By L. David Marquet Portfolio/Penguin (2020) Softcover, 336 pages
Reviewed by KAREN GLASSFORD
L. David Marquet has enjoyed a distinguished leadership career in the United States Navy. His experience serves as a backdrop to the highly practical insights in this best-seller flagship book. Faced with the unexpected challenge of being the new captain of the most abysmally ranked submarine in the Navy, he steered clear of traditional leadership paradigms in favor of empowering his crew. Within one year, the USS Santa Fe rose to the top ranking in the fleet. Disproportionate to any expectation or dreams, crew members were empowered to become excellent leaders, from which 10 new submarine captains were launched. How this was accomplished is clearly laid out with examples that are thought-provoking and easy to put into practice.
This seminal leadership work reveals how simple adjustments in language significantly impact team dynamics and success. Captain Marquet uncovers the shift from a “prove and protect” mindset to continuous improvement. It guides leaders on how to control time, transition from coercion to collaboration, and foster commitment over mere compliance. He provides practical insight on how to avoid the seven sins of questioning and how to replace those with impactful queries and simple methods of thinking that unleash creativity and solutions never before considered. Using ingenious methods, he shows how any leader can revel in the transformative impact of vulnerability and foster honest dissent instead of imposing consensus. He unfurls the challenges of traditional and effective leadership playbooks and demonstrates how to avoid anchoring leaders’ opinions, which shut down solutions and transparent interaction.
Throughout the book, you will be challenged by many hard-hitting realities, such as: “We judge ourselves by our intentions, but we judge others by their behavior” (p. 107). Each chapter contains many examples showcasing a simple refocus that will equip any team for success, such as celebrating “with” and not “for.”
While this book is not overtly Christian, much of its content clearly reflects God’s leadership principles throughout the Bible. A Christian edition of this book, which would weave in Scriptures and examples from the lives of early church leaders, would be invaluable.
This book will challenge your leadership paradigms and help you to reflect God’s heart as you become the transformational leader you were called to be.
Karen Glassford serves as the digital evangelism manager for the Seventh-day Adventist Church at the General Conference and is a graduate leadership student at Andrews University.