Turn the Ship Around! - critical summary review

In this book, the author David Marquet, a commanding officer in the U.S navy submarine, has questioned the concept of leadership based on hierarchy. As the captain of the USS Santa Fe, a once poorly performing nuclear submarine within the Navy, he transformed the ship. Using a leader-leader approach, he asked “why are you here” to his subordinates, reversing the typical dynamics in the US Navy’s command-and-control structure to allow his men to flourish.

Marquet was in charge of writing about strategic leadership and looked back on his previous position when, rather than adopting the position of follower—an active component in the subculture, he was a leader and taught through action and strategy. The ability to counterbalance structure and chaos while commanding clarity of purpose allowed Santa Fe’s crew to flourish in their areas beyond assigned responsibilities.

Marquet also includes useful insights and questions together with useful suggestions toward the end of every chapter so that readers can seek to apply his principles within their own circumstances. According to him, true empowerment is not simply about handing out tasks—it is about empowering and activating the creativity and brilliance of team members. For Marquet, leadership is not the enduring role of command and control but the ability to engage individuals in realizing their potential and working as a team towards a common goal.

Breaking free from traditional leadership models

David Marquet takes us through his transformation from a classical and traditional view of leadership to a more empowering and decentralized view. Starting off, he remembers his initial attempts to take charge, which depended on all the normal traditions of a leader, who is a lone figure at the top of a great and well-managed hierarchy, with a ‘commander and chief’ who will issue orders and lower ranks obey. In any case, he has been forced to realize the weaknesses of this approach, specifically the reason that attempting to pursue a participative style of leadership aboard the USS Will Rogers ended up being a loss for him.

Language barriers and errors were issues he encountered while trying to hand over power to his Subordinate Officers, leading him to feel exhausted and exasperated, retreating to the use of micromanagement. This lack of success, in turn, activated a phase where the trust in leadership orthodoxy was eroded. He realized that traditionally, there were three fundamental flaws in such systems: capable individuals who actually could have had an impact were rendered ineffective; the management structure was incoherent; and people were far too dependent on leaders. 

Through Marquet’s continuous writing and thinking, he began to understand how there is no need for leadership where there is autonomous and collective responsibility and significance in the entire organizational context. These new turns of events prepared Marquet to accept what was to be his next important task – the command of USS “Santa Fe”, a submarine that was well-known for its underperforming crew with low morale.

Taking over a crew with such low morale and a submarine with a negative reputation would have been challenging for almost any other leader, but to Marquet, it was a chance to depart from the conventional style of management. Rather than changing the crew, he attempted to change the ship’s culture by encouraging desirable changes in his crew’s interactions and behaviors.

Since he knew very little about the “Santa Fe” systems, Marquet was quite open-minded in this respect, instead of trying to control the situation, he wished to understand what problems the crew was facing and what their goals were. He understood that to lead is not to give orders but rather to trust people, actively involve them in the processes and motivate them to perform their responsibilities.

Marquet’s stance regarding leadership on board the “Santa Fe” has also been based on the premise that the ship could be turned not with new facilities or new people but with a change in team functioning. He was able to identify the structures and personnel issues within the ship including the hierarchy and the bureaucratic complications that caused low levels of innovation and initiative.

He began to push those boundaries by making it clear to the crew that there were no orders and that they had to be responsible and make decisions. Marquet did perform other non-verbal activities as well; for instance, he carried a flashlight to draw attention to areas that were in need of improvement. He was insistent on not perpetuating the leader-follower ideology but replacing it with a leader-leader approach. In this hierarchy, every crew member would be able to act as a leader.

By shifting away from the usual approach of giving orders and focusing more on letting people make their own decisions, trust, and work together, Marquet created a culture where everyone felt responsible, creative, and excellent. 

Leading by intention: the power of language and ownership

When he took command, he found the crew feeling demoralized and lacking initiative. To turn things around, Marquet decided to shake up the traditional top-down leadership style and instead empower the people who were closest to the action—the officers and crew members. His main idea was simple: "Don't move information to authority; move authority to the information."

Marquet believed that real change in leadership could only happen when decision-making power was given to those who had the knowledge and experience. He worked to create a culture where everyone, from the captain to the crew, could take ownership of their roles. 

One major shift he made was in the language used on the sub. Instead of commanding orders from a higher-up, he encouraged crew members to say, "I intend to..." This change helped them take responsibility for their actions and decisions, turning them from mere followers into engaged leaders. By empowering his crew to think for themselves and take proactive steps, he aimed to foster a new mindset that embraced leadership at every level.

A significant part of Marquet’s strategy involved rebuilding the authority of the chief petty officers (chiefs or CPOs), who had previously been stripped of their power. This move was met with resistance, as many chiefs were skeptical about taking on additional responsibilities. However, Marquet helped them see that leadership was not about enjoying the privileges of rank but about being accountable for the performance and well-being of their divisions. He gave them authority over areas such as leave requests, traditionally handled by officers, to reinforce their ownership of their teams.

The result was a more effective and engaged leadership team, with chiefs taking responsibility for their divisions’ training, qualifications, and overall management. This practical approach demonstrated that even small, concrete changes—like altering one word in the manual—could have a profound impact on behavior and empowerment. Marquet also introduced the "three-name rule," where sailors had to greet visitors using three names, which helped foster pride and a sense of ownership in the crew.

Marquet pointed out that, while such changes were not without obstacles, particularly because of the fear and mistrust surrounding them, they resulted in major increases in morale and productivity. The crew shifted away from a victim attitude and took greater responsibility for their actions, resulting in more effective submarine operations.

The author's leadership style intended not only to change the structure but also to create a culture shift in which everyone, regardless of status, was encouraged to think, act, and lead autonomously. His focus on language, conduct, and empowerment, along with a dedication to lifelong learning, altered the culture of the Santa Fe and resulted in a crew that was highly engaged, accountable, and proactive.

Marquet's unique leadership approach revealed that genuine leadership is about allowing people to take responsibility and make decisions rather than merely sending orders from the top. This change not only enhanced the submarine's performance but also established a leadership culture that may last long after his command.

How empowerment drives efficiency and accountability

The first main idea that Marquet discusses is the significance of transferring accountability to the staff from the top down, with a special focus on the Santa Fe case. Marquet recounts the old approach used on the submarine that followed a “tickler” system, a guise of bureaucracy that tracked time consumed but did not genuinely consider whether the job was done or whose task was faulty.

This system resulted in micromanagement in which the command took care of every single detail, thereby stifling the crew's initiative and accountability. Marquet got the point of performance and efficiency only if he gave the group a chance to make a contribution, especially the department heads, so they could do their work without being supervised. By abolishing the tickler system and trusting his crew with their own small territories, Marquet gave people autonomy and thus, they became accountable and, ultimately, they improved their performance.

A key takeaway for stakeholders from here would be that leadership in an organizational setting is about promoting an environment where individuals are encouraged to take ownership of their work as well as come up with solutions rather than sticking to strict monitoring by the higher-ups.

The second key lesson revolves around the concept of "A New Ship," where Marquet reflects on his own over-involvement in decision-making. He recounts an incident where, during a critical maneuver, he took over the submarine’s operations from his officer, Lieutenant Dave Adams, thereby stripping him of his confidence and initiative. Marquet acknowledges that despite some successes, his leadership still depended too much on his direct involvement, which was unsustainable in the long run.

His goal was to create a ship that could operate efficiently without his constant oversight, where officers and crew felt empowered to make decisions and take action independently. This realization leads to the conclusion that effective leadership involves trusting your team, giving them the space to lead, and ensuring that each individual is responsible for their role.

Along with this, Marquet discusses the mechanism involved in receiving feedback from others and sees mistakes as opportunities to learn. In the "We Have a Problem" chapter, he goes through an incident on the Santa Fe where a sailor bypassed safety rules while connecting to shore power. Instead of escaping the problem or shifting the blame, Marquet made the infraction known to the superiors besides the Naval Reactors team.

He inspires leaders to "embrace the inspectors," admitting the help of outside view and the measures to make the organization fine-tune and guard the errors from happening. The openness of the company and the sustainability of learning, which mainly focuses on the resolution of the problems, has been thus focused here. In "Mistakes Just Happen," Marquet does not agree that mistakes occur in spite of doing things correctly, and he instead suggests a way out of this situation.

He further points out that individuals should better stop and think about the consequences before acting, which means every single move must be exercised with full intent and under good reasoning. This process is not brought about by the so-called superficial emotional reaction of a person toward the superior officer nor is it due to the simple practice daily. Rather, it is about building a mindset in which people take absolute responsibility for their actions, especially during crisis conditions.

By promoting cautious action, Marquet held that it is quite clear that experience will be lessened, competence improved, and a more resilient, accountable team can be developed.

How to align teams with organizational goals

Marquet’s big insight is to move from passive compliance to active engagement among team members. Early on he noticed that the submarine was being hindered by a passive briefing model where the crew just listened to orders. This led to no preparation and no engagement. 

To fix this, he introduced a new model where crew members were “certified” by demonstrating their knowledge of the procedures so they were not just informed but fully prepared. This increased the crew’s responsibility, motivation and performance. The idea of “certification” was a core of Marquet’s leadership philosophy, active participation and accountability over passive instruction.

Another big moment in these chapters was when Marquet talked about the need for clarity and communication. A sailor went AWOL (absent without official leave) because of a misunderstanding and it highlighted the importance of communication so everyone is not only physically present but mentally engaged and aligned to the mission. This incident reinforced Marquet’s commitment to having clear two way communication channels in the crew.

Marquet also talks about the power of decentralized decision-making, especially in high-stress situations. He recalls an emergency fire drill where the crew faltered because they were following old protocols and it caused confusion. By focusing on the goal – putting out the fire – he let the crew self-organize and make decisions and respond more effectively. This shift from micromanaging to trusting the crew’s judgment improved performance and morale.

One of the biggest ah-ha’s Marquet had was through his commitment to leadership at all levels. As he was preparing the Santa Fe for deployment, he saw how the crew’s sense of ownership, autonomy, and responsibility was leading to better teamwork and operational success. He also saw the need to develop individuals and grow people. By understanding the personal motivations and professional goals of each sailor, he improved morale and trust and even demystified the Navy’s advancement system so sailors could better understand how to succeed in their careers.

Marquet’s leadership showed that competence, autonomy, and collaboration trumped hierarchical structure. By empowering the crew and decentralizing decision-making, he improved the operational effectiveness of the Santa Fe and created an environment of trust and continuous improvement.

His leadership principles went beyond just avoiding mistakes; they were about creating an environment where people could thrive, make good decisions, and contribute to the organization’s success. Through this, he showed that clarity, trust, and empowerment are key to excellence in any high-stakes environment, including the military, and that leadership is about actively supporting the growth and success of the individuals within the organization.

Creating a leader-leader culture

The guiding rules were practical and used for every decision in the submarine. They helped the crew stay focused and work together. Marquet put these rules into the submarine's daily life. Everyone knew their role and felt confident in their decisions. This clarity improved how the team worked and increased shared responsibility.

Marquet praised crew members right after they succeeded. This behavior supported teamwork instead of rivalry. He tells a personal story about a throttle man who acted quickly to avoid a crash. Marquet’s quick praise of this action increased the crew's trust and stressed the need for decisive actions.

Marquet also stresses the need to combat effectiveness by fostering an environment where team members feel confident questioning orders and taking initiative. One example of this is when a sailor disagreed with Marquet’s order, pointing out an error, which ultimately helped avoid a costly mistake.

Marquet argues that questioning decisions, rather than following orders blindly, is essential for improving outcomes, especially in high-risk environments like the military. This idea is reflected in Marquet’s leadership style, which emphasizes the importance of creating a "leader-leader" culture—one where everyone in the organization feels empowered to take ownership of decisions and actions, leading to a more adaptable and resilient team.

Another key part of Marquet’s method is his focus on emancipation rather than empowerment. Empowerment still means leaders give power. Marquet believes true leaders let team members act freely. They do not need permission. This change builds trust and skill. It helps people succeed without waiting for orders. He shares a story of the Santa Fe crew. They solved a supply problem creatively. They did not follow the usual rules. This showed the power of freedom and initiative.

The lasting touch of Marquet’s leader's admittance is patent in the continued success of the USS Santa Fe long after his departure. The leader-leader model fostered a self-sustaining assimilation of leadership, with crew members advancing to leader roles themselves. This illustrates that the true meat of leaders lies not in managing and succeeding but in developing leaders who could keep driving the composition forward. Through these insights, Marquet argues that empowering others to think and act like leading creates a more live and efficacious composition able to achieve particular as well as property success.

Final notes

The book is a mix of storytelling and unjust leaders' principles, offering insights that cover beyond martial settings. Marquet’s framework, based on control, competence, and clarity, challenges formal direction approaches and encourages a more collaborative, empowered organizational culture. “Turn the Ship Around” is a must-read for leading at all levels—whether in the military, collective world, or any composition looking to crop leaders from inside and unlock the full effectiveness of their team.

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