Turn the Ship Around

Have you ever felt stuck in a job where your creativity and initiative seemed to vanish—where you were told to follow instructions rather than think? In Turn the Ship Around!, U.S. Navy Captain David Marquet tackles that universal frustration head-on. He argues that traditional leadership models—built on the idea that there are leaders who command and followers who obey—are disastrously outdated. Marquet contends that in today's world of complex problems and cognitive work, organizations must replace the leader-follower model with a leader-leader structure, where everyone takes responsibility, thinks independently, and acts like a leader.

Through the gripping story of his command of the nuclear-powered submarine USS Santa Fe, Marquet shows how he transformed the Navy’s worst-performing crew into one of its best. His approach wasn’t about charisma or hero worship—it was about systems, language, trust, and constant learning. Turn the Ship Around! isn’t just a military memoir; it’s a master class in reprogramming how we think about leadership, teamwork, and organizational control. As Stephen Covey (author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People) writes in the foreword, Marquet exemplifies the rare leader who empowers others to lead themselves.

The Problem: Leader-Follower Structures

Marquet begins with an honest confession: he was trained to be the perfect product of a hierarchical system. The Navy, like many corporations, operated under the assumption that the captain should make decisions and others should execute them. Leadership was defined as the ability to control thought, plan, and action. On the USS Will Rogers, his previous command, Marquet tried to implement empowerment programs within this leader-follower structure—and failed miserably. The crew waited for orders, operated mechanically, and avoided initiative. He realized that “empowering followers” only reinforces their dependence. True empowerment means removing the distinction between leader and follower altogether.

This insight gave rise to his central argument: leadership isn’t about controlling people—it’s about releasing their potential. As humans, we are naturally active problem-solvers; bureaucracy and command cultures have trained that instinct out of us. Marquet asks a daring question: What if everyone on board, regardless of rank, took responsibility for thinking and decision-making?

The Experiment: USS Santa Fe

When Marquet assumed command of the Santa Fe in 1999, it was not only the worst-performing submarine—it was also a crew trapped in complacency. Sailors described their jobs with chilling resignation: “Whatever they tell me to do.” The ship had abysmal morale, high turnover, and an infamous reputation. In six months, the crew was scheduled for deployment. With no time to fire or replace anyone, Marquet resolved that the only thing he could change was how people acted and interacted. His audacious goal: transform followers into leaders.

Instead of issuing orders, Marquet began distributing control. Using mechanisms like “Chiefs in Charge,” he made middle managers—chief petty officers—responsible for their teams’ leave, training, and scheduling rather than passing tasks up the chain. Every sailor began to own outcomes. This shift from privilege to accountability laid the foundation for the leader-leader model: push authority down to where information lives instead of dragging information up to where authority resides.

Leader-Leader Philosophy in Practice

Marquet’s transformation wasn’t theoretical—it was messy, hard, and human. He introduced specific, actionable mechanisms that forced intellectual engagement at every level. For example, he replaced “briefs” with “certifications,” so each team member had to actively prove competence rather than passively listen. Officers learned to say “I intend to…” when announcing actions—a language shift that compelled clarity of thought and gave ownership back to the crew. These simple linguistic changes created enormous cultural ripples.

Over time, the crew grew technically and emotionally competent. The Santa Fe achieved operational excellence, went from worst to first in fleet performance, and reenlisted twelve times more sailors than the previous year. More importantly, after Marquet left, the ship continued to thrive—proof that he had embedded leadership, not dependency, into its DNA.

Why This Matters to You

You may not command a submarine, but you probably lead—or are led—in complex systems that suffer from the same ailments: passive compliance, wasted intelligence, and fear of mistakes. As Marquet explains, the modern workplace resembles the bridge of a submarine—a tightly bound, high-stakes environment where withholding ideas can sink the ship. Whether you’re guiding a company, a classroom, or a team project, the same principle applies: stop trying to inspire followers; start releasing leaders.

Across the book, you’ll explore three pillars that support this transformation: Control (distributing decision-making), Competence (building mastery so people can act responsibly), and Clarity (ensuring everyone understands the organization’s purpose). Each pillar comes alive through vivid stories—from fire drills gone wrong to a sailor daring to tell the captain, “No, sir, you’re wrong.” These mechanisms—like “Take Deliberate Action,” “Don’t Brief, Certify,” and “Encourage a Questioning Attitude”—show how even established hierarchies can evolve into collaborative ecosystems.

Leadership Redefined

As Marquet summarizes, leadership is no longer about being right at the top—it’s about creating an environment where everyone can make decisions, take initiative, and continuously learn. The crew of the Santa Fe didn’t just follow him—they became him.

In the end, Turn the Ship Around! argues for a fundamental rethinking of authority itself. It invites you to ask a radical question about your own workplace: What would happen if everyone were trusted to lead? Marquet’s answer is inspiring and practical—your people would no longer wait for orders; they’d take command of their destinies.

You probably know how hard it is to give up control—especially when results reflect on you. Early in his tenure, Marquet faced exactly that tension. In the Navy’s culture, a captain is accountable for everything on the ship. Yet Marquet learned that only by giving up control could he unlock true performance. His first realization came when he authorized chiefs to manage their team’s leave schedules, a deceptively small administrative change that revolutionized the chain of command.

Rewriting the Genetic Code of Control

Marquet describes this as changing the organization’s “genetic code.” Instead of officers micromanaging subordinates to avoid mistakes, decision-making was moved to the lowest level possible. When the chiefs became responsible for scheduling leave, they also had to own watch bills, training, and qualifications. The shift from privilege to accountability made them leaders. For Marquet, this structural change was more effective than motivational speeches. It transformed culture through mechanisms rather than rhetoric (similar to Jim Collins’s concept in Built to Last that systems—not personalities—create lasting change).

The Courage to Let Go

Giving away authority wasn’t easy. Marquet wrestled with vulnerability—what if someone made a bad decision and the blame rested on him? Yet he realized that control without competence leads to chaos, while control paired with trust builds engagement. By delegating authority deliberately and observing outcomes, he cultivated ownership. Chiefs started to act instead of react. Junior sailors stopped saying, “Whatever they tell me to do,” and began asking, “Here’s what I plan to accomplish.”

A Practical Exercise for Leaders

Marquet challenges readers to find their own organization’s “genetic code for control.” Examine who approves decisions and where authority resides. Push it one layer down. Ask people to complete this sentence: “When I think about delegating this decision, I worry that…” Those worries usually stem from two causes—concerns about technical competence or lack of clarity about goals. Address those, and authority naturally spreads.

Key Lesson

Empowerment isn’t a program—it’s a philosophy embedded in everyday practices. True control comes not from holding decisions but from ensuring the next level down can make them well.

Delegating control demands faith. But Marquet proved that when people understand their mission and are trusted with authority, they don’t behave recklessly—they rise to the occasion. In your organization, those small shifts—signing authority, scheduling, approval rights—could ignite massive engagement.

Language shapes reality, and on the Santa Fe, a simple phrase—“I intend to…”—transformed passive compliance into proactive ownership. Marquet’s breakthrough came during a drill when officers mindlessly obeyed his incorrect order because “he was the captain.” That moment of failure forced him to eliminate giving orders altogether. From then on, every crew member would declare intentions, not ask permission.

From Permission to Ownership

Instead of saying “Request permission to submerge,” officers now said, “Captain, I intend to submerge the ship.” The captain’s reply—“Very well”—wasn’t approval of obedience; it was acknowledgment of competence. This framework pushed decision-making to the person closest to the information. Officers had to think at the captain’s level, anticipate risks, and explain their rationale. That linguistic shift made the entire crew mentally active, not just physically busy.

The Power of Words

Marquet notes how phrases affect mindset. Disempowered language—“Could we…?” or “Do you think we should…?”—signals waiting for authority. Empowered phrases—“I will,” “We intend to,” “I plan to…”—direct action and express accountability. Within months, the ship buzzed with initiative. Sailors began taking charge of their roles, studying procedures in advance, and coordinating actions without direction.

Leader-Leader in Action

Dr. Stephen Covey witnessed this firsthand when he rode the ship. Officers approached Marquet one after another with “I intend to…” followed by concise operational summaries. Covey called it “the most empowered organization I’ve ever seen.” It demonstrated that empowerment wasn’t top-down permission—it was bottom-up initiative sustained by clarity and competence.

Practical Lesson

Start by changing how your team talks. Replace requests with statements of intention. It changes how people think, plan, and take responsibility for results.

Marquet’s language reform reminds us that authority starts with words. When people speak as leaders, they begin to think and act like leaders. Simply changing syntax can rewire an entire culture.

Military organizations love briefings. But as Marquet discovered, briefing sessions create passive listeners. After a failed diving evolution where everyone nodded through a long, dull briefing yet made critical mistakes, he realized the fatal flaw: briefings aren’t engagement—they’re ritual. So he banned them.

Certify, Don’t Inform

In place of briefing, he introduced certification. Instead of reading procedures aloud, leaders actively questioned their teams to assess readiness. Each person had to demonstrate knowledge. If someone couldn’t answer confidently, the operation was delayed. Certification turned passive oversight into interactive learning and accountability.

How It Works

When crew members know they’ll be questioned, they prepare proactively. The culture shifts from “I attend the brief” to “I study to certify.” Marquet discovered that certifications required more work for management—they had to plan who was performing which role and understand readiness—but the payoff was enormous. Every sailor began thinking, studying, and engaging intellectually with their job.

Translating to Civilian Teams

Marquet challenges any leader conducting “status meetings” or “project briefings” to switch formats: ask participants to demonstrate preparedness instead of merely listening. Make it a decision meeting—is the team ready or not? Saying “we’re not ready” is costly but safer than a failed operation. (In hospitals or sales teams, certification meetings can prevent costly mistakes the same way.)

Key Takeaway

Briefing informs; certification engages. When everyone must demonstrate readiness, competence spreads, ownership deepens, and passivity disappears.

By turning “briefs” into “certifications,” Marquet created a living system of mastery. On the Santa Fe, even inspectors were surprised to see no briefings—and stunned by how capable the crew was.

After pushing control downward, Marquet faced a critical realization: delegation fails without competence. ‘Control without competence is chaos,’ he admits. To sustain leader-leader, he built a culture of constant learning.

From Training to Learning

Training implies passivity—someone trains you; learning is active—you train yourself. Marquet redefined his submarine as a “learning factory.” Every drill, repair, and maintenance action became a learning opportunity. The crew’s creed captured this ethos: “We learn how to prepare a submarine for success in combat.” Sailors saw every task—cleaning, studying, exercising—as part of personal growth.

Deliberate Action: Avoiding Mistakes by Thinking

In one key episode, after a red-tag violation (a serious maintenance error), Marquet introduced a new habit: Take deliberate action. Before flipping a switch or turning a valve, operators had to pause, vocalize, and then act. This mindfulness drastically reduced automatic mistakes and improved teamwork. Monitors could anticipate errors before they occurred—proving that competence is behavioral, not procedural.

Turning Mistakes into Mastery

The Santa Fe stopped treating errors as shameful. Every incident became a learning opportunity. By focusing on causes rather than blame, the team internalized accountability. This idea mirrors W. Edwards Deming’s notion from Out of the Crisis: improving processes beats increasing supervision. Marquet’s emphasis on learning transformed fear into curiosity—an essential trait for any intelligent organization.

Lesson for You

If you want your team to handle more authority, pair empowerment with technical mastery. Encourage active learning and reflection instead of passive compliance.

Competence frees you to grant control confidently. The moment your people learn how to learn, you no longer need to lead by fear—you can lead by trust.

As control dispersed across the ship, clarity became Marquet’s safety net. He needed every sailor to understand what the submarine was really trying to achieve—not just ‘avoid errors’ but ‘achieve excellence.’ Clarity transforms distributed authority from risk into strength.

Clarity Through Purpose

Marquet realized the crew had lost sight of the mission. Fear of mistakes had replaced pride in performance. He reframed purpose: their work defended the Constitution and the freedoms it guarantees. By connecting daily actions to noble outcomes, he replaced anxiety with honor. Every sailor understood they weren’t avoiding errors; they were contributing to excellence.

Guiding Principles and Organizational Trust

Clarity also came from shared values. Together with his chiefs and officers, Marquet wrote guiding principles—initiative, courage, integrity, continuous improvement. These weren’t poster slogans; they became living criteria for decisions. Awards and evaluations referenced them directly (“Petty Officer M demonstrated Courage and Openness”). Consistency between words and actions built deep trust.

Immediate Recognition

Trust requires recognition. When a sailor’s quick thinking prevented a collision, Marquet pinned a medal on him immediately. No bureaucracy, no delay—just acknowledgment. This practice showed everyone their efforts mattered right now. Recognition shifted competition inward, making crew members collaborators fighting against nature, not each other.

Key Insight

When people understand “why,” you no longer need to control “how.” Clarity makes autonomy possible—and trust makes clarity real.

For Marquet, clarity wasn’t a corporate slogan—it was lived purpose. Once everyone knew what excellence looked like, they could lead themselves toward it every day.

Would your staff challenge you if you were wrong? Marquet hoped his would—and one night, a sailor did. During a pitch-black recovery operation for Navy SEALs, the captain misinterpreted the ship’s movement and ordered the wrong command. The quartermaster, Sled Dog, hesitated, then said: “No, Captain, you’re wrong.” That honesty saved the mission.

Building Psychological Safety

Rather than punishing dissent, Marquet celebrated it. He realized resilience doesn’t come from blind obedience—it comes from a culture where anyone can question, verify, and challenge authority. On the Santa Fe, ‘Encourage a questioning attitude’ became standard procedure. Sailors learned to speak up when data or instinct said otherwise. Trust made questioning possible; competence made it credible.

Blame-Free Collaboration

In contrast to disasters like the Costa Concordia, where officers obeyed fatal orders, Marquet’s ship thrived because people felt safe to disagree. Clarity of mission and open dialogue ensured that prevention—not compliance—was the goal. Leaders must model doubt, curiosity, and humility. Marquet taught that certainty is arrogance; uncertainty is strength.

Questioning Beyond the Navy

For your organization, encouraging questions can mean simple structural changes: inviting debate at meetings, asking “What might I be missing?” or rewarding employees who catch errors before they spread. This approach replaces rigid hierarchy with adaptive intelligence.

Lesson

Obedience creates fragile systems. Curiosity creates resilient ones. When you welcome being questioned, you multiply intelligence across your team.

Marquet’s culture of inquiry proved that courage to speak up is the true mark of leadership—because a team that can question its captain can save its mission.

By the time Marquet left the Santa Fe, his ideas had taken root far beyond one ship. Years later, former crew members commanded their own submarines, led reconstruction teams in Afghanistan, and spread leader-leader principles throughout the Navy. The lasting success of the Santa Fe demonstrated that personality-driven leadership dies when the leader leaves—but principles-driven leadership thrives.

Enduring Mechanisms

After Marquet’s departure, the ship continued winning awards and outperforming peers. The reason? The mechanisms he built—delegation of control, deliberate action, certification, and questioning—had become embedded processes. They didn’t rely on his charisma. Other commanders adopted them because they worked.

From Empowerment to Emancipation

Marquet’s final evolution was radical: move beyond empowerment to emancipation. Empowerment still implies the leader bestowing power; emancipation acknowledges that people already have it. Leaders can’t grant genius—they can only remove barriers that suppress it. During a critical mission, a young ensign spontaneously solved a logistical problem by radioing another ship for supplies—a perfect illustration of emancipation in action.

Legacy for All Organizations

Marquet’s long-term influence rests on one idea: leadership should outlast the leader. When systems empower people to think and act independently, excellence persists. His model has since influenced businesses, schools, and nonprofits seeking sustainable engagement. If it can work on a nuclear submarine under life-and-death pressure, it can work anywhere.

Final Reflection

Leadership’s goal isn’t to be indispensable—it’s to make your presence unnecessary. When everyone leads, excellence endures.

Marquet’s legacy challenges every leader: don’t aim to be missed when you leave—aim to be replicated. The highest form of leadership is turning ships, teams, or organizations into self-sustaining networks of leaders.