I 100% agree that it's better to have guys on your team that don't require accountability or supervision. But I also realize that for someone like Jocko working with an elite unit, "accountability" seems like a trivial concept. The problem is this - most people in the private sector don't have a fraction of the self-discipline as someone in the SEAL teams, and as a result it IS sometimes necessary to apply pressure to the guys underneath you in order to get the best out of them.
Accountability and supervision are 2 different things. To be supervised is having someone watching over you, accountability is taking responsibility when you screw something up. Accountability is used to correct an issue by setting an example and saying if you do this, this will be the outcome, or It teaches us what not to do and creates new guidelines or rules if necessary. Because if someone isn't held accountable, then they will continue to make the same mistakes.
What it seems is that those in leadership positions if they don't show what accountability looks like... They set the example on what it means to be accountable.
IMO a Great book on Accountability and being a Leader is- *It's Your Ship: Management Techniques From The Best Damn Ship In The Navy* by D. Michael Abrashoff In the 90s Captain Abrashoff took command of the worst performing battleship in the Navy. He transitioned from the "Accountability- command and control" method into "This is your battleship. You're accountable to yourself and team". That shift made it the highest performing battleship in the Navy.
I REALLY needed to hear that today. I had managed a small team of engineers once upon a time, but the guys were so good, I didn't have to do much except set project milestones... But now I'm having to deal with leadership issues so late in my life, and I realized have NO leadership skills. God bless you.
Good Lord, the thought of Mr. Willink waking me up in the morning and holding me accountable for all things in my Life just gave me chills and afraid to create any more excuses for not performing 100% despite crippling disease. I'm still not dead, so I have to keep owning EVERYTHING, despite my Ego. Thank you, Sir.
That's a very good observation and actually the way it works is is when it becomes his trash he becomes the white part of the yang so as not to be accountable for his own trash not realizing persecuting self he will flip back and forth every time taking an innocent vessel and destroyed
Jocko touched on something that I too have learned. People almost always will rise or sink to the expectations placed on them. If you, as a leader, effectively communicate that the expectation is excellence, live in an exemplary way, demonstrating that you expect excellence of yourself and your team, excellence will be the minimum you and your team will deliver.
Accountability isn't so much about blame or punishment, but about recognizing an error was made and not repeating it. If a person is refusing to learn from mistakes is when punishment enters the picture. Extreme ownership is about learning from every mistake you can find and make, usually you make far fewer mistakes in the long run.
I realized watching this that my single parent father raised me basically exactly like this. Was never really held accountable, I always did what I had to because I wanted to do it for him.
Leadership is an emotional tightrope. You have to balance the emotions of your employees with the needs of the task at hand. In one instance, I had a helper who decided to do a set of chores in a certain order. I realized that would be inefficient, and instructed him to take the tasks in a different order. In another instance, I gave a list of tasks to a different helper, in the order I wanted them done, then went away to do things only I could accomplish. When I returned, I was disappointed to find he had ignored my top priorities and skipped down the list to tasks he preferred. You can’t control other people. You can only control yourself, and then, only with effort.:)
Last_Stach_Standing ! How much have you put into making clear - the “why” of what needs to be done. - the magnitude and nature of the impact. - the ways to recognize increments of success. ? The latter is particularly important for some people to get themselves into self-directed discipline within what you want. If you believe Baron Von Steuben, this is particularly true of Americans.
best i could say is that you explain reason behind needs: "we need A and B done first because as soon as those are complete, those get handed off to next person over there, and they are waiting cos they can't begin without..." or whatever the case may be. apart from specifics that have specific reasons, yeah, you gotta let people approach things on their level
Nathan Armour yea, saying “the problem is that my employee is a millennial” is a sign of not taking ownership. If you decide that an entire generation cannot be led, the problem is you.
the only way to really find out why people do certain things is having a relationship with them. that is really hard especially for someone like me who prefer to be alone and only talk when there's a need to. i realize its a weakness and the reason why sometimes, people do not do as instructed and are not entirely honest on why they did what they did, preventing me from solving the problem. leadership ... its really hard. its also a thankless job. the thanks and the reward is the team accomplishing the goal. there is truth that the better you subvert your ego, the better leader you become.
In business culture, and perhaps in general culture, we have confused holding people accountable with holding people responsible. Holding someone accountable means that they are required to give account to previous actions or outcomes. Holding someone responsible means they are required to take responsibility to previous actions or outcomes. Two different things. Jocko, you're talking about holding people responsible. Accountability is a tool for root-cause analysis, system/process improvement, and professional growth, responsibility is a tool for the remediation of failed outcomes. Accountability is what you aim for when trying to improve things - it answers the question "Does everyone know how to do their job?" Responsibility is what you aim for when people aren't doing their jobs - it answers the question "Who f***ed up?"
Wow these guys are genius. I wish I knew these things growing up. It feels like fatherly wisdom to me. I’m definitely passing on this knowledge to my son. I’m so thankful for these guys.
I was just saying in another post that Jocko's advice should be shown in schools. There probably wouldn't be nearly as much soy out there. But schools are too busy indoctrinating other BS like the studdy transgenders, "inequality" (whatever that really means anymore), fake racism, and other crap.
@@Straight_White_Fatherly_Figure FR!! We won’t teach them ownership, handling overly aggressive people , irresponsible people but we’ll show them what type of gender to be, what sexual orientation options they have😐😐
I have a leadership role in my career and the insight to people management and the intricacies of operating within a team that you have shared have been extremely beneficial. Subordinating my ego is the most powerful and effective technique that I have learned from you. From Australia with Thanks
Man, this spoke directly to me. I’m young but I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve in various leadership positions. I remember I used to always be at crossroads when it came to disciplining my peers or holding them accountable on something they knew better about. It always irked me to be honest, because I felt like I was short changing myself. This really helped me understand a better perspective on how I can approach things like this in the future.
My company is 180 strong, split between (office, mechanics, dump drivers, concrete, shotcrete/drilling, dirt work) each individual group doesnt hold each members to the highest of expectations, they say they are but nobody except a few guys are stepping up to the plate and making each group they work with make shit happen. The other groups are always behind or not commanded properly to hold accountability to their work. Were having a company meeting this friday and I can feel the tensions within the ranks. They are afraid for the first time that they are going to get their asses chewed. It is a comfort to me to know that the lowest guy on the totem pole just got leverage with our voices about how this program is running and how we need to improve with our communications. Good listen.
Jocko understands leadership dynamics. It is a balance between initiative, delegation and guidance. Tough enough off the battlefield, almost impossible on the battlefield.
Superb. Very aligned with my own limited experience in leadership and having worked for a boss who was much the same way as your 2nd platoon leader. Unbelievable leader (by example and character).
Well said Jocko. This kind of advice needs to be heard by ALL MANAGERS. Regardless of what job it is. What Jocko said would make me want to get up, be work ready and be motivated to do better even if the job was complete shit(Example:low pay or the job is way too difficult with little pay). I have had jobs that pays minimum wage but the way the managers handles things, makes me want to do "just enough" to get by. I also had jobs with great pay but again, these managers I have came across handles things a certain way, which leads to the same result I stated before. So yeah, what Jocko said has very strong points. But overall and unfortunately, people will never take the time to think like what was said in the video.
Thank you so much for this knowledge, it's really given me perspective into my own life. Especially during a time where I've been having serious issues with the leaders in my work place.
In my experience, I find enjoyment in exceeding the expectation of my leaders. However, I’ve been in those places where everything was imposed accountability. What my experience is that everything is negative, one minor failure means your a worthless employee. It seems to have always been the only thing that then mattered. As a leader we should be empowering, this means giving people freedom to succeed or fail. When they fail we must point it out so they can correct the error. This builds people instead of tearing them down.
It hit me around the 5:17 mark when Jocko said "My guys did it, they wanted to be the best" that yeah what he is saying here is good, but a big part of why he can do that is because of the people he is working with. SEALs and DEVs are high quality people, if they were not, they wouldnt be SEALs and DEVs...If you have a group of people who are not inspired, either because they dont enjoy the job or are not motivated, and you are unable to get them motivated, you have to police them more so than what he is talking about here. You have to do the weapon inspections because if you dont, it wont get done.
That’s right but he is hoping and expecting to inspire people to step up... if they are watching these videos. “Infantry” ... trying infants... you have to watch over, look after, dress, wash, feed, keep track of their sleep, equipment, make sure they have handle on things... it’s like the difference between puppies pissing on living room rug... and service dogs leading the blind out of a burning building. It’s NCO’s and Officers that make that transformation possible. It’s like next level babysitting and it never ends. LOL... the leadership teams necessary to create the training and transformative process rarely get recognized for their accomplishments because its expected to be accomplished. Which creates the tiers of accountability and different meanings and perceptions. People know the name of a “race car driver”... race car driver knows the names of the people working in their pit crew... or people don’t know their name but they get paid to drive and not win. There are many instances where a similar dynamic paradigm plays out. Team building and development creates membership.
geez i got PTSD just from hearing you talk about radios. getting a platoon to sit still long enough to teach them to learn their radios was like hearding cats
I know it sounds super basic to people that have discipline and tend to handle their shit on their own without being told. My parents divorced when I was 7 and it was kind of like well, make something of yourself or be a piece of shit I'm too busy working to follow you around and make sure you do your homework and stay out of trouble. Other people have parents that constantly hover over them and force them to handle their shit by babying them and spoiling them where the only reward for doing what you're supposed to is fleeting material gain. Other times they have no idea why they need to do something other than their dad's belt hurts like hell. These folks grow up, join the workforce, and get all flustered because they're conditioned to having someone tell them to do everything step by step every single time. And when they finally just do what they're told and get an "A+" for being a good boy,they expect toys and candy. You handle your shit so that your life and the lives of your friends and family benefits not just cause mom or teacher or dad or coach or whatever said so. Not ground breaking info by any means, but when you're dealing with people that don't know their ass from a hole in the ground, it's all ground breaking.
@@icychillgrill3 Very well said. I think you made very good strong points because it relates to how I was raised and me lookin at todays generation, makes your point valid. In my opinion.
Jocko’s experience is with highly motivated alpha personalities who have a natural ownership mindset or else they wouldn’t be a SEAL. Those people are in short supply in the private sector. I think the balance between ownership and accountability lies in an agreement between team leader and subordinate. When a team leader transfers ownership of a project or task, they need to convey what a successful outcome looks like. If the subordinate agrees and takes ownership, it’s important to have accountability. If the subordinate falls short when they have ownership, there must be consequences. If they meet or exceed expectations, they need rewards. It’s all about communication and mutual agreement between both sides.
Based on your experience with leadership, is there an effective way to instil peer accountability? Where team members are engaging and comfortable enough to hold each other accountable? Or is it a top-down system from leadership onwards? Thank you so much!
This advice is great if you get to pick your team. Rarely anyone in the real world aka public domain gets to pick there team. I love you bro and I watch all your videos. This advice doesn't work in corporations because there's always somebody ahead of you. Like HR
It's true we can't pick our Teams. It then becomes up to us what we ultimately mold them into what we want. Just as Jocko said -- if you teach and train your people to learn the "Why" of what they are doing, they will usually follow through. For those of who don't care, no matter how many times you've conceptualized things to them, they will be held accountable. Sometimes, there are just people who only want the job "For the money" -- they don't care about why they are doing their job. So, you have to explain them into a way that they will want to keep their very job. I deal with a lot of people in their early 20's, so a lot of them don't really care about their job, thinking its temporary, or they just need the money. Eventually, they either quickly move onto something else, get fired, or quit. People without motivation or care just don't last. If they do, that's where the Management needs to take ownership of how they are leading, or be held accountable for not cutting out people who just won't get it. The people who don't want to work or who aren't motivated are very few and far between. Most of us just need a good reason to care, and that falls on us.
Jocko: "Someone in my platoon made a mistake. That's my fault!" EXTREME OWNERSHIP Alexander Solzhenitsyn: "I'm in a Gulag. The Soviets tyrannize the people of Eurasia. The World is at war. That's my fault!" INSANE OWNERSHIP Jesus: **gets himself nailed to a cross for the sins of mankind** Jocko & Sasha: "Now that's going too far!"
1:00 As I see it, extreme ownership and decentralized command are NOT contradictory. If you decentralize command, it's to people you've developed relationships with and trust them to carry out the "commander's intent" (different nation/army, different terms, same ideas)...which seems to be what the rest of this clip was about. If someone under your command does something that requires being held to account, that's STILL on you. It doesn't need to go upstairs and can be handled in-house, but it's still on you to handle it and you can likely find a way you could have headed it off. If someone is on board only because they're going to be taken to task for it, you've failed them. I always did weapon inspections. It reminds them that there is always a mark to meet, there's always someone watching and it gives you that time in the barracks where you can get a good idea what else is going on that might need to be "headed off". That said, once you're working with with a group of pros (vs candidates/recruits), it's not really about the "inspection" anymore, it's about the routine and that face-time. Accountability is indeed a crude tool, mainly because it's reactive, not proactive.
@@michaelmanteo6525 well... If you like to sync state between server and client all the time, be my guest. Otherwise trust the client and let it take on responsibility :D while the client is out there in the field, executing business logic the server can concentrate on other things like persistence, logging, user management and providing the client with all necessary resources to get the job done 😊
MultiGladiator and the teams maintaining both should take extreme ownership of their systems 1) the infra team takes ownership of reliable service 2) the app team takes ownership of building a service resilient to delays in network or persistence.
@@Yetipfote The client should be responsible for whatever business logic is directly responsible for turning the domain data into a great UX. The server should be responsible for whatever business logic is responsible for keeping the domain data consistent, persistent, and queryable.
This talk should be why companies pay their workers more, or at least based on how hard they work. I keep hearing about workplaces using systems to micromanage every aspect of people’s time, instead of trying to give them the drive to work harder.
Teaching middle school I must hold them accountable, because that 'want to' is not totally developed in all of them. There are a few 'baby Kobe's', but at 13-14 I have to be exacting and demanding. The 'why's' have to be simple and short term, e.g., "get outta here on time" or "earn that free-dress for the week." It's no coincidence that they appreciate it more when they leave me, that these habits become part of what they do later in life.
I hold my ex accountable for her narcissism and the betrayal she committed. If you were on a mission, and one of your guys turned and shot you or stabbed you in the back, you'd hold them accountable. But at the same time, I own my shit, because I was gullible enough to believe my ex. She taught me a lot about trusting wrong. This is my balance. She ain't off the hook, but neither am I. That being said, I love this video. Jocko makes a great point. When you have people who care, they don't need to be held accountable. And good leaders look for the right people, same with relationships. Look for the right person to share your foxhole.
Question on this regard, what happens when you have no or very ineffective training as a new employee and you are expected to perform at the highest level ( for example in sales).
Sounds like he's saying the best way to lead is to have good followers. The people you lead need to have a desire to be lead and a desire to do well for themselves and each other. Without that there can be no balance between micromanaging and over delegating. He also never answers the question of how to find that balance, only ever saying that you need to.
One thing my Leaders have taught me is that it's not fair to start holding people accountable until you've done every effort you can to make their reasons, actions, and motivations a focus. It's not fair to suddenly write someone up, when, for weeks, one hasn't been setting the standard of "This is how things should be done". There has to be consistent and equal follow-up for the entire Team first before one can move to accountability.
Thanks Echo! Any chance we can get the clip of Jocko saying sorry to Tim Kennedy for the army cancelling bayonet training? Ps loving the gritty footage from the old days. Very legit. Thanks again brah!
the difference between jocko and other gurus: he has real examples to justify what he's talking about. Most people are making stuff up that sounds good.
It's easy to take this approach when you are dealing with a group of SEALs where everyone takes their job very seriously and has a high level of competence.
Thank you Jocko! I’m so glad you said that accountability is only a tool, not an end unto itself. I wish my boss would learn this, but he is amazingly bad as a leader. He had a chip on his shoulders before change of command, and has refused to learn while in the job, creating a culture of lying, hiding, and faking. Everyone knows to never tell the truth if it affects his image in any bad way. It is possible that Article 138s are coming.
Are you a distractible person watching this? Here’s how to apply the lesson: 1) *Insist* on knowing the “why”. Ask for the strategic vision. Exercise leadership of yourself. 2) Learn the signs of incremental success. Distractability is your brain thinking that some other path will earn your goals. Your brain wants to eat berries and save you from wasting time. Spotting partial wins tells your brain “see? This is the right path.” Video games do this to leas your brain to play the game. Take ownership of your distractible-tendency and don’t loathe yourself: lead your brain. Find the questions to ask to enable you to imagine, and anticipate steps of success at the task. Pursue those answers even in the face of rudeness. (Programmers: look up TDD)
Everything he said is absolutely correct. Our job as leaders is to provide that purpose, direction, and motivation to move to the next objective, overtake that next obstacle. Accountability just gets people in the weeds and leads to blame instead of ownership.
Craig W disagree. Don’t have a job you want to be successful for? Find a new one. Can’t find a new one? Fine, challenge accepted, get disciplined for the job you don’t want to work hard for, not for them but for yourself. Don’t make excuses, you are an aspect of the problem if you do.
Third Position you sound vexed and unhappy, you should work in that. I am speaking from the perspective of a manager as well, and I’m not sure if you’re aware but often times even the higher end management are still considered employees, you work for someone often times no matter how high up the ladder you are.
How do you get the buy-in from family, friends, roommates etc? How do you get the people around you to crave and hunger for victory and performance? I've heard some people say that you need to surround yourself with people who want to succeed as much as you or who are already successful, but what about those you are stuck with? What if they just coast? They think that putting the 40hrs/week earns you the right to sit in front of the tube or stay in bed and they slack around the house.
When they get their balls stomped on by life they tend to change... I’ve been using the word team allot ect, we, us... let’s... get a shared vision ect... Goal, effort, attainment With a feeling of autonomy... Love makes a difference. Do it with and for love and express it. Your in need of studying leadership. Get a good handful of books n start mastering it. Lastly we vibe at different levels... different energy points ect. Factor it in-
No procedure manual can be written tight enough to make up for an unconscientious person with low personal ownership. Bottom line - you can only hold people as accountable as they hold themselves.
I laughed at is example. imagine a whole base waiting for you to work your radio. I've never been in the military but i'd much prefer to have to do x number of push ups, get yelled at or having to clean the latrines. That is pressure applied well. there's also the natural consequences mentioned in parenting.
6:47 we worked exceptionally hard so that our direct squad leader had nothing to say to us. He was a toxic piece of shit. We only worked hard together so that he didn’t have anything to say to us because we had nothing to say to him. The opposite of camaraderie is toxicity, and it starts at the top.
Normally, I agree with almost everything that Jocko says. In this particular aspect, I think this is oversimplified as businesses usually can get quite mundane with salaries coming and a certain safety to it and it makes people a bit complacent, getting away with things and you don't specifically develop a hunger or desire to get up and go to office and make that report because it doesn't inspire you. It is probably a bit oversimplified... Accountability matters.
@@TylerSmith-go8sy Your comment clearly insinuates that accountability can only be used toward other people. No need to patronize me, admit your fault, it's not the end of the world. Just trying to help you have a better understanding. grts
"I didn't INspect things, I EXpected things." That's GOLD right there.
Accountability is a tool. Leadership is the key. Amazing!!
I 100% agree that it's better to have guys on your team that don't require accountability or supervision. But I also realize that for someone like Jocko working with an elite unit, "accountability" seems like a trivial concept. The problem is this - most people in the private sector don't have a fraction of the self-discipline as someone in the SEAL teams, and as a result it IS sometimes necessary to apply pressure to the guys underneath you in order to get the best out of them.
If you don’t need accountability…your goals aren’t difficult enough
8:45 he talks about guys not following his orders even though he gave them.
Accountability and supervision are 2 different things. To be supervised is having someone watching over you, accountability is taking responsibility when you screw something up. Accountability is used to correct an issue by setting an example and saying if you do this, this will be the outcome, or It teaches us what not to do and creates new guidelines or rules if necessary. Because if someone isn't held accountable, then they will continue to make the same mistakes.
What it seems is that those in leadership positions if they don't show what accountability looks like... They set the example on what it means to be accountable.
IMO a Great book on Accountability and being a Leader is-
*It's Your Ship: Management Techniques From The Best Damn Ship In The Navy* by D. Michael Abrashoff
In the 90s Captain Abrashoff took command of the worst performing battleship in the Navy. He transitioned from the "Accountability- command and control" method into "This is your battleship. You're accountable to yourself and team". That shift made it the highest performing battleship in the Navy.
Thanks for the recommendation!
I REALLY needed to hear that today. I had managed a small team of engineers once upon a time, but the guys were so good, I didn't have to do much except set project milestones...
But now I'm having to deal with leadership issues so late in my life, and I realized have NO leadership skills.
God bless you.
Good Lord, the thought of Mr. Willink waking me up in the morning and holding me accountable for all things in my Life just gave me chills and afraid to create any more excuses for not performing 100% despite crippling disease. I'm still not dead, so I have to keep owning EVERYTHING, despite my Ego. Thank you, Sir.
Echo an jockos relationship reminds me of yein/yang, echo gives just enough comical relief to the intensity from jocko
Spot on
Oh I know. Echo always has a good counter that’s deepens process of explanation from Jocko. In return we all get a broader & deeper understanding.
His name is Echo
@@royaljackson1244 who's said it wasnt
That's a very good observation and actually the way it works is is when it becomes his trash he becomes the white part of the yang so as not to be accountable for his own trash not realizing persecuting self he will flip back and forth every time taking an innocent vessel and destroyed
Jocko touched on something that I too have learned. People almost always will rise or sink to the expectations placed on them. If you, as a leader, effectively communicate that the expectation is excellence, live in an exemplary way, demonstrating that you expect excellence of yourself and your team, excellence will be the minimum you and your team will deliver.
Need to hold UA-cam accountable for these ads that pop in while Jocko is mid sentence.
No you need to have ownership for being broke/cheap and not paying for UA-cam Premium
Accountability isn't so much about blame or punishment, but about recognizing an error was made and not repeating it. If a person is refusing to learn from mistakes is when punishment enters the picture. Extreme ownership is about learning from every mistake you can find and make, usually you make far fewer mistakes in the long run.
I realized watching this that my single parent father raised me basically exactly like this. Was never really held accountable, I always did what I had to because I wanted to do it for him.
Lucky bastard. My single mother was a selfish whore and treated me like a slave with extreme ownership
Leadership is an emotional tightrope. You have to balance the emotions of your employees with the needs of the task at hand.
In one instance, I had a helper who decided to do a set of chores in a certain order. I realized that would be inefficient, and instructed him to take the tasks in a different order.
In another instance, I gave a list of tasks to a different helper, in the order I wanted them done, then went away to do things only I could accomplish. When I returned, I was disappointed to find he had ignored my top priorities and skipped down the list to tasks he preferred.
You can’t control other people. You can only control yourself, and then, only with effort.:)
That was really very good! Especially the last line, try to use leadership, but use accountability if you have to
Last_Stach_Standing ! How much have you put into making clear
- the “why” of what needs to be done.
- the magnitude and nature of the impact.
- the ways to recognize increments of success.
?
The latter is particularly important for some people to get themselves into self-directed discipline within what you want. If you believe Baron Von Steuben, this is particularly true of Americans.
best i could say is that you explain reason behind needs: "we need A and B done first because as soon as those are complete, those get handed off to next person over there, and they are waiting cos they can't begin without..." or whatever the case may be.
apart from specifics that have specific reasons, yeah, you gotta let people approach things on their level
Nathan Armour yea, saying “the problem is that my employee is a millennial” is a sign of not taking ownership. If you decide that an entire generation cannot be led, the problem is you.
the only way to really find out why people do certain things is having a relationship with them. that is really hard especially for someone like me who prefer to be alone and only talk when there's a need to. i realize its a weakness and the reason why sometimes, people do not do as instructed and are not entirely honest on why they did what they did, preventing me from solving the problem.
leadership ... its really hard. its also a thankless job. the thanks and the reward is the team accomplishing the goal. there is truth that the better you subvert your ego, the better leader you become.
In business culture, and perhaps in general culture, we have confused holding people accountable with holding people responsible. Holding someone accountable means that they are required to give account to previous actions or outcomes. Holding someone responsible means they are required to take responsibility to previous actions or outcomes. Two different things. Jocko, you're talking about holding people responsible. Accountability is a tool for root-cause analysis, system/process improvement, and professional growth, responsibility is a tool for the remediation of failed outcomes. Accountability is what you aim for when trying to improve things - it answers the question "Does everyone know how to do their job?" Responsibility is what you aim for when people aren't doing their jobs - it answers the question "Who f***ed up?"
I think what you're saying is good contrast to draw...but I don't think thats how people use those words.
But I like it. Accountability as Accounting.
@@armorsmith43 This is a good point, I like the distinction but it is hard to draw that line as many people use the terms interchangeably.
wron question
Why did somebody fucked up
I love when Jocko is feeling it, and starts sounding a little like the macho man Randy Savage.
Yeah, it's GOOD.
So true. And accurate.
The BEST (pregnant pause and smirk) Content......
Wow these guys are genius. I wish I knew these things growing up. It feels like fatherly wisdom to me. I’m definitely passing on this knowledge to my son. I’m so thankful for these guys.
We are all still growing up, no matter how old!
I was just saying in another post that Jocko's advice should be shown in schools. There probably wouldn't be nearly as much soy out there. But schools are too busy indoctrinating other BS like the studdy transgenders, "inequality" (whatever that really means anymore), fake racism, and other crap.
@@Straight_White_Fatherly_Figure FR!! We won’t teach them ownership, handling overly aggressive people , irresponsible people but we’ll show them what type of gender to be, what sexual orientation options they have😐😐
Thank you Jocko. Every word is solid gold underwritten by integrity and experience.
God bless you Sir for your honesty and for the insight.
I have a leadership role in my career and the insight to people management and the intricacies of operating within a team that you have shared have been extremely beneficial. Subordinating my ego is the most powerful and effective technique that I have learned from you.
From Australia with Thanks
Man, this spoke directly to me. I’m young but I’ve been fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve in various leadership positions. I remember I used to always be at crossroads when it came to disciplining my peers or holding them accountable on something they knew better about. It always irked me to be honest, because I felt like I was short changing myself. This really helped me understand a better perspective on how I can approach things like this in the future.
The way you think, speak and direct your point is the leadership essence.
My company is 180 strong, split between (office, mechanics, dump drivers, concrete, shotcrete/drilling, dirt work) each individual group doesnt hold each members to the highest of expectations, they say they are but nobody except a few guys are stepping up to the plate and making each group they work with make shit happen. The other groups are always behind or not commanded properly to hold accountability to their work. Were having a company meeting this friday and I can feel the tensions within the ranks. They are afraid for the first time that they are going to get their asses chewed. It is a comfort to me to know that the lowest guy on the totem pole just got leverage with our voices about how this program is running and how we need to improve with our communications. Good listen.
Forced accountability versus personal accountability. Leaders whom are trusted, and/or respected, can inspire personal accountability.
Jocko understands leadership dynamics. It is a balance between initiative, delegation and guidance. Tough enough off the battlefield, almost impossible on the battlefield.
Superb. Very aligned with my own limited experience in leadership and having worked for a boss who was much the same way as your 2nd platoon leader. Unbelievable leader (by example and character).
Well said Jocko. This kind of advice needs to be heard by ALL MANAGERS. Regardless of what job it is. What Jocko said would make me want to get up, be work ready and be motivated to do better even if the job was complete shit(Example:low pay or the job is way too difficult with little pay). I have had jobs that pays minimum wage but the way the managers handles things, makes me want to do "just enough" to get by. I also had jobs with great pay but again, these managers I have came across handles things a certain way, which leads to the same result I stated before. So yeah, what Jocko said has very strong points. But overall and unfortunately, people will never take the time to think like what was said in the video.
Thank you so much for this knowledge, it's really given me perspective into my own life. Especially during a time where I've been having serious issues with the leaders in my work place.
In my experience, I find enjoyment in exceeding the expectation of my leaders. However, I’ve been in those places where everything was imposed accountability. What my experience is that everything is negative, one minor failure means your a worthless employee. It seems to have always been the only thing that then mattered. As a leader we should be empowering, this means giving people freedom to succeed or fail. When they fail we must point it out so they can correct the error. This builds people instead of tearing them down.
Facts
Outstanding. Really got a lot from this video for my life and attitude.
Thank you sir…great channel! Real men here people.
This hit the spot. Playing it back again!
It hit me around the 5:17 mark when Jocko said "My guys did it, they wanted to be the best" that yeah what he is saying here is good, but a big part of why he can do that is because of the people he is working with. SEALs and DEVs are high quality people, if they were not, they wouldnt be SEALs and DEVs...If you have a group of people who are not inspired, either because they dont enjoy the job or are not motivated, and you are unable to get them motivated, you have to police them more so than what he is talking about here. You have to do the weapon inspections because if you dont, it wont get done.
That’s right but he is hoping and expecting to inspire people to step up... if they are watching these videos. “Infantry” ... trying infants... you have to watch over, look after, dress, wash, feed, keep track of their sleep, equipment, make sure they have handle on things... it’s like the difference between puppies pissing on living room rug... and service dogs leading the blind out of a burning building. It’s NCO’s and Officers that make that transformation possible. It’s like next level babysitting and it never ends. LOL... the leadership teams necessary to create the training and transformative process rarely get recognized for their accomplishments because its expected to be accomplished. Which creates the tiers of accountability and different meanings and perceptions. People know the name of a “race car driver”... race car driver knows the names of the people working in their pit crew... or people don’t know their name but they get paid to drive and not win. There are many instances where a similar dynamic paradigm plays out. Team building and development creates membership.
Jacko's organized leadership skills are awesome
geez i got PTSD just from hearing you talk about radios. getting a platoon to sit still long enough to teach them to learn their radios was like hearding cats
Wow.....WOW....The most successful form of accountability is self discipline. LIFE CHANGING!
I know it sounds super basic to people that have discipline and tend to handle their shit on their own without being told.
My parents divorced when I was 7 and it was kind of like well, make something of yourself or be a piece of shit I'm too busy working to follow you around and make sure you do your homework and stay out of trouble.
Other people have parents that constantly hover over them and force them to handle their shit by babying them and spoiling them where the only reward for doing what you're supposed to is fleeting material gain. Other times they have no idea why they need to do something other than their dad's belt hurts like hell. These folks grow up, join the workforce, and get all flustered because they're conditioned to having someone tell them to do everything step by step every single time. And when they finally just do what they're told and get an "A+" for being a good boy,they expect toys and candy.
You handle your shit so that your life and the lives of your friends and family benefits not just cause mom or teacher or dad or coach or whatever said so.
Not ground breaking info by any means, but when you're dealing with people that don't know their ass from a hole in the ground, it's all ground breaking.
@@icychillgrill3 I like this. On that note, I think I am going to stop rewarding my son when he cleans up his room or throws his food scraps away.
@@icychillgrill3
Very well said. I think you made very good strong points because it relates to how I was raised and me lookin at todays generation, makes your point valid. In my opinion.
Yes sir, finding the balance is the hard part. Thanks!
Jocko’s experience is with highly motivated alpha personalities who have a natural ownership mindset or else they wouldn’t be a SEAL. Those people are in short supply in the private sector. I think the balance between ownership and accountability lies in an agreement between team leader and subordinate. When a team leader transfers ownership of a project or task, they need to convey what a successful outcome looks like. If the subordinate agrees and takes ownership, it’s important to have accountability. If the subordinate falls short when they have ownership, there must be consequences. If they meet or exceed expectations, they need rewards. It’s all about communication and mutual agreement between both sides.
The sound in an echo ohhee place ..
Like a 22 cal in opening.. beautiful frequencies
Based on your experience with leadership, is there an effective way to instil peer accountability? Where team members are engaging and comfortable enough to hold each other accountable? Or is it a top-down system from leadership onwards? Thank you so much!
Brilliant, thank you Jocko and Echo
This advice is great if you get to pick your team. Rarely anyone in the real world aka public domain gets to pick there team. I love you bro and I watch all your videos. This advice doesn't work in corporations because there's always somebody ahead of you. Like HR
It's true we can't pick our Teams. It then becomes up to us what we ultimately mold them into what we want. Just as Jocko said -- if you teach and train your people to learn the "Why" of what they are doing, they will usually follow through. For those of who don't care, no matter how many times you've conceptualized things to them, they will be held accountable. Sometimes, there are just people who only want the job "For the money" -- they don't care about why they are doing their job. So, you have to explain them into a way that they will want to keep their very job.
I deal with a lot of people in their early 20's, so a lot of them don't really care about their job, thinking its temporary, or they just need the money. Eventually, they either quickly move onto something else, get fired, or quit. People without motivation or care just don't last. If they do, that's where the Management needs to take ownership of how they are leading, or be held accountable for not cutting out people who just won't get it.
The people who don't want to work or who aren't motivated are very few and far between. Most of us just need a good reason to care, and that falls on us.
Thanks Jocko and good morning from Az.
Jocko Wilink is one man who i have never disagreed with his statements. NEVER
Accountability is everything done in a moral context within a Divine result
i really like the new book, Jocko. Keep up with the good work!
Jocko: "Someone in my platoon made a mistake. That's my fault!"
EXTREME OWNERSHIP
Alexander Solzhenitsyn: "I'm in a Gulag. The Soviets tyrannize the people of Eurasia. The World is at war. That's my fault!"
INSANE OWNERSHIP
Jesus: **gets himself nailed to a cross for the sins of mankind**
Jocko & Sasha: "Now that's going too far!"
This is a slept on comment
@@pizzapizza2225 For real
I can tell this guy blames others
@@x300soldier
Well, if I do it's all your fault! 😂
Nevermind, it was my fault you said that...
Thank you Jocko and Luke Shamp!
10:46 Use leadership instead - how does it impact the strategic mission? How it impacts the team? How does it impact them?
Kobe, Jordan, Bird = Guys who held themselves accountable to be the best they could be.
Thanks youtube,one of those videos that are well aimed recommendations.
Love the earlier podcasts!
I relate to this.
I was only inside for five years, nine months and two days.
Shinto.
Inspiring your team to the point they hold themselves accountable.👍
1:00
As I see it, extreme ownership and decentralized command are NOT contradictory.
If you decentralize command, it's to people you've developed relationships with and trust them to carry out the "commander's intent" (different nation/army, different terms, same ideas)...which seems to be what the rest of this clip was about.
If someone under your command does something that requires being held to account, that's STILL on you. It doesn't need to go upstairs and can be handled in-house, but it's still on you to handle it and you can likely find a way you could have headed it off.
If someone is on board only because they're going to be taken to task for it, you've failed them.
I always did weapon inspections. It reminds them that there is always a mark to meet, there's always someone watching and it gives you that time in the barracks where you can get a good idea what else is going on that might need to be "headed off".
That said, once you're working with with a group of pros (vs candidates/recruits), it's not really about the "inspection" anymore, it's about the routine and that face-time.
Accountability is indeed a crude tool, mainly because it's reactive, not proactive.
decentralized command and extreme ownership definitions sound like peer-to-peer and client-server architecture definitions in software development :D
Smart observation! An ideal team also functions like one flawless machine. And decoupling of responsibilities is good engineering practice.
Just remember not to put too much business logic in the client ;)
@@michaelmanteo6525 well... If you like to sync state between server and client all the time, be my guest. Otherwise trust the client and let it take on responsibility :D while the client is out there in the field, executing business logic the server can concentrate on other things like persistence, logging, user management and providing the client with all necessary resources to get the job done 😊
MultiGladiator and the teams maintaining both should take extreme ownership of their systems
1) the infra team takes ownership of reliable service
2) the app team takes ownership of building a service resilient to delays in network or persistence.
@@Yetipfote The client should be responsible for whatever business logic is directly responsible for turning the domain data into a great UX. The server should be responsible for whatever business logic is responsible for keeping the domain data consistent, persistent, and queryable.
This talk should be why companies pay their workers more, or at least based on how hard they work. I keep hearing about workplaces using systems to micromanage every aspect of people’s time, instead of trying to give them the drive to work harder.
Hey Jocko, having Paul Howe on would be a great podcast. I think you would dig his book Leadership and Training for the Fight.
Teaching middle school I must hold them accountable, because that 'want to' is not totally developed in all of them. There are a few 'baby Kobe's', but at 13-14 I have to be exacting and demanding. The 'why's' have to be simple and short term, e.g., "get outta here on time" or "earn that free-dress for the week." It's no coincidence that they appreciate it more when they leave me, that these habits become part of what they do later in life.
Great clip! I needed some clarity on this point for my own team and this was just what I needed.
I hold my ex accountable for her narcissism and the betrayal she committed. If you were on a mission, and one of your guys turned and shot you or stabbed you in the back, you'd hold them accountable. But at the same time, I own my shit, because I was gullible enough to believe my ex. She taught me a lot about trusting wrong. This is my balance. She ain't off the hook, but neither am I.
That being said, I love this video. Jocko makes a great point. When you have people who care, they don't need to be held accountable. And good leaders look for the right people, same with relationships. Look for the right person to share your foxhole.
Best I have ever heard! So true. Thank you Jocko.
Question on this regard, what happens when you have no or very ineffective training as a new employee and you are expected to perform at the highest level ( for example in sales).
Sounds like he's saying the best way to lead is to have good followers. The people you lead need to have a desire to be lead and a desire to do well for themselves and each other. Without that there can be no balance between micromanaging and over delegating. He also never answers the question of how to find that balance, only ever saying that you need to.
External accountability is one thing, but yea there needs to be intrinsic motivation too!
AccountabiliTeam intrinsic motivation depends on:
1) Strategic vision. Know the “Why”
2) Signals of steps to success: know how to spot progress.
@@armorsmith43 You are so right, I have experienced that the "Why" is highly important in the long run
AccountabiliTeam its particularly true for Americans...or it was when Baron Von Steuben was training the continental army in 1778
One thing my Leaders have taught me is that it's not fair to start holding people accountable until you've done every effort you can to make their reasons, actions, and motivations a focus. It's not fair to suddenly write someone up, when, for weeks, one hasn't been setting the standard of "This is how things should be done". There has to be consistent and equal follow-up for the entire Team first before one can move to accountability.
Thanks Echo!
Any chance we can get the clip of Jocko saying sorry to Tim Kennedy for the army cancelling bayonet training?
Ps loving the gritty footage from the old days. Very legit.
Thanks again brah!
the difference between jocko and other gurus: he has real examples to justify what he's talking about. Most people are making stuff up that sounds good.
Jocko is MY preacher.
With the Old Breed is a great book.
All tools are good just not in every situation.
The right tool for the job.
Is it fair to assume that you occasionally inspected your teams weapons? Maybe they overlooked something that you could help them out with.
It's easy to take this approach when you are dealing with a group of SEALs where everyone takes their job very seriously and has a high level of competence.
Thank you Jocko! I’m so glad you said that accountability is only a tool, not an end unto itself. I wish my boss would learn this, but he is amazingly bad as a leader. He had a chip on his shoulders before change of command, and has refused to learn while in the job, creating a culture of lying, hiding, and faking. Everyone knows to never tell the truth if it affects his image in any bad way. It is possible that Article 138s are coming.
Are you a distractible person watching this? Here’s how to apply the lesson:
1) *Insist* on knowing the “why”. Ask for the strategic vision. Exercise leadership of yourself.
2) Learn the signs of incremental success.
Distractability is your brain thinking that some other path will earn your goals. Your brain wants to eat berries and save you from wasting time. Spotting partial wins tells your brain “see? This is the right path.” Video games do this to leas your brain to play the game.
Take ownership of your distractible-tendency and don’t loathe yourself: lead your brain.
Find the questions to ask to enable you to imagine, and anticipate steps of success at the task. Pursue those answers even in the face of rudeness.
(Programmers: look up TDD)
I love it when you put your paperwork down! Lol
great podcast.
Everything he said is absolutely correct. Our job as leaders is to provide that purpose, direction, and motivation to move to the next objective, overtake that next obstacle. Accountability just gets people in the weeds and leads to blame instead of ownership.
Closed thier eyes ..family..
Not having to hold an elite squad of soldiers accountable because of their commitment, is a little different then the general workforce.
Craig W disagree. Don’t have a job you want to be successful for? Find a new one. Can’t find a new one? Fine, challenge accepted, get disciplined for the job you don’t want to work hard for, not for them but for yourself. Don’t make excuses, you are an aspect of the problem if you do.
@@iancampbell1494 thats an unexperienced answer. come back to the real world.
Third Position you sound vexed and unhappy, you should work in that. I am speaking from the perspective of a manager as well, and I’m not sure if you’re aware but often times even the higher end management are still considered employees, you work for someone often times no matter how high up the ladder you are.
Jocko for president
Thanks Jocko.
How do you get the buy-in from family, friends, roommates etc? How do you get the people around you to crave and hunger for victory and performance? I've heard some people say that you need to surround yourself with people who want to succeed as much as you or who are already successful, but what about those you are stuck with? What if they just coast? They think that putting the 40hrs/week earns you the right to sit in front of the tube or stay in bed and they slack around the house.
When they get their balls stomped on by life they tend to change...
I’ve been using the word team allot ect, we, us... let’s... get a shared vision ect...
Goal, effort, attainment
With a feeling of autonomy...
Love makes a difference.
Do it with and for love and express it.
Your in need of studying leadership. Get a good handful of books n start mastering it.
Lastly we vibe at different levels... different energy points ect. Factor it in-
Good perspective.
Happy New Year
No procedure manual can be written tight enough to make up for an unconscientious person with low personal ownership. Bottom line -
you can only hold people as accountable as they hold themselves.
I laughed at is example. imagine a whole base waiting for you to work your radio. I've never been in the military but i'd much prefer to have to do x number of push ups, get yelled at or having to clean the latrines. That is pressure applied well. there's also the natural consequences mentioned in parenting.
Building that culture of extreme ownership is much more effective than instilling fear of the leader's wrath for failing at (often arbitrary) metrics.
6:47 we worked exceptionally hard so that our direct squad leader had nothing to say to us. He was a toxic piece of shit. We only worked hard together so that he didn’t have anything to say to us because we had nothing to say to him. The opposite of camaraderie is toxicity, and it starts at the top.
Exactly that 💯
Willinkthe balance of extreme
ownership vs holding others accountable
Normally, I agree with almost everything that Jocko says. In this particular aspect, I think this is oversimplified as businesses usually can get quite mundane with salaries coming and a certain safety to it and it makes people a bit complacent, getting away with things and you don't specifically develop a hunger or desire to get up and go to office and make that report because it doesn't inspire you. It is probably a bit oversimplified... Accountability matters.
Jocko , I lost the battle this morning . My motivation was not there. Any words of wisdom for a devil dog?
Do one on holding your boss accountable.
Captions "He was a veteran of the warned Renata".
So dont mess with Renata
Some people don't care to go any above their minimum acceptable output, which takes it's toll on those who do. That is one of my downfalls.
100% not joking. Jocko for president... not just 2024. ANY election year.
What do they mean by "extreme ownership"? Owning what you say?
Amén..
Perfecto
Yeah good one when your ready you do that for me
May I suggest watching Capt. Nathan Brittles (John Wayne) balancing ownership and decentralizing in "She Wore a Yellow Ribbon".
How is accountability any different from extreme ownership?
Accountability is holding someone else responsible and Extreme Oweership is the opposite
@@TylerSmith-go8sy Holding yourself accountable is the exact same, lol.
In this clip he speaks about holding others accountable but it can be just for yourself as well...
@@rabbychan thus be the reason I had used others 👏👏 good job tho I can see you working
@@TylerSmith-go8sy Your comment clearly insinuates that accountability can only be used toward other people.
No need to patronize me, admit your fault, it's not the end of the world.
Just trying to help you have a better understanding.
grts
That’s badass! 👍👍✨🌌🎸
Balance of opposing forces, nice
This advice only works if you believe in the particular direction your leader is taking you.