Extreme Ownership: Why Every Manager Should Think Like a Navy SEAL
The idea sounds intense. Almost theatrical. But the core of Extreme Ownership is surprisingly simple: take full responsibility for everything that happens in your team. No excuses. No passing the buck.
This principle comes from U.S. Navy SEALs, first written down by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin in Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALs Lead and Win. And while the setting is military, the structure it offers is useful far beyond it.
Let’s break it down.
The Instinct to Deflect
Imagine your team misses a deadline.
Most managers default to forensics: Who scoped this poorly? Who moved too slow? Who misunderstood the task?
Some of that might even be true. But it doesn’t help. Because what’s really going on is that you’ve started outsourcing responsibility — and with it, control.
As soon as a manager refuses to own the outcome, the system starts to decay. Initiative drops. Blame spirals up. And the team stops trying to solve the problem — because they’re too busy defending themselves.
The Shift
Extreme Ownership flips that script. You say: “This happened on my watch. What can I do differently next time?”
That single move changes everything.
- You create safety. When you take responsibility, others don’t have to defend themselves. They start fixing things instead.
- You gain trust. People will follow someone who owns outcomes — not someone who disappears when things go wrong.
- You move faster. No time wasted assigning blame. Just action.
A Real Example
On a chemical tanker, I worked under two very different captains.
The first one, when things went sideways — mooring issues, cargo delays — pointed fingers. Always. The deck crew stopped making decisions. Everyone just waited for the next accusation.
The second? He owned it all. If something failed, he’d say what he missed, then ask how we could solve it together. The result was a coordinated team that fixed problems before they spread.
Same ship. Different atmosphere. And all of it traced back to how responsibility was handled.
How to Practice It
Extreme Ownership is a mindset — but not a vague one. It’s built through repetition, reflection, and structure.
Here’s one way to develop it:
- Review backward: In any failure, ask yourself what you could’ve done differently — even if others were involved.
- Speak it aloud: Let your team hear you take responsibility. That vulnerability builds legitimacy.
- Redirect focus: Push the team toward solutions, not narratives.
- Repeat: Ownership is cumulative. So is trust.
This isn’t about taking the fall. It’s about building a system where progress is possible — even when things break. Especially when they break.
Because real leadership isn’t about steering from above. It’s about walking into the problem first.