{"id":43951,"date":"2021-08-04T07:36:21","date_gmt":"2021-08-04T11:36:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/?p=43951"},"modified":"2021-08-09T07:51:45","modified_gmt":"2021-08-09T11:51:45","slug":"turn-the-ship-around-david-marquet","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.shortform.com\/blog\/turn-the-ship-around-david-marquet\/","title":{"rendered":"Turn the Ship Around by David Marquet: Book Overview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Have you read Turn the Ship Around<\/em> by David Marquet<\/a>? What leadership lessons can be learned?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Turn the Ship Around<\/em>, David Marquet tells the story of how a captain turned the U.S. Navy\u2019s worst-performing nuclear submarine crew into one of the best by replacing the Navy’s traditional \u201cleader-follower\u201d (or command-and-control) structure with a \u201cleader-leader\u201d model that gave crew members control over their work. Its lessons are applicable to any organization\u2014business, nonprofit, or government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Read more to learn the lessons of Turn the Ship Around<\/em> by David Marquet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Turn the Ship Around<\/em> by David Marquet<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Turn the Ship Around!<\/em> is the story of how Marquet replaced the Navy’s traditional \u201cleader-follower\u201d or command-and-control structure with a \u201cleader-leader\u201d organizational model. He transformed the demoralized crew into an empowered, motivated fighting force in just a year. They learned to think and act proactively, determining what needed to be done and the best way to do it, rather than waiting for direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In short, the \u201cleader-leader\u201d model allows staff to take responsibility for problems and solutions rather than waiting to be told what to do. As a result, team members see themselves as leaders instead of followers. Any organization can use Marquet\u2019s principles for developing leaders<\/a> at all levels to create a passionate, high-performing workforce.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Leader-Follower Model<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The traditional leader-follower model practiced in the U.S. Navy and most companies and organizations assumes there are two types of people<\/a>: leaders who make decisions and followers who implement them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has been the basis of our thinking about leadership for hundreds of years because it has worked. It\u2019s responsible for successes ranging from the construction of the pyramids in ancient Egypt to the factories of the Industrial Revolution<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Turn the Ship Around<\/em>, David Marquet points out that the leader-follower structure was designed to coordinate physical labor <\/strong>for various purposes, whether building pyramids and roads, or mining coal. In contrast, many of today\u2019s employees are knowledge workers who work independently to develop and apply information. The leader-follower model doesn\u2019t manage cognitive work effectively.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

People who are treated as followers become passive. With scant decision-making<\/a> ability, they have little motivation to contribute their ingenuity and energy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Leader-Leader Model<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The leader-leader<\/a> structure is based on a different assumption about people: everyone can be a leader<\/a>, and an organization is most effective when everyone thinks and acts like a leader<\/strong>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The leader-leader model treats employees as valued assets, which increases individual motivation and organizational success. Also, the improvements that come with the leader-leader model are lasting because they\u2019re not dependent on one leader\u2019s skill or personality. Leaders develop throughout the organization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Leadership Revolution<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

With little room for error, a nuclear submarine is an unlikely setting for trying out a new leadership model. But to turn around the beleaguered Santa Fe,<\/em> Marquet felt he had no other option.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In Turn the Ship Around<\/em> David Marquet explained that, when he took over as commander, he had six months to get the submarine ready for deployment. Santa Fe<\/em> was to join a battle group for a torpedo exercise in the Arabian Gulf intended to demonstrate combat effectiveness. Marquet needed to radically change the way officers and crew operated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Marquet\u2019s goal was to create a leader-leader structure by pushing control\u2014the authority to decide what to do and how\u2014downward to the officers and crew<\/strong>. He started in the middle of the operation with the 12 chiefs, the senior enlisted personnel equivalent to middle managers, who supervised the crew members responsible for day-to-day maintenance and operation of the submarine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although there\u2019s a Navy axiom that \u201cthe chiefs run the Navy,\u201d they lacked true authority. By instituting a \u201cChiefs in Charge\u201d program, Marquet made the chiefs accountable for the performance of their divisions and crew members. The chiefs\u2019 new authority generated excitement and strengthened the connection between the chiefs and the sailors. Both the chiefs and crew became more engaged in their work.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2018Mechanisms\u2019 for Success  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Over time, Marquet and his officers came up with 20 \u201cmechanisms\u201d (Navy terminology for methods practices) to transform Santa Fe<\/em> from a leader-follower to a leader-leader organization. The mechanisms focused on three key areas:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n