Leadership, Navy Seal Style

In previous posts I summarized the main points I gleaned from Mark Divine’s book, 8 Weeks to SEALFit. Now I am reading The Way of the SEAL, also by Mark Divine. While 8 Weeks to SEALFit was mostly about physical training, with a good side helping of the other elements connected with the making of a modern day warrior, The Way of the SEAL is a much more rounded approach that looks at what Mark calls Five Mountain warrior training. These mountains represent the development of the physical, emotional, intuitional, and spiritual arenas, and integrating these areas for personal growth.

Mark writes – and I agree – that developing any one of this area to the detriment of any or all of the others leaves you unbalanced and unable to fulfil your full potential. He also believes that genuine leadership stems from the heart of the individual, regardless of and sometimes in spite of their organizational role or the power systems in which she or he works. I have seen this time and again myself; the best leaders did not actively seek leadership for leadership’s sake. They wanted to be good team players, and because of their integrity and vision, their selflessness and humility, they naturally gravitated to leadership positions.

The word “warrior” in this context is not necessarily a soldier, but has a more figurative meaning – it is a person who masters herself or himself at all levels, who has the courage to step up and do the right thing, who is focused on serving her or his family, team, community, and humanity as a whole.

According to Mark: “Our economic mythos – the collective story we tell ourselves about how our economy works and how we should interact as part of it – is based upon an individual carving out his or her slice of a limited resource pie in a competitive attempt to secure a declining standard of living. The financial meltdown of 2008 and the long recession that followed forced many into undignified jobs; onto the dole; or to flat-out begging, borrowing, or even stealing. In all sectors, the norms of behavior have gotten very loose, with personal values around earning a living (and many other things) growing very slippery.

Our daily crush of commitments keeps the hamster wheel of survival spinning, but it masks a growing unease and keeps attention off what matters most. It also obscures the grim reality that we are still responsible for our thoughts and actions, and the universe ultimately holds us responsible as well. We all pay at a personal and societal level for the failure to hold ourselves accountable to higher standards.” – page 8

Developing character and discipline is neither quick nor easy, and this book is really clear on that. This process is hard, like anything worth doing. Next post: laying the foundations.