In 2015, I read Navy Captain David Marquet’s book Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders. I loved his approach to leadership and still subscribe to his weekly leadership nudges.
To celebrate “Read an E-Book Week”—the first full week in March—I wanted to highlight Marquet’s 2020 book entitled Leadership Is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say—and What You Don’t, which some describe as a radical new playbook for empowering teams to make better decisions and take greater ownership.
If you believe that an effective leader is someone who makes quick, intelligent decisions, gives inspiring speeches, and issues clear orders to their team so they can execute a plan to achieve your organization’s goals, David Marquet argues you’re stuck on an outdated model of leadership that just doesn’t work anymore.
In today’s networked, information-dense business climate, you don’t have full visibility into your organization or the ground reality of your operating environment. In order to harness the eyes, ears, and minds of your people, you need to foster a climate of collaborative experimentation that encourages people to speak up when they notice problems and work together to identify and test solutions.
In Leadership as Language, Marquet shares his six new leadership plays—each contrasted with the old plays:
- Control the clock instead of obeying the clock.
- Collaborate instead of coercing.
- Commitment rather than compliance.
- Complete defined goals instead of continuing work indefinitely.
- Improve outcomes rather than prove ability.
- Connect with people instead of conforming to your role.
Click here to understand the hidden power of what you say—and what you don’t