Quoting Willink And Babin Leadership Analysis

Leadership is defined by Merriam-Webster (n.d.) as a “capacity to lead”. This concise yet inexact definition demonstrates an inherent debate of what exactly leadership is, moreover the concept of what makes someone a good or bad leader. People’s interpretations of what makes someone a leader varies from person to person based on their own philosophical outlook. My philosophy on leadership leans heavily on Jocko Willink’s and Leif Babin’s book Extreme Ownership. Quoting Willink & Babin (2015), “… leadership requires finding the equilibrium in the dichotomy of many seemingly contradictory qualities between one extreme and another” (p. 274). Some of the contradictory qualities in the book I agree with the most include taking ownership while empowering subordinates, being attentive to details but not being obsessed, and being aggressive but not overbearing. According to Willink & Babin (2015), “A leader must exercise extreme ownership. Simultaneously, that leader must employ decentralized command” (p. 275). This quote underlines that as leader you must take responsibility for everything you and your men do and fail to do. As leader you cannot just take credit for when things go well, but take responsibility for failures when they occur. Conversely, a leader must also empower their men to take responsibility and make decisions at

276). As stated earlier, a leader must take responsibility for everything their unit does and fails to do. As such, a leader must check in on the progress of his men. At the same time, a leader cannot get bogged down in the details. By constantly checking in on the who, what, when, why, where, and how of what his men are accomplishing the leader loses focus on the larger picture of the task and will be unable to effective coordinate their efforts. A leader who is not able to effectively coordinate his men’s efforts is an ineffective