#note/sourcereview/article | #note/sourcereview/book | #source/book📚/ingested ## First words: I really did not enjoy this audiobook. Each chapter starts with a macho bravado war story, including brief sound effects, which is supposed to be illustrative of the big idea. However, for me, this was a distraction from the big issues, and could have been told much shorter. I think this whole book would have been more effective as a blog post or novella. ## What is the thesis? Leaders must take ownership, but can unintentionally reduce the ownership of their reports if they don't balance that taking with an equal giving of responsibility. ## Am I convinced and why? Absolutely, I haver seen this at work and this is not only a problem for the leader because it puts too much weight on them, it's also a problem for the reports because they don't get to grow. # Summarize the argument [Summary from Graham Mann](https://www.grahammann.net/book-notes/dichotomy-of-leadership-jocko-willink-leif-babin) ## Introduction: Finding the Balance  - The best leaders and teams acknowledge mistakes, take ownership, and make corrections to improve.  Over time this adds up.  - Cover and Move: Teamwork is critical among departments and groups.  - Simple: Complexity breeds chaos and disaster - keep things simple and communicate overall intent.  - Prioritize & Execute: accomplish highest priorities in series.  - Decentralized Command: empower team leaders by clearly communicating what to do and why.  ## Part I: Balancing People  ### Chapter 1 - The Ultimate Dichotomy  - You should get close to your employees, your team, but never forget there is a job to be done, and that the good of the company/mission needs to come first.  ### Chapter 2 - Own It All, but Empower Others - You must avoid both micromanagement and being too hands-off. - Give clear guidance on the mission, the goal, and the end state, as well as the boundaries in place. - Make sure to communicate what other teams are doing. - Continue to monitor progress, but try and refrain from giving specific guidance on execution unless necessary. ### Chapter 3 - Resolute, but Not Overbearing - Leaders must set high standards and drive the team to achieve those standards, but they cannot be domineering or inflexible on matters of little strategic importance.  - The most important explanation a leader can give to the team is “why?"  - This is particularly important when holding the line and enforcing standards. - Keep in mind every leader has a limited amount of “leadership capital”, which must be expended carefully, only on important things.  ### Chapter 4 - When to Mentor, When to Fire - Most underperformers don’t need to be fired, they need to be led. But once every effort has been made to help an underperformer improve and all efforts have failed, a leader has to make the tough call to let that person go. - Leaders are responsible for getting their individual team members to perform through coaching, mentoring and counselling.  - However, once every avenue is pursued without improvement to a sufficient level, leaders must put the team first and remove the individual. ## Part II: Balancing the Mission ### Chapter 5 - Train Hard, but Train Smart - Training must be hard. Training must simulate realistic challenges and apply pressure to decision-makers. _There is no growth in the comfort zone_.  - Training must focus on the fundamentals. - Training must be repetitive. - The best training programs are not orchestrated from the top down, but driven from the bottom.  - “We don’t have the budget” and “we don’t have time” are not valid excuses. Role-playing is free and training is important - make time.  ### Chapter 6 - Aggressive, Not Reckless - Problems aren’t going to solve themselves—a leader must get aggressive and take action to solve them and implement a solution. - An aggressive mind-set should be the default setting of any leader. Default: Aggressive. This means that the best leaders, the best teams, don’t wait to act. - “Aggressive" means proactive. It doesn’t mean that leaders can get angry, lose their temper, or be aggressive toward their people. - The aggression that wins on the battlefield, in business, or in life is directed not toward people but toward solving problems, achieving goals, and accomplishing the mission. - It is also critical to balance aggression with careful thought and analysis to make sure that risks have been assessed and mitigated. The dichotomy with the Default: Aggressive mind-set is that sometimes hesitation allows a leader to further understand a situation so that he or she can react properly to it. - To be overly aggressive without critical thinking is to be reckless. - Be particularly cautious when you’ve had a few successes; the “disease of victory” can cause overconfidence and underestimation of risks.  ### Chapter 7 - Disciplined, Not Rigid - Disciplined standard operating procedures, repeatable processes, and consistent methodologies are helpful in any organization. - Disciplined procedures must be balanced with the ability to apply common sense and deviate from SOPs when necessary. - Freedom to think about alternative solutions and make adjustments must also be encouraged. ### Chapter 8 - Hold People Accountable, but Don’t Hold Their Hands  - Use accountability as a tool when needed, but don’t rely on it as the sole means of enforcement, lest it consume all a leader’s time.  - Balance accountability with educating the team on _why_ and empowering members to maintain standards even without direct oversight from the top.  ## Part III: Balancing Yourself ### Chapter 9 - A Leader and a Follower - Leaders must be willing and able to lead.  - However, they must be willing to lean on expertise and ideas of others more experienced, even if more junior. - They must also follow their own leaders: you must execute senior ideas as if they are your own once they are decided upon. ### Chapter 10 - Plan, but Don’t Overplan  - Careful planning, preparing for likely contingencies and never taking anything for granted is essential to succeeding.  - However, you must focus on the most likely scenarios - perhaps 3-4 likely ones, plus the worst-case. - Too much planning and the process becomes unfocused and overwhelming.  Too little, and you will fail.  ### Chapter 11 - Humble, Not Passive - Humility is the most important quality in a leader.  - However, you must not be so humble as to be passive - when necessary, push back, voice concerns, stand up and provide feedback.  ### Chapter 12 - Focused, but Detached - Leaders must be attentive to details and in touch with the front lines, but must also keep the bigger picture in mind.  ## Afterword - Take Extreme Ownership of everything in your world, but strive to be extremely balanced in everything you do. ## What is the other side of the argument? This book seems to be a reaction to [[Extreme Responsibility]] or "Extreme Ownership" the first in the series by Jocko Willink. So, Extreme Ownership IS the other side of the argument. Taken to the extreme, owners unintentionally reduce the ownership and participation of their reports, which limits their growth, engagement, and participation. It also reduces the effectiveness of the leadership team, and reduces [[inclusive leadership]]. ## What else do I wonder about? When do you need to be more directive, and when should you be more inclusive? That is where the wisdom of leadership comes in. [[Who else wonders about this?]] I'll need to investigate ## Action Ask myself, what's the opposite view? Use [[Socratic questioning]] when making decisions as a leader to get the best of the opposite view. ## When do I want to stumble across this? #on/leadership | #on/humility | #on/action ## Source: https://www.grahammann.net/book-notes/dichotomy-of-leadership-jocko-willink-leif-babin Willink, J., & Babin, L. (2018). _The dichotomy of leadership: Balancing the challenges of extreme ownership to lead and win_ (First edition). St. Martin’s Press. ## References, Quotes, Ideas ```dataview table file.mtime.year + "-" + file.mtime.month + "-" + file.mtime.day as Modified from [[The Dichotomy of Leadership]] and !outgoing([[The Dichotomy of Leadership]]) sort file.mtime desc ```