. (Programmers: look up TDD)
6:47 we worked exceptionally hard so that our direct squad leader had nothing to say to us. He was a toxic piece of shit. We only worked hard together so that he didn’t have anything to say to us because we had nothing to say to him. The opposite of camaraderie is toxicity, and it starts at the top.
Normally, I agree with almost everything that Jocko says. In this particular aspect, I think this is oversimplified as businesses usually can get quite mundane with salaries coming and a certain safety to it and it makes people a bit complacent, getting away with things and you don't specifically develop a hunger or desire to get up and go to office and make that report because it doesn't inspire you. It is probably a bit oversimplified... Accountability matters.
The Wehrmacht excelled in this. The US Army almost deifies its officers & Non-Comms but like any bureaucracy, the Peter Principle exists -in a hierarchy people will rise to a level of incompetence. E.G. I was a 19Kilo tanker but got a sham job working in supply with Garrison Support my last few month before I ETS’d. An E-6 92A Supply Sergesnt asked me how to fill out supply forms. I was like what? This is your job. I’m a tanker laterally appointed here. Anyway, back to the US Army, like many corporations it is very vertically oriented. Orders come from the top and roll downhill and you follow them. Period. The Wehrmacht wanted leaders ans initiative at wvery rank and level so if the Platoon Leader and/or Platoon Sergeant dies, there are capable leaders who can take over. Initiative and leadership was fostered so their hierarchy was horizontal. This type of structure is more dynamic and resilient. Of course you don’t want too many chiefs or cooks in the kitchen as they say. Just like Jocko says its a fine balance between extreme accountability and decentralized command. Great stuff Jocko!
