As Pastors and organizational leaders over ministries and non-profits, it’s easy to find blame in external circumstances or in other people as to why things are not happening the way we expect or going our way. Why? Because we control very little when it comes to the final outcome of any endeavor. Strong Leaders NEVER pass the buck! They take full responsibility for where they are, and what is happening. 

 I was inspired when I read this post by Michael Hyatt who had just finished reading “Extreme Ownership: How U.S. Navy SEALSs Lead and Win" by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. It’s a great post for ALL LEADERS (especially those in churches and non-profit organizations). Read the full blog post from Michael Hyatt. "Why It Never Helps to Pass the Buck"  

6 Battle-Tested Lessons
The idea of extreme ownership is the backbone of Willink and Babin’s battle-tested advice for leaders in any area of life. There are six leadership lessons that stand out for me:

1. Take ownership. Our effectiveness as leaders depends on how much we own what’s on our plate. We usually reject responsibility out of self-protection. But as the Willink example showed, if he had dodged responsibility it would have undermined him. By owning the problem, he was able to fix it.
2. Stay out of your own way. That kind of self-protection is all about our egos, isn’t it? Willink and Babin point out that ego can be a good thing. It’s part of what drives us to succeed. But it can get in our own way. Usually it happens when take our eye off the mission and start worrying about winning and losing by less important measures—like status.
3. Support your team. Willink and Babin call this “covering and moving.” As I’ve written about before, the team is really the whole game. And it’s essential that everyone on the team thinks so. The moment a leader or others are out for themselves and their own win, you’ve lost.
4. Simplify. Business is simple. We deliver something people want and charge them for the service. But how we do that can get complicated in a hurry. Here’s the catch: A complicated plan is hard to communicate to our teams, and that makes it hard for them—and us—to win.
5. Stay focused. There are a million distractions on the battlefield. Same with the office. If we lose focus on the priorities, we’ll get overwhelmed and fail. This is why I’m such a major advocate of life planning and goal setting. They’re not ends in themselves. They enable to set and stay focused on your targets.
6. Empower your people. This one is critical. You might think if you’ve got to take this kind of total, extreme ownership that you have to do everything. No way. First, you can’t do it. Second, that’s why you have a team! Leaders delegate. Willink and Babin stress training, empowerment, and communicating clear responsibilities and expectations.