Lessons from "Turn the Ship Around!" by L. David Marquet

"What if I told you that everything you’ve been taught about leadership… is wrong?"

"For decades, we’ve glorified the lone commander—the genius at the top, barking orders, making all the decisions, holding the keys to success. But here’s the problem… that kind of leadership? It’s a sinking ship."

"Imagine you’re the captain of a nuclear submarine. You have 134 crew members under your command, and every move they make—every decision—determines whether you all survive… or fail."

"Now, what if I told you… you were given the wrong submarine? You trained for one model, but at the last minute, they handed you a completely different one. The controls, the protocols, even the language is unfamiliar. And now, your crew—already used to blindly following orders—waits for you to lead them."

"So, you do what any traditional leader would do. You give an order."

"And then—absolute silence. Nobody moves. Why? Because the order you just gave… doesn’t even exist on this ship."

"You just commanded people to fail."

"This isn’t just a story about a submarine. This is what’s happening in boardrooms, businesses, and startups every single day. Leaders making decisions for people who should be making decisions themselves. Teams trapped in outdated, top-down structures that crush innovation, slow progress, and kill engagement."

"But what if leadership wasn’t about giving orders? What if it was about giving control?"

"L. David Marquet, a Navy captain faced with this exact crisis, threw out the old rulebook. Instead of demanding obedience, he did the unthinkable—he turned followers into leaders. What happened next? His failing crew became the highest-performing team in the fleet."

"And here’s the kicker—this same shift can revolutionize your workplace, your startup, even your daily life."

"So buckle up, because today, we’re diving deep into the radical leadership lessons from Turn the Ship Around!—lessons that will challenge everything you thought you knew… and change the way you lead forever."

Traditional Leadership is Broken 

"Let’s play a game. Picture a workplace. Any workplace. A tech startup, a Fortune 500 company, even a restaurant kitchen. Now, what happens when the boss steps away? Does everything keep running smoothly… or does the entire operation come to a grinding halt?"

"Most organizations are built on a simple, dangerous assumption: that leadership is about giving orders and making sure they’re followed. That success depends on one person at the top having all the answers. But what happens when that person makes a bad call? Or worse—when their team is so used to obeying that they don’t even stop to question it?"

"History is littered with disasters caused by blind obedience. The financial crash of 2008? A room full of analysts knew the risks, but they deferred to leadership. The Challenger explosion? Engineers raised concerns, but top executives pushed forward anyway. In both cases, the people who could have prevented catastrophe stayed silent—because that’s what traditional leadership taught them to do."

"And here’s where it gets worse—this mindset doesn’t just exist in high-stakes environments. It’s everywhere. Employees who only do what they’re told, never thinking beyond their job description. Managers who micromanage because they don’t trust their teams. CEOs making decisions for people who are closer to the problem than they’ll ever be."

"It’s not just ineffective. It’s dangerous. And it’s why most teams never reach their full potential."

"But what if leadership didn’t mean giving orders? What if it meant giving control?"

"L. David Marquet realized this when he took command of the USS Santa Fe. His crew was trained to follow orders. He was trained to give them. But when he issued a command that didn’t even exist on that ship—and his team followed it anyway—he saw the problem crystal clear."

"The solution? A complete shift in leadership. A model where leaders don’t create followers. They create other leaders."

"And once he made that shift, everything changed."

"What did he do? And how can you apply it to your own team, business, or career? Let’s break it down."

The Leader-Leader Model: Giving Control, Not Orders 

"Imagine you’re watching a game of chess. One player—call him ‘the boss’—is making every move, controlling every piece, deciding the fate of the board. The other pieces? They just wait, motionless, until they’re told what to do. No thinking, no initiative—just obedience."

"Now, what if I told you that this is exactly how most organizations operate? One leader. Everyone else waiting for instructions."

"And if that leader makes a mistake? Game over."

"But what if leadership wasn’t a game of chess? What if, instead of moving the pieces, the leader taught every piece how to move itself?"

"This is exactly what L. David Marquet did when he took command of the USS Santa Fe. He was expected to run his submarine like every other captain—giving orders, demanding execution, making every decision himself. But here’s the problem… he wasn’t trained for this particular submarine. And his crew? They were used to following orders, not thinking for themselves."

"Then came the moment that changed everything."

"One day, Marquet gave a routine order—to shift into a higher gear. His crew acknowledged the command, relayed it down the line… and then nothing happened. Why? Because the command he gave didn’t exist on this submarine."

"His crew knew the order was wrong. But they followed it anyway. Why? Because that’s what they had been trained to do. To obey, not to think."

"That was the moment Marquet realized: The problem wasn’t his team—it was the entire system of leadership."

"So he did something radical. He stopped giving orders."

"Instead, he told his crew: ‘Don’t ask me what to do. Tell me what you intend to do.’"

"It sounds simple, but this one shift changed everything. Instead of blindly following commands, his crew had to think. They had to understand why they were doing something, not just what they were doing."

"And here’s the magic—when people own their decisions, they perform better. They take responsibility. They anticipate problems before they happen. They lead themselves."

"Think about your own team, your own workplace. Are you giving orders… or are you giving control?"

"Do your employees wait for permission, or do they step up with solutions?"

"Because here’s the truth—leaders who hoard decision-making create followers. But leaders who push decisions down the chain create other leaders. And when you have a team full of leaders? You move faster. You innovate. You win."

"But wait—doesn’t giving people control lead to chaos? Doesn’t it open the door to bad decisions? Only if you miss one critical step. Because giving control is only half the equation. The other half? Competence and clarity. And without those, everything falls apart."

"Let’s break that down next."

Competence + Clarity = Control

"Giving people control sounds great in theory. No more micromanaging, no more bottlenecks—just a team of highly engaged, self-motivated individuals making decisions on their own."

"But here’s the problem—without the right foundation, giving control can be a disaster."

"Imagine a pilot announcing mid-flight: ‘Hey, today, we’re doing things differently! Flight attendants—you take the controls!’"

"Exciting? Sure. Terrifying? Absolutely."

"Because control without competence is just reckless."

"And this is where most leaders go wrong. They either hoard control because they don’t trust their team, or they give control too soon without ensuring their team is ready."

"L. David Marquet knew this when he took over the USS Santa Fe. He didn’t just hand over decision-making and hope for the best. He made sure his crew had two things: Competence—the skill to make the right call, and Clarity—the knowledge of the mission so they knew which calls to make."

Step 1: Build Competence

"Marquet trained his crew to think, not just obey. He didn’t just tell them what to do—he made sure they understood how everything worked. Every system, every function, every decision-making process."

"Because real leaders don’t just give answers. They build experts."

"Think about your own workplace. If you left tomorrow, would your team flounder… or flourish? Are you leading a team of executors, or a team of thinkers?"

(Pause. Shift to the second half of the equation.)

Step 2: Provide Clarity

"But competence alone isn’t enough. A team can be full of highly skilled, intelligent people… and still fail. Why? Because if they don’t know the mission, they don’t know where they’re going."

"Marquet drilled this into his crew: If you don’t understand the bigger picture, you can’t make good decisions."

"So instead of just handing them tasks, he gave them context. Instead of ‘Do this,’ it was, ‘Here’s what we’re trying to achieve—how do you think we should do it?’"

"Think about your own team. Does everyone know what success looks like? Can they make decisions without you because they understand the mission?"

"This is why competence and clarity are the foundation of real leadership. You can’t just give control and hope for the best. You have to train people to be competent and make sure they have the information to act with confidence."

"Because when a team has competence and clarity, they don’t just follow orders… they lead themselves."

"And here’s where things get really interesting—when your team has both competence and clarity, something incredible happens. They stop waiting. They stop hesitating. They start making decisions on their own. They start leading."

"And this is where leadership truly transforms—when you move from decision-maker to decision-enabler. When your team doesn’t need a boss… because they’ve become leaders themselves."

"Let’s talk about how to make that shift next."

Decentralized Decision-Making & Initiative

"Let’s do a thought experiment. Imagine you’re running a high-speed restaurant kitchen during dinner rush. Orders are flying in, customers are impatient, and suddenly—a major ingredient runs out. Do your chefs freeze and wait for the manager? Or do they take action, adapt, and keep the kitchen moving?"

"Now, imagine this happening on a nuclear submarine."

"L. David Marquet faced this exact dilemma on the USS Santa Fe. He realized that in traditional leadership structures, every decision had to go up the chain before anything happened. The result? Delays. Bottlenecks. People waiting for permission when they already knew what needed to be done."

"So Marquet flipped the script. Instead of every decision flowing up, he pushed decisions down to the people closest to the action."

"No more, ‘Captain, what should we do?’ Instead, he trained his crew to say: ‘Captain, I intend to…’"

"This is the difference between a team that waits for orders and a team that takes ownership."

The Problem with Traditional Decision-Making

"Most companies, teams, and organizations are built backward. The people with the most information—the ones on the frontlines—aren’t allowed to make decisions. Instead, they report up the chain to someone further from the problem who then makes the call."

"Think about it. The cashier knows when a customer is frustrated. The engineer sees the flaw in the code. The sales rep knows why deals are falling apart. But if they have to run every decision past a manager who’s disconnected from the real issue, everything slows down."

"And in fast-moving environments? That kills innovation. Kills morale. Kills results."

The Power of Decentralized Decision-Making

"Now, imagine a different kind of system. One where people are trained and trusted to make decisions on their own. Where instead of waiting for approval, they say: ‘Here’s the situation, here’s what I intend to do, and here’s why.’"

"This does three things instantly:
1️⃣ It forces critical thinking—people don’t just react, they strategize.
2️⃣ It increases accountability—because the decision is now theirs.
3️⃣ It removes bottlenecks—decisions happen faster, problems get solved sooner."

"Look at companies like Amazon, Tesla, and SpaceX. They move faster than their competitors because they push decisions down. Jeff Bezos calls it ‘disagree and commit’—leaders give high-level direction, but execution is in the hands of the people closest to the work."

"This is the Leader-Leader model in action. The people with the most information make the decisions—not the people with the highest rank."

How to Implement This in Your Own Team

"So, how do you make this shift? It starts with one powerful question: ‘What do you intend to do?’"

*"Next time someone comes to you with a problem, don’t give them the answer. Instead, ask them: ‘What do you intend to do about it?’

• If they’re uncertain, coach them through it.
• If they make a solid call, trust them to execute.
• If it’s a bad idea, ask questions that guide them toward a better one."*

"When you push decisions down, people stop thinking like employees… and start thinking like owners."

"They stop waiting for instructions… and start leading themselves."

"And when that happens? Your team becomes unstoppable."

"But wait—if everyone’s making decisions, won’t that lead to chaos? Actually, no. There’s a secret ingredient that keeps everything aligned. It’s the difference between an organization that’s out of control… and one that’s running like a well-oiled machine."

"Let’s talk about that next."

Eliminating Passive Compliance & Creating a Learning Culture

"Think back to school. You’re sitting in class, the teacher asks a question, and you know the answer. But instead of raising your hand, you hesitate. What if you're wrong? What if you look stupid? What if the teacher doesn’t actually want your opinion, just quiet obedience?"

"Now, fast forward to the workplace. A bad decision is about to be made. Maybe it’s an unrealistic deadline. Maybe it’s a product flaw that nobody’s talking about. Maybe it’s an investment that doesn’t make sense. You see it. You know it. But do you say anything? Or do you stay quiet because that’s just ‘how things work’?"

"This—right here—is why most organizations fail. Not because people don’t know what’s wrong. But because they’ve been trained not to speak up."

The Problem: Passive Compliance

"In traditional leadership models, silence is mistaken for agreement. Compliance is mistaken for competence. And questioning authority? That’s often seen as insubordination, not initiative."

"This creates passive compliance—a culture where people do what they’re told, even when they know it’s wrong. Where employees follow procedures, even when those procedures make no sense. Where leaders assume everything’s fine, when in reality, disaster is just around the corner."

"We’ve seen this happen at the highest levels. Think of the Challenger disaster—NASA engineers knew there was a serious risk with the O-rings, but the culture discouraged pushing back against leadership. Or the 2008 financial crash, where analysts saw the warning signs but stayed silent, fearing the consequences of questioning authority."

"And here’s the scary part—this isn’t just a problem in billion-dollar industries. It happens every day, in businesses, startups, even small teams."

"So, the question is—how do you break this cycle?"

The Solution: A Learning Culture

"L. David Marquet saw this firsthand on the USS Santa Fe. His crew was trained to follow orders, not to think critically. But he knew that in high-stakes situations, a silent team is a dangerous team."

"So he made a radical change: he eliminated passive compliance and replaced it with a learning culture."

*"Step one: Make it safe to challenge authority.

• Instead of punishing mistakes, reward people for speaking up.
• Instead of dismissing concerns, ask deeper questions.
• Instead of demanding obedience, encourage debate."*

"Marquet did this by flipping the hierarchy. Instead of giving orders, he asked his crew what they thought. He didn’t just want action—he wanted understanding. He wanted critical thinking."

*"Step two: Normalize saying ‘I don’t know.’

• In most workplaces, admitting you don’t know something feels like career suicide.
• But Marquet realized: the most dangerous person in the room isn’t the one who lacks knowledge—it’s the one who pretends to have all the answers.
• So he made it clear—it’s okay not to know. It’s not okay to stay uninformed."*

*"Step three: Turn mistakes into lessons, not punishments.

• In traditional leadership, mistakes are met with blame.
• In a learning culture, mistakes are met with questions: ‘What happened? What did we learn? How do we prevent this next time?’
• This shifts people from fearful compliance to active improvement."*

"Now, think about your own team. Do people feel safe questioning bad decisions? Do they challenge assumptions, or do they just nod along? Do they think for themselves, or do they wait for someone else to tell them what to do?"

"Because here’s the truth—great leaders don’t demand obedience. They demand thinking."

"They don’t want yes-men. They want a team of people who are engaged, questioning, learning, and improving."

"And when you have that? When people aren’t afraid to speak up? When mistakes turn into learning? When every person in your organization is actively thinking and leading?"

"That’s when you unlock the full potential of a team. That’s when you stop managing and start leading."

"But here’s the final piece of the puzzle. It’s the most powerful mindset shift of all—the one that separates good leaders from the truly great. The idea that leadership isn’t about control… it’s about creating more leaders."

"Let’s talk about that next."

The Ultimate Leadership Mindset: Leaders Create Leaders

"What if the true measure of leadership isn’t how many people follow you… but how many leaders you create?"

"Think about it. The best teachers don’t just transfer knowledge—they empower students to think for themselves. The best coaches don’t just train players—they develop champions. The best CEOs don’t just build companies—they build future CEOs."

"But here’s the problem—most leaders don’t think this way. They see leadership as power, not responsibility. They hold onto decision-making like a tightly clenched fist. They make themselves the center of every process, every solution, every outcome."

"And in doing so, they create followers, not leaders."

The Crisis of Leadership Bottlenecks

"Look around any struggling organization, and you’ll see the same problem: one person, or a small group, making every major decision. Employees wait for direction. Innovation stalls. Growth slows. Everything depends on the leader at the top."

"This is why businesses fail when founders step away. It’s why teams collapse when managers leave. It’s why entire organizations become fragile—because they were never built to function without a single person calling the shots."

"Now, imagine a different kind of leadership. A leadership that isn’t about being in control… but about giving control. A leadership that isn’t about being the smartest person in the room… but about building a room full of smart people."

"This is the leadership philosophy that changed everything on the USS Santa Fe. When L. David Marquet took over, he realized his crew wasn’t incompetent—they were just conditioned to wait for orders. They had the talent. They had the skill. What they lacked was the permission to lead."

"So Marquet did something radical. He stopped being the bottleneck. He didn’t just lead his crew—he made them the leaders. He pushed decision-making down the chain. He made leadership the default setting for everyone on board."

"The result? His submarine went from worst-performing to best-performing in the fleet. His crew members went on to become some of the highest-ranking leaders in the Navy. And the Santa Fe continued to excel long after he was gone."

"That’s the mark of a true leader—one whose influence outlives their presence."

The Mindset Shift: Leadership is a Legacy, Not a Position

"Most leaders think their job is to be in charge. But real leaders understand—their job is to build people who don’t need them."

"Your legacy isn’t the decisions you make today—it’s the people you develop to make decisions when you’re no longer there."

How to Apply This in Real Life

"So how do you create leaders, not followers? Three key shifts:"

1️⃣ Stop giving all the answers.
"Next time someone comes to you with a question, don’t answer it. Ask: ‘What do you think? What’s your plan?’ Teach them to think, not just to ask."

2️⃣ Push decision-making down.
"Don’t hold onto control—distribute it. Let your team take ownership of decisions, no matter how small. Because small decisions today turn into big leadership capacity tomorrow."

3️⃣ Make leadership the standard, not the exception.
"Create a culture where leading isn’t tied to titles. Where everyone—from the intern to the executive—thinks, acts, and makes decisions like a leader."

The Final Thought: What Kind of Leader Will You Be?

"So ask yourself—are you building a team that depends on you? Or a team that can thrive without you?"

"Are you creating followers… or are you creating leaders?"

"Because the leaders who change the world aren’t the ones who stand at the top alone. They’re the ones who build a generation of leaders that rise up beside them."