Dash of Courage: Lessons from a Navy SEAL

"Would I trust you with my money, my wife, my life?"- Anonymous

Courageous Leadership takes many forms. 

One certainly would be the Navy SEALS.

This past week I heard from a Navy SEAL officer with 32 years in the SEAL teams. He was as humble as he was smart, and I was eager to hear his insights on leadership.

Unique Insight: The Navy SEALS do not optimize for high performance. They optimize for the highest level of TRUST. Every organization wants high performance and high trust. Obviously. But given the tradeoff, most organizations want the highest performer. 

We default to the top salesperson, the one that drives the most revenue, the one that statistically has the numbers. Not the Navy SEALS. They would rather have higher trust and lower performance metrics. Trust drives performance. Not the other way around.

Key Question: A million books have been written on Trust & Leadership. 1 question stands out.  It's as valuable to the Navy SEALS as it is in our teams and relationships.

On a Scale of 1-5, How much do I trust You to take responsibility for Your decisions. Who would score a 4 or 5?  Those are the people we are lucky to do life with. Find them. Keep them. Promote them. Cherish them.

A Dash of Courage: The next time you have two candidates you are looking to promote, flip the criteria. Performance is obvious. Trust is enduring. If the candidates are close, have a Dash of Courage and choose Trust. The Navy SEALS do.

Courage over Comfort,

Garrett