“of the simplest ways is obvious, but it often gets overlooked—that is performance. Your boss expects you to complete certain tasks. So complete them. Do them on time, on budget, and with as little drama as possible. Get the mission done.”
― Jocko Willink

Detailed Summary

Jocko Willink writes the book Leadership Strategies and Tactics. He is a retired United States Navy officer who served in the Navy SEALs.

In his book, he shared his leadership experience in the Navy seals and told us about effective leadership tactics. He says that corporate leadership is never as tough as leading a Navy SEAL. Although in corporate leadership, the leader has a lot of responsibilities and challenges to face, it’s never like leading a team in life-and-death situations like a Navy SEAL head.

He says that it’s a myth that everyone has to follow the rules and orders of a leader blindly. But the leader must prove himself first so the team can obey his orders.

“So how can a leader become great if they lack the natural characteristics necessary to lead? The answer is simple: a good leader builds a great team that counterbalances their weaknesses.”
― Jocko Willink

Leadership Strategy and Tactics Summary – Key Points

Have you experienced a day in the military? A leader of a platoon like Jocko Willink has to manage building relationships with the team members to trust them through his/her skills. For this purpose, they must have amazing skills. The followings are the leadership strategy and tactic’s primary tenets that teaches about leadership.

Sometimes taking a step back proves to be a better decision

The writer says that as a leader, your team relies on you to make a decision. Sometimes if you make a decision to step back, it will lead you to step forward. And by that, he means literally.

Willink says that imagine you are doing a training mission on an offshore oil rig with your Navy SEAL team. You are the head, and your team got stuck there. Now the team is waiting for your call for the next move.

Now, this kind of situation tests your leadership. In order to give the call to your team, you need to scan for targets. You can see so much through the scope of your gun.

In order to get a better view, the leader has to move away so that he can position his gun in the right direction. This means that he should take a step back. That’s what he did, and it worked in that situation. This teaches that stepping back can sometimes help you in stepping forward.

Moreover, this situation also teaches that when you are overwhelmed and have much to think about, take a step back. Take a break, relax, and breathe. You will come out stronger, and you will be able to make better decisions. 

Be humble

Another lesson that the book Leadership Strategy and Tactics teaches is that be humble as a leader. Don’t be arrogant for being a leader. Your team will obey you and your orders more when you are kind to them.

As a leader, you can perform more effectively when you feel inadequate and feel that you are not good enough for it. In this way, you will learn more and will be greedy for knowledge. You will try improving your skills and will perform better.

Besides that, this feeling not only helps you to stay humble but also helps in developing a friendly relationship with your team. The team always prefers a humble and kind leader to an arrogant one.

The writer says that be humble enough to pick up brass. By that, he means it’s not bad if a leader does such tasks. Also, it’s not the responsibility of a leader, but just by doing such tasks, a leader can develop better understanding and unity among his team members.

You might like to read the book 75 Hard: A Tactical Guide to Winning the War with Yourself Summary

Effective communication is the key

In his book Leadership Strategy and Tactics, the writer says that if someone wants to be a good leader, he should know how to communicate effectively.

By that, it means he should be clear enough to convey his message to every team member. Because when a leader fails to give information effectively, the team members get confused and cannot perform well.

Be specific when you are communicating with their team. For example, instead of just saying that “you did great.” Be specific and say, “Your confidence was key to our success in that sales pitch we did last week.”

So, it tells us that how you say things makes a huge difference. Moreover, people always pay more attention to kind, humble, and calm people.

“Solid relationships up and down the chain of command are the basis of all good leadership.”
― Jocko Willink

Who would I recommend Leadership Strategy and Tactics Summary to?

It is recommended to a young business owner struggling to communicate effectively with his staff and be a good leader. Moreover, students who don’t know how to work as a team need to read this book. They will learn some strategies and tips to be good at teamwork.