Book Summary - The Dichotomy of Leadership

A summary of ‘The Dichotomy of Leadership’ by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin.

Balance caring for your people with accomplishing the mission

A good leader builds powerful, strong relationships with their subordinates.

But while that leader would do anything for those team members, the leader must recognize there is a job to do.

Nurture people but know when to let them go

A leader must do everything possible to help develop and improve the performance of individuals on the team. A leader must also understand when someone does not have what it takes to get the job done.

Most under-performers don’t need to be fired, they need to be led. Don’t be too quick to fire - but don’t wait too long.

Place yourself and others just outside of your comfort zone, but don’t go too far

While training must make the team, and especially leaders, uncomfortable, it cannot be so overwhelming that it destroys morale, stifles growth, and implants a defeatist attitude.

Be aggressive/proactive, but never reckless

Be aggressive (or proactive) by default, but balance it with a proper evaluation of the risks and benefits.

Understand the commander’s intent, and where you have the authority to do so, execute.

Be disciplined, but not rigid

Balance the strict discipline of standard procedures with the freedom to adapt, adjust, and maneuver to do what is best to support the overarching commander’s intent.

A good leader must also be a good follower

In order to be a good leader, you also have to be willing to follow. Leading does not mean pushing your agenda or proving you have all the answers. It’s about collaborating with the rest of the team and determining how you can most effectively accomplish your mission all together.

It is the weakest form of leadership to win an argument through rank or position.

Be willing to lean on the expertise and ideas of others for the good of the team. Be willing to listen and follow others, regardless of whether they are junior or less experienced.

A good leader must be a good follower of their own senior leaders. One of the most important jobs of any leader is to support your own boss.

  • Disagree and commit. Even if you disagree with the decision, you must execute the plan as if it were your own. Often, for natural leaders who are eager to step up and take charge, it may be a struggle to follow a leader who is less competent, less aggressive, uncharismatic, or uninspiring. Regardless, when lawful orders from the boss or higher chain of command conflict with a leader’s ideas, a subordinate leader must still be willing to follow and support the chain of command. Failing to do this undermines the authority of the entire chain of command, including that of the defiant leader.
  • Failing to follow also creates an antagonistic relationship up the chain of command, which negatively affects the willingness of the boss to take input and suggestions from the subordinate leader, and hurts the team.
  • You should strive to have the same relationship with every boss you ever work for, no matter if they are good or bad. Whether they are an outstanding leader whom you admire, a mediocre leader who needs improvement, or a terrible leader for whom no one on the team has respect, you must strive to form the same relationship with all of them.

Plan, but don’t over-plan

Careful planning is essential to the success of any mission. Leaders must consider the risks they can control and mitigate those risks as best they can through contingency planning. When proper contingency planning doesn’t take place, it’s a failure of leadership.

Not every risk can be controlled. You cannot plan for every contingency. If you try to create a solution for every single potential problem that might arise, you overwhelm your team, you overwhelm the planning process, you overcomplicate decisions for leaders.

Be strategic about when you push back up the chain of command

Leaders must be humble enough to listen to new ideas, willing to learn strategic insights, and open to implementing new and better tactics and strategies.

When it truly matters, leaders must be willing to push back, voice their concerns, stand up for the good of their team, and provide feedback up the chain against a direction or strategy they know will endanger the team or harm the strategic mission.

Carefully prioritize when and where to push back. Leaders have an obligation to support their chain of command and carry out the orders that came from above.

Stay focused, but detached

Leaders must pay attention to details without getting so lost in the details that they lose sight of the big picture.