The Dichotomy of Leadership Flashcards
Jocko Willink
What is the ultimate dichotomy of a leader?
The biggest and toughest dichotomy in leadership is to care deeply about your people, yet have to make decisions that may put them at risk for the wider mission. It’s about building strong relationships with your team without letting your feelings stop you from doing what’s necessary; it’s about driving results without pushing too hard.
One Extreme: Caring too deeply about your people, failing to complete the mission, or taking team members to task
Other Extreme: Only focused on the mission at the expense of team morale, loyalty, trust of team
Own Everything, But Empower Others. Describe.
Great leaders balance between extreme ownership and decentralized command, to find the equilibrium between taking too much ownership (micro-management) and too little ownership (hands-off approach).
Describe “Be Resolute, But Not Overbearing”
Leaders must know when to stand firm and when to allow some flexibility. It’s about finding the equilibrium between being too lenient vs too tyrannical.
Describe “Nurture People, But Know When To Let Them Go”
Leaders must do their best to improve each member’s performance, yet know when it’s time to let someone go for the wider good of the team.
In our full book summary, we elaborate on each of the principles above with more examples and tips.
Describe “Train Hard, But Train Smart”
Effective training must be hard enough to push teams beyond the existing limits, yet not so hard that it demoralizes/overwhelms people to the point they can’t learn.
Describe “Be Aggressive, But Not Reckless”
Be aggressive (or proactive) by default, but balance it with a proper evaluation of the risks and benefits.
Describe “Be Disciplined, But Not Rigid”
Discipline, SOPs and repeatable processes/actions can help a team to maneuver quickly, but they must also be balanced with the flexibility to adapt to realities. Leaders must apply common sense and creative/critical thinking instead of rigidly following SOPs.
Describe “Hold People Accountable, But Don’t Hold Their Hand”
Many leaders rely on accountability (i.e. personally supervising everything) to ensure things get done. This must be balanced with education and empowerment, so people understand why they are doing something and are empowered to do the right things without constant oversight.
Describe “Be A Leader And A Follower”
Good leaders can take charge and make hard decisions. However, they can also listen to and follow others. They can recognize, respect and navigate disagreements instead of bulldozing their way through.
Describe “Plan, But Don’t Overplan”
For a mission to succeed, you need careful planning, i.e. find solutions to prevent/mitigate controllable risks and manage contingencies. Yet, if you try to develop solutions for every possible problem, you’d be overwhelmed.
Describe “Be Humble, But Not Passive”
Humility is about (i) realizing that you don’t know everything, and (ii) seeing beyond your own needs to consider the wider strategic perspectives. However, taken to the extreme, it can lead to passivity, i.e. failing to take a stand or push back on things that truly matter for the team or mission.
Describe “Be Focused, But Not Dettached”
Leaders must pay attention to details without getting so lost in the details that they lose sight of the big picture.
