A friend of mine recently pointed me to a YouTube video that you have to watch. Go online and search for “David Marquet Greatness” on YouTube.
David was a Naval Commander who wrote a book called Turn the Ship Around. In the book, David unpacks the concept of never giving an order on the submarine he was commissioned to lead. David turned around one of the worst performing subs in the fleet to be the best based on this principle.
Can you image that? A military commander saying he was never going to give an order again.
So how do you lead your people then? How do you get them to do what you want if you are not “ordering them around?”
The answer is simple, if you have enough guts to try it. Give your people intent and let them make the decisions. Point them in the direction you want them to go and let them decide the best way to get there. Intent, not orders.
We spend so much time giving orders and telling people what to do that we never truly know what our team is capable of accomplishing. By letting your team think about the task and act on your direction, you will have the brainpower of hundreds instead of just one.
Isn’t it time we stop giving orders and give intent instead? There is no telling how far you will go if you adhere to this principle.
Until next time…I’m Marty, make every minute count.
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