This week we begin our re-read of L. David Marquet’s book, Leadership is Language: The Hidden Power of What You Say – and What You Don’t. I will be reading from the Kindle version copyright 2020 by Portfolio/Penguin. The book contains a Foreword, Introduction, 11 numbered chapters, and end material.  The hardcover has 352 pages. 

I am planning for this re-read to last 13 weeks plus or minus a couple of weeks. We will be done around the end of December 2023.  The pace I am planning is a chapter per week. This is the second book by Marquet that we are re-reading. The first was Turn The Ship Around in 2018 [link}. We begin today with the Foreword and Introduction. 

Shane Mac, an entrepreneur, wrote the Foreword. Mr. Mac tells how Marquet and Turn The Ship Around helped turn his leadership style around. There were a couple of points in the Foreword. The first is the assertion that the leader’s job is to make as few decisions as possible, rather their job is to help create a culture of empowerment. Job done means creating an environment where people have the right skills and agency. This is so that they can act in the service of the greatest good.

Empowerment is important to self-organization. This quote drives the point home: “The more permission that is needed, the less people will be empowered to think.” In many organizations, it is common for leaders pushing self-organization to pile on checkpoints and guardrails. These are points to deliver permission and guidance. Remember the old adage, “You should eat your own dog food.” The act of granting permission slows the flow and disempowers people.

In the introduction, Marquet recounts his time on the submarine, the Santa Fe. The time leading the crew of the Santa Fe changed the trajectory of the author’s life. Making tactical and operational decisions for people and teams “absolves them of their responsibility for outcomes.“ If you have heard, “I was just doing what I was told to do” or any variation, then you have an engagement problem of YOUR making. People do not feel they have the permission to think. This is where Marquet’s concept of the commander’s intent stems from. 

The majority of the introduction is a retrospective on one of the root learnings Marquet took from his time on the Sante Fe and as a management consultant. “Changing the way we communicated changed the culture.“ This is what this book is all about.

Language makes communication possible. You can measure and improve empowerment through language. When I read this idea, it was a head-exploding moment. Listening and evaluating can be a tool to evaluating leadership. Consider for a moment whether you are communicating a need to commit or comply. As a leader are you communicating intent or giving orders? 

An experiment:

Observe a stand-up meeting. Consider whether the language being used seeks involvement or is directive. Gameplay the most directive conversation part of the conversation you observed. Either in your mind or with a colleague using language-seeking involvement and engagement. How would the outcome differ? 

Before the Introduction wraps up, the author introduces the idea that doing and thinking are the basic building blocks of all human activity. The goal is to find the balance between doing and thinking based on the context of the movement. Doing gets things done – performing. Thinking is the path to improvement – growing. Finding the balance is an empirical process of inspecting and adapting.

Next Chapter 1 and the story of the El Faro.