I hear coaches, parents, teachers, and leaders of youth today talking about how "our youth need to stop making excuses and start taking more ownership!"
This is a mistake and the wrong starting point...
Last night I got to hear Jocko Willink deliver a keynote speech live in Orlando. If you do not know Jocko, he is a former Navy Seal Team leader and motivational speaker.
There were WAY too many golden nuggets to list here but I wanted to hone in on the most important one. It is one that I THOUGHT I was doing well, but it turns out, I am the problem. And maybe you will find value too...
Extreme Ownership- I AM THE PROBLEM
"Our youth need to stop making excuses and start taking more ownership!"
If Jocko heard this, he would put us in our place quickly...
Jocko shared a story about an operation that did not go well, it was a MESS.
At the debrief, the Commanding Officer proceeded to point out what everyone did wrong.
"You were not in the right position."
"And you! Why didn't you communicate where that guy was!?"
"And then you! You didn't cover for him like you were supposed to!"
He was finger pointing and wondering why his guys never took ownership and also pointed fingers...
Poor leadership. Lack of ownership. No wonder why his team also lacked extreme ownership. Their own "leader" didn't model it!
Let's flip this. What would Extreme Ownership look like?
"You were in the wrong position. Next time I will spend 2 extra minutes with you making sure you know your position. That's on me."
"The communication was off today and it cost us. It's my role as the leader to ensure we communicate more. Next time I will ensure we spend more time practicing our communication strategy."
"You did not cover for your guy. I know I sped past this in our training and I should be teaching the basics more than I do. The fundamentals matter. That's my job and I will lead better next time."
Whooooaaaa....
Now before you say "Sounds good but our kids still need to take ownership!"
And they will, once they see it.
Kids cannot be what they cannot see.
This is true for athletes on your team, your employees, your co-workers, your boss, your spouse, your children...
All that I can do is make sure I do my job as a leader of MODELING extreme ownership. No matter where I am at in the hierarchy of leadership.
Great leaders look within when the people they lead/parent/coach are not doing their job well and ask, "How could I have done a better job communicating, delegating, teaching, listening, planning, or preparing?
I know I need to be better here. I WILL be better here.
Jocko closed by sharing that Humility is the most important trait of a great leader. And THAT too was a great reminder.
Keep up the great work mom, dad, coach. It's not easy to do what you do, but this next generation needs us to model humility and extreme ownership!
Dedicated to your athlete's success in sports and life,
Coach Andrew J Simpson
