How the Navy SEALs Train for Leadership Excellence (HBR) Flashcards
Why does the Navy SEALs’ approach to training and education stand out?
They go uncomfortably beyond, they are obssessive and obsessed.
They dedicate to relentless training and intensive preparation.
What does creating real-world excellence require?
Much more than commitment to educational achievement.
What do we overinvest and underinvest in? What issue does this create?
We overinvest in education, while dramatically underinvesting in training.
This business bias is dangerous and counterproductive, as “under pressure, you don’t rise to the occasion, you sink to the level of your training.”
Why did the Navy SEALs require a training transformation?
Technical excellence was not enough to address complex environments and demand.
The wartime challenge demanded better collaboration, greater situational awareness, and more strategic application of cutting-edge technology.
What did Brandon Webb do to undertake the training transformation?
Radical changes, including mentorships, technology exploration/explanation classes (for insight), and the adoption of the “mental management” techniques of Olympic world-champion marksmen.
What were the results of Webb’s efforts?
Instructors taught better, and students learned better.
While the course standards got harder, students started graduating more!
Who did the Navy SEALs take best practices from?
From all over!
What are the four transformational training themes that Webb explicitly emphasized?
- Produce EXCELLENCE, not “above average”
- Incentivize EXCELLENCE, not competence
- Incorporate new ideas from the ground
- Lead by example
How should training program standards be set?
‘Aim high, miss high’!
Rather than enhancing capabilities, what should training programs do?
TRANSFORM capabilities and skills.
What is Webb’s perspective on how companies perceive training?
That many companies do not seek to empower and bring out the best in their people.
What can organizations do to explicitly acknowledge and promote excellence?
Get the incentives right, using recognition and rewards systems.
AS well, organizations must be courageous and display integrity, to reposition and replace those who can’t or won’t step up.
How does one make training effective?
For training to work, it has to have employee ‘buy in’, hence through the use of incentives.
You have to create alignment through incentives. In the Navy SEALs’ case, this was by creating an instructor/mentorship program.
What should training be focused on?
Both on skill enhancement, and building bonds/relationships throughout the enterprise.
In other words, the culture should become more open to innovation and exchange.
The incentives should align and facilitate accountability.
What are the three characteristics of successful training?
- Dynamic
- Open
- Innovative
Hence, this projects ONGOING TRANSFORMATION, not just incremental improvement.
