The best leaders don’t just take responsibility for their job, they take ownership for everything that impacts their mission.

I’ve never left the field saying, ‘I could’ve done more to get ready,’ and that gives me peace of mind.” – Peyton Manning One of the things about acting is it allows you to live other people’s lives without having to pay the price.” – Robert De Niro You must understand the strategic impact of what you are doing and why. This information must be explained to your junior leaders. The Ultimate Dichotomy — a leader must care about the troops, but at the same time the leader must complete the mission, and in doing so there will be risks and sometimes unavoidable consequences to the troops. Failing to balance those two opposing goals would result in his failure to do either.

We believe in these leadership concepts because we have seen them work time and again, both in combat and in business. Their proper application and understanding ensure effective leaders and high-performing teams that produce extraordinary results. The most successful individuals in life—in the SEAL Teams, the military, and the corporate world are driven by their egos. They want to be the greatest, to win. That’s great. When our judgment is clouded by ego, and we cannot view the world as it is, the ego becomes harmful. When personal agendas precede the team’s success and the overall objective, performance declines, and failure occurs. Analyze the mission. Understand higher headquarters’ mission, Commander’s Intent, and endstate (the goal). Identify and state your own Commander’s Intent and endstate for the specific mission. It’s important not to indicate. People don’t try to show their feelings, they try to hide them.” – Robert De Niro

This principle is the payoff for developing a culture of ownership. Your entire team knows why they are on this mission, how to cover and support one another while fighting the real enemy, how to keep communications simple, how to prioritize and execute, and now they can independently lead their own teams in a coordinated movement that supports the overall mission.

CONCLUSION

The combat leader virtually never has a complete picture or a clear and confident grasp of the enemy’s actions or reactions, let alone awareness of the immediate implications of decisions made in the heat of battle. Nonetheless, each must comprehend the other’s role. Top commanders must also communicate to their subordinate leaders and troops on the ground how their job contributes to overall mission success. First and foremost, blame yourself. Refrain from blaming your employer if they fail to make a timely decision or provide crucial assistance to you and your team. Examine what you can do to improve the communication of essential information for choices and support to be allocated. Application to business: Remember the story of the 2 senior engineers who couldn’t work together and were undermining each other at every turn. They wanted each other fired. The best course of action ended up being to fire them both. They were a cancer to the company. I don’t feel pressure. I like if anybody has interest in what I have to say, especially if they’re younger. If they like me, respect me, I’m honoured and I’ll give them my opinion.” – Robert De Niro