The most common answer I hear from leaders who have a hard time letting go is a feeling of ‘loss of control.’ They worry that the ship will crash when they begin taking their hands off the wheel. This is human nature. As a junior officer in the SEALs, I thought I had to lead everything because of the nature of my title. However, it was a series of great mentors who taught me that the true sign of a leader is how the team or organization performs when the leader leaves.

The 4th Law of Combat, Decentralized Command, is fundamental to having an agile and flexible organization. For Decentralized Command to be effective, everyone on the team must understand the “why” behind their individual part of the mission.

And if it’s simply a short-term deal to pay the bills, or save for a trip, teach them that the discipline they learn when they do good work in an unfulfilling job will serve them well as they move on to bigger and better things. 

One of the most common issues I am asked to discuss when talking with clients is how to work with Millennials. The appearance of a generation gap is stark, and the descriptions of many younger employees are not flattering: Entitled, lazy, unmotivated, disconnected, and the list goes on.

Extreme Ownership is all about you. Rather than try and force others to change their behavior, you can change yours.

We have all worked for leaders with an “open door” policy. Some of us have implemented them ourselves. We want to be accessible to our team and make them comfortable to speak candidly on any issue. No one wants to see a closed door or feel like the leader doesn’t