Reflections on Turn the Ship Around! by L. David Marquet

I recently finished reading Turn the Ship Around! by L. David Marquet, and I found it incredibly insightful. The book presents a powerful example of an empowerment framework successfully implemented aboard the USS Santa Fe, where Marquet—then the submarine's captain—transformed a traditional “leader-follower” model into a “leader-leader” one.

His leadership style significantly improved the ship’s operational performance, boosted staff retention, and helped develop successful future leaders. What’s truly striking is how relevant these principles are across all kinds of organizations—from a nuclear submarine with 135 crew members to a modern software company.

I was particularly impressed by David's courage in challenging the rigid, hierarchical leadership norms of the U.S. military—a highly regulated and conservative environment.

Practical Lessons for Any Organization

What makes this book valuable is its practicality. It offers clear principles and actionable ideas that can be applied at various levels of an organization. At the same time, Marquet rightly cautions that his methods should not be applied as-is everywhere. Every organization is unique, and specific implementation steps will vary. However, if the core pillars outlined below remain front and center, they can guide meaningful change.

Marquet’s Leadership Framework: The 3 Pillars

1. Releasing Control Downwards

This is easier said than done—especially in the military—where leaders are ultimately accountable for their team’s performance. The default behavior is often to retain control. However, there are effective ways to release control without creating chaos:

Use empowering language: Shifting from passive phrases like "Do you think we should..." to active ones like "I intend to..." or "I plan to..." signals ownership and clarity of responsibility.
Think out loud: Sharing thoughts openly fosters team alignment, builds clarity, and keeps leaders informed without micromanaging.
Eliminate top-down monitoring systems: Instead of overseeing every step, establish clear responsibilities and measure performance using objective KPIs.
Encourage short, early conversations: Frequent, low-cost feedback loops lead to more efficient work and faster course corrections.
Act your way to new thinking: Cultural change often follows behavioral change. For example, if you want people to take pride in their work, encourage them to act as if they already do.
Resist the urge to solve problems for others: Give people space to develop their own solutions—this builds capability and confidence.

2. Instilling More Competence

Empowering people with more control requires a parallel increase in competence at all levels. Marquet offers some excellent principles for fostering this:

Adopt a learning mindset: Embrace the idea that learning happens everywhere—from successes and failures alike.
Take deliberate action: Saying out loud what you’re about to do helps reduce errors by slowing down decision-making and allowing time for reflection.
Don’t just brief—certify: Active engagement is more effective than passive information sharing. For instance, instead of briefings, have teams demonstrate how they’ll execute a complex rollout.
Set clear goals—not methods: Allow individuals the freedom to find their own paths to success, encouraging creativity and ownership.
Link training to autonomy: Make training programs a pathway to greater control and responsibility. This motivates learning and aligns personal growth with organizational needs.

3. Improving Organizational Clarity

Clarity enables better, faster decisions and helps connect daily actions to a shared vision. It’s about ensuring everyone understands the “why” behind the work:

Repeat key messages often: Especially during change or mindset shifts, repetition ensures alignment. Don’t assume people interpret things the same way you do.
Build trust and care for your people: Align their personal goals with organizational ones. When people feel supported, they’re more committed and productive.
Use your legacy for inspiration: In times of change or crisis, reconnecting with the organization's roots can reinforce purpose and resilience.
Define guiding principles together: These values should be co-created with the team so they hold meaning. Recognize individuals when they embody them in their work.
Recognize behavior immediately: Avoid delayed or limited recognition systems (like “top 10%” awards). Celebrate achievements in real time using diverse tools and incentives.
Begin with the end in mind: Plan for the long term—2 to 4 years ahead—and align team and individual goals accordingly.
Encourage a questioning culture: Create space for healthy skepticism and inquiry. Avoid issuing direct orders in an empowered environment.

Final Thoughts

This book is a powerful example of how a bottom-up leadership culture can outperform traditional top-down structures. One insight that resonated with me is how training programs can be tightly linked to granting more control—this creates strong motivation for learning and growth. Another takeaway was the effectiveness of the "Take deliberate action" technique in reducing human error.

I highly recommend Turn the Ship Around! to anyone interested in rethinking leadership and building empowered, high-performing teams. It might just change how you look at your organization.