I told the class how Jocko had used the term to describe an overly detached SEAL leader while we were observing a SEAL task unit during a training operation.
The SEAL was a task unit commander, serving as the ground force commander during a field training exercise in a MOUT (military operations in urban terrain) facility. His platoons were heavily engaged in a difficult tactical problem inside one of the large cinder-block buildings, with multiple role-players attacking them with paintball rounds. The task unit had pulled its vehicles to a stop outside of the target building, and their assault force had dismounted and entered the building. Immediately, they were heavily engaged by a number of well-entrenched “enemy fighters”—actually SEAL instructors and role-players. Quickly, several SEALs were hit and the training instructors put them down, meaning they were simulated killed or severely wounded. The rest of the SEAL assault force was pinned down inside the target building. They needed help, resources, guidance, and direction. Jocko and I, inside the house observing the SEAL platoons in action, waited for someone to step up and assist, but it never came.
“Where is the task unit commander?” Jocko asked, after several painful minutes of watching the problem escalate. I looked around but didn’t see him.
“I think he is still outside in his Humvee,” I observed.
Jocko and I walked outside of the target building. The task unit commander was nowhere to be seen.
Finally, we approached the line of Humvees parked on the street outside the target building. We found the task unit commander inside, sitting comfortably in his seat. We opened the heavy armored door of his Humvee.
“What’s crappening?” I said, borrowing a favorite phrase from our brother and former Task Unit Bruiser Delta Platoon commander, Seth Stone. The TU commander said nothing.
“What’s going on in there?” Jocko asked the task unit commander, motioning toward the target building where his team was pinned down.
The task unit commander didn’t have an answer. He looked down at his map but never moved from his seat in the back of the Humvee.
“I’m waiting for a status update,” he responded, as if he were perfectly on top of things.
He keyed up his radio. “What’s your status?” he asked, directed at his platoon commander—the assault force commander in the house. Jocko and I both wore radios and monitored the task unit’s communications network so we could listen in on their radio traffic and evaluate the leadership’s communications between one another.
There was no answer over the radio. The platoon commander and much of his team were pinned down in a horrific gun battle inside the house. They had several simulated casualties and were trying to pull them out of a hot hallway—meaning bullets were flying down the hallway. The platoon commander was not in a position to even hear the radio transmission, much less respond to it.
“I need a status update,” the task unit commander repeated on the radio net.
No status update was sent. Another half minute of silence passed.
“So, what’s going on?” Jocko asked again.
“I don’t know,” the task unit commander replied. “I’m waiting for a status update.”
Jocko turned and looked at me, puzzled.
“Maybe you should move toward your assault force commander and go get a status update,” I said. “You aren’t stuck in the vehicle. Move around to wherever you can best provide command and control. Or, you can sit here in your Humvee and wait for everyone to die.”
With that, the TU commander got out of the vehicle and moved toward the target building to try and figure out what was happening.
“Battlefield aloofness,” Jocko said. “That’s the best term I can think of for that level of detachment.” It meant that the leader was so detached, he had no idea what was going on. If there were problems, he expected someone else to solve them. This task unit commander actually seemed annoyed that he had to step out of the Humvee and lead. But he quickly learned that when the team is on the verge of disaster, it’s time for the senior leader to put detachment aside and step into the fray, to solve problems and help the team. It’s time to lead. Once those problems are getting solved, the leader can then step back to a position of detachment.
* * *
With this, I illustrated for the classroom of leaders how it was essential to balance the dichotomy: to remain focused, but also detached. Now, the class understood how they could best apply this concept, find the equilibrium, and lead their teams to victory.
NOTES
Preface
1. In accordance with U.S. Department of Defense policy, the term “Soldier” will be capitalized for “U.S. Soldier” as will “Marine” for “U.S. Marine” throughout the book.
Introduction: Finding the Balance
1. Mk48: Mark 48, a 7.62mm NATO medium machine gun designed specifically for the U.S. Navy SEAL Teams, and the big brother of the Mark 46, a lighter medium machine gun in the smaller caliber of 5.56mm NATO.
2. IED: U.S. military acronym for improvised explosive device, the deadly roadside bombs that were the insurgency’s primary and most effective weapon.
Chapter 1: The Ultimate Dichotomy
1. Medevac: stands for medical evacuation, the movement and en route care provided by medical personnel to the wounded being evacuated from the battlefield to a medical treatment facility, or the transfer of patients from one medical treatment facility to another by medical personnel. Similar but slightly different from casevac, or casualty evacuation.
2. Team Bulldog: Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 37th Armored Regiment, 1st Armored Division.
3. 1/506th: 1st Battalion, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment of the U.S. Army’s 101st Airborne Division. 506th was the legendary “Band of Brothers” unit whose World War II exploits were detailed in the book Band of Brothers by Stephen Ambrose and the HBO series of the same name based on the book.
Chapter 2: Own It All, but Empower Others
1. High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, or HMMWV, spoken as “Humvee.”
2. Crash grenade, or “flash bang” grenade, a nonlethal device that creates a bright flash and loud explosion meant to stun but not injure.
3. Deconflict: a U.S. military term for detailed coordination between units to integrate timelines, ensure maximum support to each other, and prevent friendly fire or “blue-on-blue” incidents.
4. 0700 military time, based on the twenty-four-hour clock, equivalent to 7:00 a.m. civilian time, based on the twelve-hour clock.
Chapter 4: When to Mentor, When to Fire
1. Esprit de corps: the common spirit existing in the members of a group inspiring enthusiasm, devotion, and a strong regard for the honor of the group (Merriam-Webster dictionary).
Chapter 5: Train Hard, but Train Smart
1. Simunition: nonlethal training ammunition used by military and law enforcement that provides realistic training. It consists of paint rounds fired through the modified barrels of actual weapons systems.
2. Black Hawk Down, a book by Mark Bowden (also a Hollywood film based on the book), depicting the story of the Battle of Mogadishu between U.S. special operations forces and local Somali militants in October 1993.
3. About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior, by Colonel David H. Hackworth (U.S. Army, Ret.) and Julie Sherman (New York: Simon & Schuster, 1989).
Chapter 6: Aggressive, Not Reckless
1. A term commonly attributed to Carl von Clausewitz (1780–1831), Prussian general and military theorist, who wrote, “War is the realm of uncertainty,” in his book, On War. Note: Clausewitz never actually used the term “fog of war.”
2. IED emplacer: the U.S. military term for insurgents who planted deadly IEDs, or roadside bombs.
3. Profit and Loss statement.
Chapter 9: A Leader and a Follower
1. M134 GAU-17 minigun: a 7.62 × 51mm NATO, electrically driven weapon that fires four tho
usand rounds per minute through six rotating barrels.
Chapter 11: Humble, Not Passive
1. Mujahideen: Arabic for those who waged jihad; the term Iraqi insurgents called themselves. U.S. forces shortened this to muj.
2. OP VA: Observation Post Veterans Affairs; the location of the U.S. Marine outpost in the former Iraqi Veterans Affairs building.
3. We later changed the name from Sharkbase to Camp Marc Lee, after Marc was killed in action on August 2, 2006.
4. In U.S. military terminology, “combined” meant multinational and “joint” meant multiservice, including different branches of the U.S. military.
5. Military Maxims of Napoléon, translated from the French by J. Akerly (New York: Wiley and Putnam, 1845), Maxim LXXII.
Chapter 12: Focused, but Detached
1. Jundhi or jundi: Arabic for “soldier,” the term Iraqi soldiers called themselves and commonly used by U.S. military advisors in Iraq.
Task Unit Bruiser SEALs from Charlie Platoon patrol on foot back to friendly territory following the first major operation of the Ready First Brigade Combat Team’s (1st Brigade of the U.S. Army’s 1st Armored Division) “Seize, Clear, Hold, Build” strategy to take back Ramadi from enemy insurgents. Task Unit Bruiser SEALs and Iraqi soldiers supported the “Seize, Clear” portion of that strategy with sniper overwatches, patrols, and clearance operations alongside the courageous Soldiers and Marines of the Ready First Brigade. Once back in friendly territory, they would quickly reload, refit, and plan the next operation for Task Unit Bruiser. This photo was taken on the day following the events described in the opening of Chapter 3.
(Photo courtesy of the authors)
AFTERWORD
The dichotomies we have highlighted in this book represent only a small portion of the many dichotomies in leadership that must be balanced with every move or decision a leader makes. The list of dichotomies is endless. Each one could fill a chapter in this book. Leaders can be too reliant on metrics and not pay enough attention to the hearts and minds of their employees or customers—or they can do the opposite: pay too much attention to people’s feelings while ignoring the data. Leaders can be too direct in their speech and intimidate their teams and subordinate leaders or put them on the defensive; but they can also not be direct enough with their words and fail to convey their message clearly. Leaders can invest too much capital or not enough. They can grow their team too quickly and allow performance standards to slip or grow too slowly and leave the team undermanned and overwhelmed. Leaders can let their personal life suffer because they focused too much attention on work and not enough on their family, or they can neglect work to spend time with their family and end up losing their job and their means of supporting their family. Leaders can joke around too much and not be taken seriously, or they can never joke around and spread a culture of humorless misery in their team. Leaders can talk too much to the point where their team stops paying attention or not talk enough so their team doesn’t know where the leader stands.
The list of dichotomies is infinite. Because for every positive behavior a leader should have, it is possible to take that behavior to the extreme, where it becomes a negative. Often a leader’s greatest strength can also be his or her greatest weakness. But knowing and understanding that these dichotomies exist is the first part of keeping them from becoming a problem.
The second part requires paying careful attention so that a leader can tell when things are out of balance. If a team has lost its initiative, the leader is likely micromanaging. If a team is clowning around and not getting things done, the leader has joked too much. When leaders sense that their leadership is ineffective, it requires a careful examination to see where they are out of balance. Then action can be taken to bring equilibrium back to the dichotomy.
When a leader moves to rebalance, however, caution must be exercised not to overcorrect. This is a common error: when leaders sense they have gone too far in one direction, they can react by going too far in the other direction. This is ineffective, and can make the situation worse. So instead, make measured, calculated adjustments, monitor the results, and then continue to make small, iterative corrections until balance is achieved.
Once balance is achieved, a leader must recognize that equilibrium will not last. Circumstances change: subordinates, leaders, employees, the enemy, the battlefield, the market, the world—it all changes. And those changes will upset the balance of the Dichotomy of Leadership. The leader must continue to monitor the situation, readjust as changes happen, and restore balance.
Like so many of the challenges in leadership, finding and maintaining balance is not easy. But as we wrote in Extreme Ownership, it is the immense challenge of leadership that makes the reward of success so fulfilling. A deeper knowledge and understanding of the Dichotomy of Leadership unleashes the highest levels of performance, enabling the leader and the team to dominate on any battlefield, to Lead and Win.
So, take the challenge. Become the most effective leader possible. And while you should absolutely take Extreme Ownership of everything in your world, you must also absolutely strive to be extremely balanced in everything you do: with your subordinates, your superiors, your peers, your decisions, your emotions, and your life. In leadership, you will find challenges, you will find rewards, you will find struggles, and you will find fulfillment. But as a leader, if you can think and act with balance, you will achieve the goal of every leader and every team: Victory.
Lieutenant Leif Babin (Left) and Lieutenant Commander Jocko Willink (Center) with Task Unit Bruiser in Ar Ramadi, Iraq, 2006. On the right is Lieutenant Seth Stone, the Delta Platoon Commander and dear friend of Jocko and Leif. After this deployment, Seth took command of Task Unit Bruiser, deployed back to Iraq, and led aggressive SEAL operations during a highly successful campaign to pacify Sadr City, Baghdad in 2008. On September 30, 2017, Seth was killed in a training accident. We will never forget him.
(Photo courtesy of the authors)
INDEX
The index that appeared in the print version of this title does not match the pages in your eBook. Please use the search function on your eReading device to search for terms of interest. For your reference, the terms that appear in the print index are listed below.
About Face: The Odyssey of an American Warrior (Hackworth)
accidental discharge (AD)
accountability
customer relationship management systems and
equipment and
Extreme Ownership and
leadership and
accountability vs. empowerment conflicts
business application for
explanations and
AD. See accidental discharge
“advanced tactics”
aggressiveness
as default position
leadership and
rapid expansion in business and
risk and
SEAL Teams and
in “VietRam”
aggressiveness vs. caution conflicts
analysis informing
business application for
cash flow and
“disease of victory” and
stretch goals and
AK-47 gunfire
aloofness, battlefield
ammo tables
AOIC. See assistant officer in charge
appearance, SEAL Team professionalism and
Army, professionalism of
arrogance
experience and
success breeding
asking questions, in communication
assistant officer in charge (AOIC)
authoritarianism, leadership and
back plates
Bajema, Mike “Main Gun”
balance in leadership. See also Dichotomies of Leadership
aggressiveness and
in detachment vs. focus conflicts
discipline and
for Extreme Ownership and Decentraliz
ed Command
for hands-off leadership and micromanagement
hard training and
humility vs. passivity conflicts and
overcorrection of
relationships and
Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training (BUD/S)
Battle of Ramadi, 2006
boat travel in
census operations in
C-Lake operation and
Firecracker Circle and
friendly fire and
Habbaniyah Canal in
hard training for
insurgents in
“Mav Market” and
Route Michigan in
“Seize, Clear, Hold, Build” strategy for
South-Central firefight in
Task Unit Bruiser risks in
terrain challenges in
threats and dangers in
“VietRam” in
battlefield aloofness
Berke, Dave
“Big Mix-It-Up” firefights
Big Tough Frogmen. See Task Unit Bruiser
Black Hawk Down scenario
blame, Extreme Ownership and
“blue-on-blue.” See friendly fire
boat travel, in Battle of Ramadi, 2006
Bonaparte, Napoléon
boss, improving relationships with
breach teams
BUD/S. See Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training
burdens, of leadership
business
accountability vs. empowerment conflicts application for
The Dichotomy of Leadership: Balancing the Challenges of Extreme Ownership to Lead and Win Page 29