Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win

the mission but to eclipse all competitors and set the standard for the
industry.
“No, they don’t want me to fail,” admitted the field manager.
“Alright,” I said. “Then if they are asking questions, criticizing your
plan, and requiring paperwork, then it means they are in need of some
critical information. When Jocko was my task unit commander, he had
this same talk with me in Ramadi. That’s what changed my mind-set
about this and allowed us to become far more effective.”
“What changed your mind?” the field manager asked.
“I realized that if my chain of command had questions about my
plans or needed additional information or more detailed paperwork, it
was not their fault,” I said. “It was my fault. I knew we were making the
right decisions and being careful to mitigate every risk we could control.
I knew our combat operations were critical to achieving strategic victory
in Ramadi. So if my boss wasn’t comfortable with what I was doing, it
was only because I had not clearly communicated it to him.”
The field manager looked at me, beginning to understand.
“So if they have questions, it’s my fault that they didn’t get the
information they need?” asked the field manager. This completely
contradicted his way of thinking and everything he had experienced in
his leadership upbringing. That “us versus them” mentality was common
to just about every level of every chain of command, whether military
unit or civilian corporation. But breaking that mentality was the key to
properly lead up the chain of command and radically improve the team’s
performance.
“Listen: the senior leadership at corporate headquarters wants you to
succeed,” I said. “That’s a given. It’s up to you to inform them and help
them understand some of the challenges you are dealing with here on the