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

“So how do they know who is in charge?” I asked. “Without a clear
chain of command—people knowing who is in charge of what—you
cannot have empowered leadership. And that is critical to the success of
any team, including the SEAL Teams or your company here.”
“Let me pull up what we have,” said the president.
He opened a document on his computer and swung an organizational
chart onto the large plasma screen on the wall of the conference room.
I stood up and took a look. The team for which he was responsible
was a region of substantial size and breadth. There were branches spread
across a huge geographic area of the United States. But there was
something that stood out to me. The org chart lacked uniformity and
seemed disorganized.
“What’s this here?” I asked, as I pointed to a location that listed
twenty-two people who worked there.
“That’s a branch,” the president answered.
“And who leads all those people?” I asked.
“The branch manager,” he responded.
“He leads all twenty-one of those people? They all report to him?” I
inquired.
“Yes, he is in charge of them all,” said the president.
I looked at another area on the org chart. I tapped another office
location, this one with three people in it. “And what is this here?” I
asked.
“That is also a branch,” the president replied.
“Who leads these people?” I asked again.
“The branch manager,” he said.
“He leads two people?” I asked.
“That’s right,” said the president.