An epiphany: I felt like I had come across one of the most inspiring books on leadership, thanks to my newest colleague at Interport Group, Bushra Mahjabin Easha. The book is titled "Turn The Ship Around" by L. David Marquet!

The story is about Captain Marquet and how the transition from the traditional leader-follower approach to leader-leader approach, helped him transform the crew of the USS Santa Fe (the most modern nuclear powered attack submarine during the 80s) who were previously at the bottom of the fleet-technically, operationally, and emotionally (due to top-down leadership environment). The steps were evolutionary but the results were revolutionary as a within a year the situation of the crew was totally turned around by Captain Marquet's 'leader-leader' leadership approach, from worst to first in most measures of performance including retention of sailors and officers.

The more important story is however, how after Captain Marquet left service, Santa Fe continued in its remarkable trajectory of operational excellence and the implausible high promotion rates for its officer and crew, which is the legacy of leader-leader!

The leader-leader principle in the words of Captain Marquet himself:

"The leader-leader structure is fundamentally different from the leader-follower structure (which divides the world into two groups of people: leaders and followers).

At its core is the belief that we can all be leaders, in fact, it's best when we all are leaders. Leadership is not some mystical quality that some possess and others do not. As humans, we all have what it takes, and we all need to use our leadership abilities in every aspect of our work life.

The leader-leader model not only achieves great improvements in effectiveness and morale but also makes the organization stronger. Most critically, these improvements are enduring and decoupled from the leader's personality and presence. Leader-leader structure are significantly more resilient, and they do not rely on the designated leader always being right. Further, leader-leader structure spawn additional leaders throughout the organization naturally. It can't be stopped."

The fine line between the leader-leader and leader-follower approach for me is:

i. Everyone can be a leader. It's a choice and not a position. So leadership qualities can be demonstrated at all levels and functions
ii. Everyone should be empowered to lead in their area of expertise, and also to follow when appropriate. This means that leaders should be willing to step back and follow the guidance of others, especially when those others have more relevant expertise or a better understanding of a particular situation.
iii. We need to view world as a place for leaders everywhere, as people who are treated as followers have the expectations of followers and act like followers

Wishing all my friends a beautiful and productive week ahead! 😊

 #myreflections #enduringleadership #responsibility #leaders #everywhere