Story about the submarine captain fighting established bureaucracy machine - “Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders by L. David Marquet”.

The main storyline unfolds around the time when L. David Marquet was captain of USS “Santa Fe”. Assigned to a poor performing submarine, over a short period of time, he turns it into one of the best in Navy. He is trying to emancipate people on board, not empower, to change their mindset from being follower, to become leaders. The problem he sees with most of the empowerment programs - that they, by default, say that you are powerless. And to make it work faster, he, instead of changing the mindset and then change the way the team act, start acting differently, and the thinking follows.

Move authority to information, not information to authority.

He suggested that no “leadership” program is the way to bring up new leaders.

Each chapter starts with some story lead by the lessons learned (“mechanism”):

• Resist the urge to provide a solution is a mechanism of control;
• Eliminating top-down monitoring system is a mechanism for control;
• Thinking out loud is a mechanism for control;
• Take deliberate action is a mechanism for competence;
• Don’t brief, certify is a mechanism for competence;
• Continually and consistently repeat the message is a mechanism for competence;
• Specify goals, not methods is a mechanism for competence;
• Building trust and taking care of your people is mechanisms for clarity;
• Use your legacy for inspiration is a mechanism for clarity;
• Use guiding principles for decision criteria is a mechanism for clarify;
• Use immediate recognition to reinforce desired behavior is a mechanism for clarify;
• Encourage a questioning attitude over blind obedience is a mechanism for clarity;

Nowadays, L. David Marquet offers coaching, learn more here.

Last but not least:

Time to be questioning or even critical is after trust has been established.