Turn the Ship Around

Turn the Ship Around Plot Summary

Introduction

Leadership can be transformed when we challenge our fundamental assumptions about power, control and human potential. Imagine an environment where everyone shows up fully engaged, takes initiative without being told what to do, and feels personally responsible for the overall success. This isn't a fantasy—it's what happens when we flip traditional leadership upside down. The problem with conventional leadership lies in its outdated model: leaders give orders and followers execute them. This approach severely limits an organization's capabilities by utilizing only a fraction of its human potential. What if instead of creating followers, leaders created more leaders at every level? This radical shift from leader-follower to leader-leader not only produces better results but builds lasting excellence that doesn't depend on any single charismatic individual.

Chapter 1: Embrace Leader-Leader over Leader-Follower

Leader-leader is fundamentally different from the traditional leader-follower model that dominates most organizations. In leader-follower, decisions flow from the top, information is centralized, and people do what they're told. In leader-leader, decision-making authority is distributed throughout the organization, with everyone trained to be a proactive agent rather than a passive receiver of orders. David Marquet discovered the power of this approach when he took command of the USS Santa Fe, a nuclear submarine with the worst performance record in the fleet. Initially trained to command a different submarine, Marquet found himself in charge of an unfamiliar vessel with technical specifications he hadn't mastered. This circumstance made it impossible for him to lead in the traditional top-down manner since he couldn't possibly know all the answers. In a pivotal moment during a training exercise, Marquet watched as his executive officer repeated an impossible order that Marquet had mistakenly given—simply because "the captain said so." This highlighted the dangerous flaws in leader-follower thinking. Realizing that blind obedience could lead to disaster, Marquet decided to transform how the submarine operated. Instead of giving orders, Marquet began encouraging his officers to state their intentions: "I intend to..." became the new language pattern on the submarine. This subtle shift transferred both psychological ownership and responsibility to the officers and crew members. Rather than waiting to be told what to do, they began thinking proactively about the right course of action, providing their reasoning, and taking initiative. The transformation wasn't immediate but progressed steadily. Officers initially felt uncomfortable making decisions they were used to passing up the chain of command. Crew members accustomed to following orders needed time to embrace their new empowerment. Yet as the practice became established, the energy and engagement on the submarine skyrocketed. The leader-leader model enabled the crew to handle complex situations more effectively because decisions were made at the level where the information lived. The submarine didn't have to wait for the captain's input on every matter, allowing for faster responses and better operational outcomes. Within a year, the USS Santa Fe went from worst to first in performance ratings.

Chapter 2: Delegate Control through Clear Decision Authority

Delegating control means systematically pushing decision-making authority to the appropriate level within your organization. It's not about occasionally asking for input or "empowering" people temporarily—it's about fundamentally restructuring who makes which decisions and when. On the USS Santa Fe, Marquet identified what he called the "genetic code of control" that determined who could make decisions. One illuminating example was the approval process for leave requests (vacation time) for enlisted crew members. The standard procedure required signatures from seven different people, including the sailor's division officer, department head, and the executive officer. This cumbersome process not only wasted time but communicated a lack of trust in the chiefs' ability to manage their own personnel. During a pivotal meeting with the chiefs, Marquet asked if they truly "ran the ship" as Navy tradition claimed. After honest reflection, they admitted they didn't. When Marquet asked if they wanted to, the chiefs enthusiastically agreed—until they realized what that meant: being truly accountable for outcomes. Marquet proposed a simple but radical change: the Chief of the Boat would be the final signature authority for enlisted leave instead of the executive officer. This one-word change in the ship's regulations had profound ripple effects. For chiefs to properly manage leave, they needed to control watch schedules. To control watch schedules, they needed to manage qualification timelines. Suddenly, chiefs weren't just following orders—they were responsible for the comprehensive development and management of their sailors. To implement this approach in your organization, start by identifying where decision-making authority is specified in your policies and procedures. Look for decisions that could be pushed to lower levels, then draft language that changes who has decision-making authority. When concerns arise (and they will), sort them into issues of competence ("Do they know enough?") and clarity ("Do they understand our goals?"). The difference between this approach and typical "empowerment programs" is significant. Empowerment programs often involve leaders "giving" power to subordinates, which paradoxically reinforces the idea that power belongs to leaders. The leader-leader model recognizes that people already have power—the organization has simply been preventing them from using it. As control was distributed throughout the Santa Fe, both technical competence and organizational clarity needed to be strengthened. When decisions are made at lower levels, people need both the technical knowledge to make good decisions and a clear understanding of the organization's mission and values to align those decisions with broader goals. The results were impressive. Sailors took initiative without waiting for orders. Watch teams coordinated more effectively. Decision speed increased dramatically. Most importantly, the crew developed a sense of ownership that transformed their performance and morale.

Chapter 3: Build Technical Competence in Your Team

Building technical competence is essential when distributing control throughout an organization. When people make decisions, they need the technical knowledge to make good ones. Without this foundation, delegating authority leads to chaos rather than empowerment. Marquet discovered this principle after implementing a mechanism called "deliberate action" on the USS Santa Fe. The practice was born after a serious safety incident where a crew member casually pushed aside a red warning tag to operate a piece of equipment—something that could have led to catastrophic consequences. During the critique session, when asked why this happened, someone blurted out, "Captain, mistakes just happen!" Rejecting this fatalistic view, Marquet and his team developed the concept of deliberate action. Before touching any equipment, operators would pause, vocalize their intention, point at the component, and only then execute the action. This seemingly simple procedure had profound effects, dramatically reducing errors by forcing conscious engagement rather than automatic behavior. But Marquet realized that deliberate action alone wasn't enough. He needed to increase the overall technical competence of the crew if they were to make sound decisions. When investigating poor performance on advancement exams, Marquet discovered that his sailors didn't understand how the advancement system worked. Rather than simply exhorting them to study harder, he analyzed the data and showed them exactly what they needed to know to succeed. The submarine also shifted from passive "briefings" before operations to active "certifications," where crew members had to demonstrate their knowledge rather than just listen to instructions. This change required people to prepare in advance and engage intellectually with their responsibilities. As Marquet put it, "If you limit all discussion to crisp orders and eliminate all contextual discussion, you get a pretty quiet control room. That was viewed as good. We cultivated the opposite approach." To implement this approach in your organization, connect training directly to increased decision-making authority. Make it clear that the purpose of building technical competence is to enable greater autonomy. Involve your team in analyzing their own performance data so they understand where improvements are needed and why they matter. The results on the Santa Fe were remarkable: advancement rates soared, technical errors plummeted, and the submarine earned the highest grade anyone had ever seen on its reactor operations examination. The senior inspector later told Marquet that while his crew attempted to make the same number of mistakes as other submarines, those mistakes "never happened because of deliberate action. Either they were corrected by the operator himself or by a teammate."

Chapter 4: Create Clarity with Guiding Principles

Creating clarity means ensuring everyone thoroughly understands the organization's purpose, values, and goals. When people have this clarity, they can make decisions aligned with the organization's best interests without constant supervision or direction. On the USS Santa Fe, Marquet realized that as authority was pushed down the chain of command, organizational clarity became increasingly important. If crew members were making more decisions but didn't understand the submarine's mission and values, those decisions might not serve the overall purpose. Instead of imposing his own vision from the top, Marquet involved the officers and chiefs in developing guiding principles for the submarine. After several thoughtful discussions, they created a set of principles including Initiative, Innovation, Intimate Technical Knowledge, Courage, Commitment, Continuous Improvement, Integrity, Empowerment, Teamwork, Openness, Timeliness, and "Leadership at Every Level!" Critically, these weren't just wall decorations—they became decision-making criteria. When facing choices, crew members could ask which option better aligned with principles like courage, integrity, or continuous improvement. The principles were reinforced through everyday language, particularly in evaluations and awards where behaviors were described using the language of these principles. The submarine also connected daily activities to a larger purpose through a creed that emphasized learning and the constitutional values they were defending. When passing the approximate location where the USS Grayling was sunk in World War II, the officer of the deck announced it over the loudspeaker, connecting the crew's service to the submarine force's rich legacy of sacrifice. To create clarity in your organization, begin with the end in mind. Marquet instituted mentoring sessions where officers wrote their end-of-tour awards in advance—describing what they wanted to accomplish two years in the future. These weren't vague aspirations but specific, measurable goals that aligned with the submarine's mission. This exercise forced officers to think beyond immediate inspections and maintenance cycles to longer-term achievements. For your own team, simplify your guiding principles so everyone understands them. Make sure they're genuinely useful as decision-making criteria, not just aspirational statements. Regularly reinforce these principles by highlighting when people's actions exemplify them, and incorporate them into evaluation language. The impact of this clarity was profound. The Santa Fe's crew became more proactive and resilient, able to respond effectively to unexpected situations because they understood both their immediate tasks and the larger purpose. In Marquet's words, "When you set up the training, don't forget to communicate this thought process to the group. That way they'll know why they are going to attend training and want to attend, knowing it's their path to greater decision-making authority."

Chapter 5: Recognize Achievement to Reinforce Desired Behaviors

Recognition is a powerful tool for reinforcing the behaviors that create excellence in your organization. However, traditional recognition often comes too late, focuses on the wrong metrics, or creates internal competition rather than collaboration toward shared goals. During a dangerous passage through the Strait of Malacca, the USS Santa Fe narrowly avoided collision with a tugboat when the helmsman responded with exceptional speed to the officer's emergency order. Rather than filing paperwork for a future award, Marquet immediately went to the engine room, obtained a Navy Achievement Medal, and pinned it on the sailor during breakfast with the off-going watch team. This immediate recognition sent a powerful message about what behaviors were valued. Marquet realized that administrative processes often delayed recognition until it lost impact. He transformed the Santa Fe's approach to emphasize immediate acknowledgment of desired behaviors. When a sailor showed initiative by suggesting they request hydraulic oil from a nearby supply ship—breaking normal protocols but solving an urgent problem—Marquet gave immediate approval. The crew quickly organized the complex operation without detailed instructions from above. This approach to recognition reinforced the leader-leader model. Instead of creating competition between individuals, Marquet established recognition systems that pitted the team against external challenges. He changed the boundary of competition from "within the ship" to "the skin of the ship," making it clear that Santa Fe crew members were collaborators, not competitors. To implement this in your organization, review your recognition systems. Are they creating internal competition? Do they pit employees against each other for scarce rewards? Instead, design abundant recognition tied to meeting specific objectives regardless of how many people achieve them. When teams hit meaningful targets—like responding to emergencies within critical timeframes—everyone should be recognized. Consider both formal and informal recognition. While official awards matter, don't underestimate the power of immediate verbal acknowledgment. When you notice someone embodying your guiding principles or achieving important results, point it out right away. This reinforces not only what you value but also demonstrates that you're paying attention. The impact of this approach extends beyond motivation. By recognizing the behaviors that align with your guiding principles, you create clarity about what matters. Recognition becomes a mechanism for communicating priorities and reinforcing organizational values in action. On the Santa Fe, this approach helped transform performance. Reenlistment rates skyrocketed from just three sailors in the year before Marquet took command to thirty-six during his first year—a twelve-fold increase. The submarine went from worst to first in most performance metrics and developed a crew that took pride in their work and their ship.

Summary

The journey from leader-follower to leader-leader transforms not just results but the very nature of organizations. By distributing control, building competence, and creating clarity, we unlock the vast human potential that conventional leadership leaves dormant. As Marquet discovered, "I believe that all in the organization can be leaders, and, in fact, it's best when they all are leaders." Your first step toward this transformation is surprisingly straightforward: identify one decision currently made at your level that could be pushed down to your team with proper support. Then provide the training and clarity they need to make that decision well. Remember Marquet's insight that "leadership is communicating to people their worth and potential so clearly that they are inspired to see it in themselves." Start today by identifying where you can give control, build competence, and create clarity for those you lead.

About Author

Loading...

L. David Marquet

Read more

Related Books by L. David Marquet

Loading...

Leadership Is Language

L. David Marquet

The Hidden Power of What You Say – and What You Don’t

★★★★☆4.0