#27: Q&A with David Marquet (Bestselling Author) - Leadership is Language

Today, I am bringing you an interview with former Navy Captain, best-selling author, and a true leadership expert, David Marquet. 

Here are a few quotes about David Marquet:

“I don’t know of a finer model of this kind of empowering leadership than Captain Marquet." Dr. Stephen R. Covey, author of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

“To say I’m a fan of David Marquet would be an understatement. I’m a fully-fledged groupie. He is the kind of leader who comes around only once in a generation. He is the kind of leader who doesn’t just know how to lead, he knows how to build leaders. His ideas and lessons are invaluable to anyone who wants to build an organization that will outlive them.”  Simon Sinek, author of Start with Why, Leaders Eat Last, and The Infinite Game

I can relate to Dr. Covey and Simon’s thoughts on David.  He is a true leadership hero for me, so it was really special to get to do this interview. 

A little bit of David’s story for those that are unfamiliar.  He graduated in the top of his class at the US Naval Academy, graduated #1 from his nuclear power school class and the submarine officer basic course.  David has always been a brilliant guy, but over his years in the Navy, he learned that being a great leader is not all about being the smartest guy in the room. 

After years of proving his competence, David was awarded his very own command of a nuclear submarine.  He was told he’d be taking over the USS Olympia, so he spent an entire year studying every aspect of the ship, becoming an expert on all the ship's capabilities.  But about two weeks before taking over the Olympia, he was reassigned to take over the Santa Fe.  He knew nothing about the Santa Fe, for its crew had a reputation for being the worst in the fleet.  With only two weeks before taking over, he knew his typical leadership approach of being the smartest person in the room and just giving orders wasn’t going to work. 

So aboard a nuclear submarine – a place that few would feel comfortable taking a lot of risk and doing experiments – David tried an entirely different approach to leadership.  Instead of viewing his crew as followers that simply followed his orders, David empowered them to think, to take initiative, and he ultimately developed them into leaders.  He moved from the leader-follower model he had been taught to viewing everyone as a leader.  And the results were truly remarkable.  His leadership turned the ship around.  They went from worst in the Navy to receiving the best evaluation in Navy history.

Even after David departed the Santa Fe, it continued to win awards and promoted a disproportionate number of officers and enlisted men to positions of increased responsibility, including 10 subsequent submarine captains.  When Stephen R. Covey visited the ship, he said it was the most empowering organization he’d ever seen and wrote about David’s leadership practices in his book, The 8th Habit.

David first shared his leadership principles in the #1 Amazon Bestseller, Turn the Ship Around!  A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders.  Fortune magazine named it the #1 must-read business book of the year, and USA Today listed it as one of the top 12 business books of all time. 

And, on February 4th, David is releasing his new book, Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say and What You Don't, which I have had the chance to read and it is truly an incredible book.  Some books given you a nugget of wisdom here and there, but David’s books challenge me in a special way and help me take my leadership approach to a new level.  His books are transformational and paradigm-shifting.  Leadership is Language has been endorsed by Adam Grant, General (ret.) Stanley McCrystal, and Liz Wiseman, author of Multipliers. 

You can connect with David Marquet at his website, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. 

Find full notes at calwalters.me.