Turn the Ship Around!

Marquet captained a nuclear submarine and replaced the standard leader and follower model with one where authority moved to the people who held the information. The book is written as a narrative of that change, with each short chapter introducing a specific mechanism such as stating an intention instead of asking permission, or taking deliberate action to prevent errors in routine work. The mechanisms are grouped under control, competence and clarity, on the argument that handing over control without the other two is negligence rather than empowerment. It is unusually concrete about devolving authority incrementally rather than announcing it. Read it alongside any book on psychological safety, because the mechanisms are what make the intention real.