Leadership Insights from David Marquet

How ‘Intent-Based Leadership’ gets results … 

“If you want team members who take initiative, critically think about their actions, and align those actions to the needs of the organisation, then you need a team of leaders. You need intent-based leadership.”
– David Marquet

While David Marquet was the Commanding Officer of the submarine USS Santa Fe, he followed the strict leader-follower policy in the command structure. This meant that his crew would do anything he said – even if he was wrong.

Marquet experienced first-hand how this practice can cause catastrophic results as well as make people feel marginalised.

He knew in his gut there had to be a better way.

Marquet began treating his crew as leaders, not followers. He gave control, instead of taking control.

It wasn’t long before operations took a dramatic turn. Santa Fe went from “worst to first,” achieving the highest retention and operational standings in the Navy.

Even after Marquet departed from the USS Santa Fe, it continued to win awards and promote more officers and enlisted men to positions of increased responsibility than any other submarine.

Marquet’s Intent-Based Leadership model is turning around all types of organisations.

Here are his 6 principles for helping leaders build environments where people contribute and feel valued – where everyone is a leader:

1
Don’t be good, get better.

Focusing regularly on improvement is the key to getting better.

Avoid trying to protect a reputation for being “good”. This results in defensiveness and a closed mind.

Instead, seek ways to learn from events. Always seek feedback and have a learning mindset.

2
Make it safe, not add stress.

A fear-based environment creates stress. It also reduces the ability to use our brains for thinking, creativity and problem-solving.

Give people the ability to challenge thinking and question authority. They will then feel supported and you will get an understanding of where they are coming from.

3
Push authority to information, not information to authority.

Leaders need to give up control, not take control.

Typically information is channeled up to those in authority for a decision that is then channeled down for action. Instead, push the authority for decision-making in the opposite direction: to the people with the information.

This not only gives them control, but improves the organisation’s ability to respond in more effective and flexible ways.

4
Tune control, based on competence and clarity.

Empowerment by itself is not a solution. Empowerment must be based on the team’s level of competence and clarity.

Too much empowerment can result in poor decisions and misaligned activity. Too little empowerment can result in frustration and under-utilised talent.

Give control first to see what competencies need to be developed and what clarity needs sharing.

5
Fix the environment, not people.

When people aren’t performing up to expectations, leaders look to see what in the environment is causing that behavior.

It’s often the environment that causes people to behave in certain ways, not something right or wrong within the people themselves.

6
Act your way to new thinking, not think your way to new action.

Often we try to change our thinking and hope it leads to new behaviors. Try adopting new behaviors and see how that rewires your thinking.

Act your way to new thinking – say and do the things you would if you were at the desired end state.

I hope you have enjoyed these insights. Have a great week and stay growth-focused!

Best Wishes,
Jonathan
+61 (0) 408 748 980
jonathan@scaleupgrowth.co