Extreme Ownership Summary by Jocko Willink

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Extreme ownership - how US Navy SEALs lead and win
by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin

Extreme ownership - how US Navy SEALs lead and win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin is one of the best books in the realm of leadership. The authors of the book have an experience of over three-decade in combat military. They have seen extreme conditions throughout their lives and how they cope with those conditions and came out victorious. Based on their valuable experience, this book gives insight and understanding as to how extreme ownership and take full responsibility would help in the pursuit of objectives and completion of tasks.

The book is divided into three main parts. The first one talks about winning the war within. The second part talks about the laws of combat and the third talks about sustaining victory. Each chapter in the book is a concept, a perspective, and an aspect.

On top of all is extreme ownership. Being in the position of a leader comes with a huge responsibility. A great leader is the one who takes full responsibility for his actions and decisions. He has to take responsibility for his failures too. The ownership directly affects the mission or the task. It takes mettle, courage, and a humble attitude to accept and admit the failure, although it is not an easy thing to admit the failure. A leader’s promoting of extreme ownership and responsibility trickle down to subordinates and compaction in the team takes place.

There is no such thing as a bad team it’s only the bad leader. Napoleon Bonaparte once said that army of a hundred lions led by a dog would die like dogs in a fight as opposed to an army of hundred dogs led by a lion. The dogs will fight like lions. The example depicts the fact that the most important factor is no other than leadership in any scenario. If a leader is not good, everything would fall apart and if a leader is good he would try his best amid the disorder to make things right and meet the objective.

In order for pulling a task successfully, one must know as to why one should pursue an undertaking. In a military combat scenario, where the life of a soldier is on the line, therefore, taking a plunge into a skirmish should rather be supported by a very strong reason. First, a leader must be convinced about the reason only then he can make his team members or his unit believe that they can do it.

Likewise, a leader should not have an ego in him. Ego can be disastrous to the operation of any sort. Ego hazes the judgment and goes on to affect the team and operations as a whole. A leader is expected to have no ego at all, since, any good thing can come from junior, and thinking of junior as a person of low intellect is extremely dangerous. Having no ego is quintessentially a sign of a humble attitude. Extreme ownership can only be applied when the ego is under checked.

Every member of a team is instrumental in the task. There is no one least important irrespective of his rank, role, and task. It is always a concerted effort that bears the fruit. Extreme ownership oozes a supportive attitude towards others. Teamwork is covering and moving.

Prioritizing tasks is a practice of best leaders and managers. Without prioritizing, things get complicated and procrastination comes into play. With the increase in pressure, the whole mission and a project go into the lurch. To better deal with such adverse situations, prioritizing, and then executing serve as the best solution. By this method, a leader stays one step ahead. A leader should evaluate, prioritize, plan, and execute and he should not fixate on one task.

The book Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin offers great insights towards leadership. The two navy seals, who have lived a tough life, who have lived the situations that demanded extraordinary leadership skills; this book comes as first hand and proven tactics in the field of leadership. It is undoubtedly extreme ownership that counts the most in all walks of life. Even a layman who thinks of the factors that have been talked about in the book would care to agree. It’s the leader who is the backbone of any project. It is the leader who is looked up to. It is always the leader who is bad and not the team. Leadership certainly comes with huge responsibilities.
We need to take the responsibility for our actions. Its the very core factor behind taking up a role as a successful leader. Nobody can ever be a good leader if he or she runs from responsibility. Extreme ownership is nothing but responsibility. A full fledge responsibility of all actions that a leader takes or even the action of his or her team members. Standing by their actions is essentially called extreme ownership.

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