You are SERIOUSLY in charge!

Perhaps the strongest leadership lessons come from the U. S. military. I am currently reading a great book by two former Navy SEALS turned corporate trainers, Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, who declare that at the core of leadership is “extreme ownership” (thus the title of their book!). This got me thinking out loud about what that concept means.

According to Willink and Babin, the best leaders don’t just take responsibility for what is in their job descriptions, the best leaders take extreme ownership over everything their job entails. This includes the:

Strategy

People

Purpose

Values

EVEYTHING . . . that your enterprise is about.

This does not mean micromanagement, however, it means aligning all of the above to work in harmony with the mission before you. It means a deep attention to detail and proactively anticipating both challenges and opportunities. It means modeling that behavior for your team and colleagues so that they will take ownership as well. Stated another way by Dr. Henry Cloud, as a leader, you are ridiculously in charge!

The sad thing is that such a serious approach to leadership runs counter to the “cover your but, I’m not responsible for my actions” parts of our culture. Too often we see politicians, athletes, celebrities, and entertainers rationalizing their actions and receiving minimal to no consequences for behavior that would land most of us in jail or at the very least, out of a job!

So how do you know if you are the type of leader who takes your responsibilities and obligations seriously to the point where you have extreme ownership? It all depends on how you answer these two questions below:

When things go well, do you keep the credit or share it?

When things go bad, do you share the blame or own it?

So what is required of a leader who is SERIOUSLY IN CHARGE?

• Serious Self-Leadership – you have to understand you have to lead yourself and the responsibilities of your leadership seriously before asking others to do the same.
• Moral Courage – I will be the first to admit that taking such extreme ownership is not easy nor is it a lot of fun. I have had serious “ouch” moments in my career when I have had to admit to mistakes and make corrections. That required I stick to the “true north” of my moral compass.
• Commitment in Choice – being seriously in charge requires a deliberate choice to do so. It will not normally happen on its own. It requires us to evaluate our actions against the results.
• “In Spite Of” Responsibility – Even when it is not clear or there are lots of circumstance or reasons surrounding why something did or did not happen, you have to eventually take the responsibility for the final outcome in spite of the confusion, people issues, etc. that surround it.

 Here is the good news. When a leader handles his or her self in this seriously in charge manner, your credibility with your team, colleagues, and even supervisors sky rockets! Further, you will earn a lot of leadership credits with those around you. Finally, you will maintain your own self-respect which I believe in priceless.

If you want to learn more, I would recommend:

• Extreme Ownership: How Navy SEALS Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin
• Boundaries for Leaders: Results, Relationships, and being ridiculously in charge by Dr. Henry Cloud

One of my most favorite workshops to facilitate surrounds this issue of leading with integrity and I would greatly enjoy the opportunity to discuss more with you. As always if I can help you and the people you associate with Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would invite you email me or to visit my website below and see if any of the training or coaching experiences I offer can provide an impact! Also, as a bonus, if you go to my Out Loud Strategies website (www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your organization! Such an initiative would be critical in order to add value to your organization!

Yours in Leadership,

Bill Faulkner

Co-Founder – Out Loud Strategies

Independent Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team ^TM

Email = bill@outloudinc.com

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