1.

We Before Me
Organizations are not about individuals, they are about teams and the accomplishment of the collective goals of those teams. Therefore, team goals (especially the organization’s vision) take priority over individual desires. In fact, U.S. Navy SEALS don’t refer to themselves as SEALS, they call themselves “The Teams.” Selfish behaviors of any kind diminish team success. When selfish behaviors cannot be corrected quickly, the selfish team member must go because they will endanger the team, damage team results and cause the defection of the team’s highest performing members.

2.

Leaders Create A Clear Path to a Daring Destination
With a clear destination, the team can accelerate the pace of their accomplishment because they can clearly see which decisions will result in getting closer to the destination and which will hinder their progress toward the goal. The destination must be Daring because it must inspire the discretionary effort required to get there.

3.

The Team Deserves to Win
Each team member commits a portion of their life and their emotional bandwidth to the team. They commit to doing whatever it takes (that is legal and moral) to get to the Daring Destination. Because of their commitment, they deserve to win. The leader must act to clear obstacles and team members who are in the way of accomplishing the goal, because the team deserves to win. 

4.

Leaders Shape the Grand Story for the Organization
The Grand Story for the organization describes what has come before, what the current state is and why the organization must change and grow to succeed. It spells out the DESTINY of the organization, its purpose, why getting to the Daring Destination is critical, why it must be done quickly, and why we are the only team that can possibly accomplish this mission. It engages each team member in finding their role in the story and discovering their unique contribution to the outcome. The Grand Story imbues the Daring Destination with meaning for each team member.

5.

Develop yourself to Your Fullest Potential While Developing Others to Theirs
For the team to excel and adapt to a relentlessly changing environment and competitive landscape, each member must take responsibility for their own personal and professional growth and leaders must proactively invest time and money into the growth of their teams. The stronger each member becomes, the stronger the team becomes. 

6.

Take Care of Your People and Your People Will Take Care of Your Profits
The team is there to accomplish the goal. The leader is there to support the team. If the team reaches their goals, profits will quickly follow. Your team will only treat your customers as well as they are treated. 

7.

Metrics Matter
For any team to understand their progress toward the Daring Destination, they must know and understand the metrics that matter and have a clear view of those metrics at all times to enable mid-course corrections to the Daring Destination.

8.

Behaviors Matter
When you are stripped of tools and resources, the ultimate determiner of team results will be the daily behaviors of the team members. Acceptable and non-acceptable team behaviors should be spelled out clearly by the team and agreed upon by all team members. When the right behaviors are in place, tools and resources become powerful multipliers for success. 

9.

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Deep, Authentic Relationships Matter
People don’t quit companies, they quit bad bosses. The inverse is also true. People will provide exceptional discretionary effort for leaders and teammates they care about precisely because they know that they are cared about by their leader and their team. It is the leader’s responsibility to ensure all team relationships improve and deepen. 

10.

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Leaders Deliver Discretionary Effort
The goal of great leadership is to lead your team, as a team, to accomplish extraordinary results, far faster than they would have without your leadership, (Otherwise, why have a leader?). Accomplishing the extraordinary requires effort far above the normal effort required to merely keep one’s job. The measure of an extraordinary leader is their ability to entice the greatest discretionary effort from each team member.

11.

Be Perpetually Optimistic
The leader and the team must believe that with creativity, innovation and hard work, they will ultimately prevail.

12.

Results and Love are Two Sides of the Same Coin
Love is not the opposite of results. Love drives results. You can call it passion, drive, enthusiasm, customer-centricity, focus, or a host of other terms more acceptable in a corporate setting, but if you love your company, job, project, team and customers, it is impossible to deliver anything but your best possible performance every day.

13.

There is Always Room for Grace, Forgiveness and Support
On any given day, in any given situation, for any given task or decision, a team member may not get the desired outcome. These unexpected outcomes are welcomed and embraced by the team as a form of rapid learning and are shared, so other team members can learn from their experience. Human frailty is also understood and embraced. If a team member has a personal tragedy or a temporary need that must be addressed, the team will support and buttress them while they work through it. What is not acceptable is consistently selfish behavior that undermines team goals.