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

company’s senior executive team. The CTO refused to take ownership of
mistakes or acknowledge that his team could perform better, though the
CEO had made it clear they must all improve or the company might fold.
I told the BUD/S boat crew leader story to the group, how Boat Crew
VI turned their performance around under new leadership, and I outlined
the concept that there are no bad teams, only bad leaders.
“During my own training and performance in BUD/S as a boat crew
leader,” I told them, “I can remember many times when my boat crew
struggled. It was easy to make excuses for our team’s performance and
why it wasn’t what it should have been. But I learned that good leaders
don’t make excuses. Instead, they figure out a way to get it done and
win.”
“What was the difference between the two leaders in the boat crew
leader example?” asked one of the managers, in charge of a critical team
within the company.
“When Boat Crew Six was failing under their original leader,” I
answered, “that leader didn’t seem to think it was possible for them to
perform any better, and he certainly didn’t think they could win. This
negative attitude infected his entire boat crew. As is common in teams
that are struggling, the original leader of Boat Crew Six almost certainly
justified his team’s poor performance with any number of excuses. In his
mind, the other boat crews were outperforming his own only because
those leaders had been lucky enough to be assigned better crews. His
attitude reflected victimization: life dealt him and his boat crew
members a disadvantage, which justified poor performance. As a result,
his attitude prevented his team from looking inwardly at themselves and
where they could improve. Finally, the leader and each member of Boat
Crew Six focused not on the mission but on themselves, their own