0:00:00 – Opening
0:00:43 – MCDP 1-3: Tactics
2:59:32 – Support: How to Stay on THE PATH
3:23:03 – Closing Gratitude
188: USMC TACTICS PT.2: Every Moment is of Utmost Importance and Other Lessons from War
July 31, 2019
|In Podcast Episodes
0:00:00 – Opening
0:00:43 – MCDP 1-3: Tactics
2:59:32 – Support: How to Stay on THE PATH
3:23:03 – Closing Gratitude
Jocko-
Allow me to first express my gratitude for the passion and consistency with which you share your content. I have used many concepts I’ve learned from you, and it is with that gratitude I share this with you. You may be aware of this idea below, but I believe it to be wrong to only consume and not give back, as much as I am able to what you do.
My role at the bank I work at is to provide leadership and coaching training for the retail leaders of our banking organization, approximately 400 individuals who have teams ranging from 3 to 20 people. You’ve mentioned in a few of your podcasts the idea of a leader leading a subordinate to self-discover difficult feedback, as opposed to the leader just unloading that feedback from both barrels. We have recently instituted a process in our organization to have an effective ‘coaching conversation’, and this idea is at the heart of it. The main idea is for the coach to identify where a process broke and ask the teammate who failed “tell me about…” and insert the step of the process not executed. In sales, for example, when we acquire a new bank who used less effective sales tactics, the new teammates will want to do things the old way. They could be ‘order takers’ and just do whatever the customer asked, or push product without identifying the customer’s need. So in our sales process, the step that broke was ‘identifying the customers need’. Therefore, to lead the teammate to self discovery (instead of telling) the coach would say, “tell me about that customer’s need”. Usually the response is ‘I guess we didn’t get into that’. Then the coach asks ‘why is that?’, which leads to your clear coaching action.
The beauty for the coach is you know exactly what needs to be coach: the will or the skill. If the answer is ‘I don’t believe in doing that’, it’s a will issue and requires an accountability conversation. If it’s ‘I don’t know how to do that’, it’s a skill-building role play. It requires clear expectations be set ahead of time, and it is very effective.
Anyone can execute this for any circumstance. We literally practiced this with a father teaching his daughter to drive (‘tell me about what you saw when you checked your mirrors before you merged’) and coaching a janitor who isn’t sweeping the floor (tell me about how sweeping the floor is going). The best part is that the teammate has NO IDEA it’s happening, it’s a conversation. The leader assumes that the teammate did it correctly (even if they know they didn’t). It builds trust. It solves the problem of leaders who a. Seek conflict with a hammer or b. Don’t correct anything. Most importantly, it is effective!
Thank you for your investment in leaders at every level.
Dan
Jocko and Dave,
I was “all in” with Episode 187 and 188 was not fast enough. I went and ordered the book. I thought I was a voracious reader before JockoPodcast. Not so much. Now? I read ALL THE TIME!!! I avoid the television. I workout to your podcast…whether it’s your site or YouTube. I found you 2 years ago after reading “Make Your Bed” by: Adm. Wm. McRaven(Ret). Amazon suggested “Discipline Equals Freedom: A Field Manual”. BOOM!!! I was hooked. I was exposed to Dr. Jordan Peterson and then Joe Rogan. My reading list and leadership abilities have gone up…there’s always work to be done, but “Extreme Ownership”, “Dichotomy of Leadership”. I am constantly learning from other great leaders. Even if they were enemies of the United States. “Even a broken clock is right twice a day”. So, I keep learning. Thank you for the focus. Of course, I am not excluding Echo Charles. He has a pivotal role in all of this. I also thank him.
I have one book that goes to your mantra of “Knowing how to play the game”. The book is “Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln” by: Doris Kearns Goodwin. It is one of the 10 best books I have ever read. Thank you and your cadre. You all make a difference. Keep Getting After It!!!