âIf your boss isnât making a decision in a timely manner or providing necessary support for you and your team, donât blame the boss. First, blame yourself.â â Jocko Willink
Most people think of leadership as a top-down activity: the leader issues orders, and subordinates execute. But effective leadership flows in both directions. Leaders must lead those above them in the chain of command just as effectively as they lead those below. This chapter explores both dimensions and shows why failure in either direction cripples an organization.
Leif Babin describes the frustration that SEAL operators in Ramadi sometimes felt with higher headquarters. From the ground level, decisions made by senior leadership sometimes seemed disconnected from reality. Rules of engagement felt too restrictive. Requests for additional assets were denied or delayed. Operational boundaries seemed arbitrary.
It would have been easy â and natural â for Leif to commiserate with his SEALs. âYeah, headquarters doesnât understand what weâre dealing with.â But doing so would have undermined the chain of command and made his team less effective. Instead, Leif applied Extreme Ownership to the situation.
If headquarters wasnât providing the support his team needed, the first question was not âWhatâs wrong with headquarters?â It was âWhat have I failed to communicate?â If rules of engagement seemed too restrictive, the question was not âWhy are they tying our hands?â It was âHave I clearly explained the tactical situation on the ground?â
Leif describes a specific instance where his SEAL platoon needed approval for an operation that required moving beyond their assigned sector. The request was initially denied by higher headquarters. Rather than complaining, Leif prepared a detailed brief explaining the tactical rationale, the intelligence supporting the operation, the risk mitigation measures in place, and the strategic value of the action.
He presented this brief to his commanding officer with professionalism and clarity. He didnât argue or push back emotionally. He provided the information and context that the senior leader needed to make an informed decision. The operation was approved.
The lesson was clear: when your boss doesnât support your plan, the most likely reason is that you havenât effectively communicated the information they need.
Leading up the chain of command is one of the most challenging aspects of leadership because it requires a subordinate to influence a superior â someone with more authority, more experience, and often more ego. It requires tact, professionalism, and a genuine commitment to the mission over personal pride.
Leading down the chain of command is equally critical and equally challenging. The leader must communicate the big picture to subordinates while providing enough detail for effective execution.
The most common leadership failure in large organizations is the communication gap between levels of the chain of command. Senior leaders make decisions without explaining them. Middle managers pass along directives without context. Frontline employees execute tasks without understanding why. Each level blames the others for the disconnect.
The solution is for leaders at every level to take ownership of communication â both up and down. If your boss doesnât understand the situation, itâs your job to explain it. If your team doesnât understand the strategy, itâs your job to translate it.
Jocko describes a vice president who was struggling because she felt caught between her CEO and her direct reports. The CEO was pushing for rapid expansion into new markets. Her team was overwhelmed with current operations and resisting the additional workload. The VP felt stuck in the middle, unable to satisfy either side.
When coached to apply the principle of leading up and down, the VP realized she had been failing in both directions. She hadnât effectively communicated her teamâs capacity constraints to the CEO, leading to unrealistic expectations. And she hadnât effectively communicated the strategic rationale for expansion to her team, leading to resistance and resentment.
She took two specific actions. First, she prepared a clear, data-driven brief for the CEO showing current workload, capacity constraints, and a proposed timeline for expansion that was aggressive but realistic. The CEO, armed with information he hadnât previously had, adjusted his expectations.
Second, she sat down with her team and explained why the company was expanding: market opportunity, competitive pressure, and the growth potential that would create career opportunities for everyone on the team. Once the team understood the âwhyâ and saw that the timeline was realistic, their resistance transformed into engagement.
The most effective leaders in any organization serve as translators between levels. They take strategic vision from above and translate it into actionable tasks for their team. They take ground-level reality from below and translate it into strategic intelligence for their superiors. This translation function is perhaps the most valuable and underappreciated skill in leadership. Without it, organizations fracture along the seams of the chain of command, with each level operating in its own reality.