Hubris Making Bad Leaders with Former Navy Seal

Coach John Havlik is a retired Navy SEAL who led special operations teams around the world during his 31-year naval career, including the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, the SEAL’s most elite operational unit. He is the co-author of the new book The Leadership Killer: Reclaiming Humility in an Age of Arrogance which he wrote with past guest Bill Treasurer.

Top Takeaways: Hubris Making Bad Leaders with Former Navy Seal Coach John Havlik

I sucked at everything else but swimming
Coaching swimming at the Naval Academy
Drinking the Kool-Aid to become a Navy Seal
31 years in the Navy and hated the day I retired
My leadership style developed over the years, mostly from bad decisions I made
I tried to lead by example
I wanted to be a decision maker
Stay cool, accomplish the mission
If you’re going to be in charge, you need to be able to make a decision
What would you have done differently? I would have found a mentor
What would you have done differently? I would have gotten smarter on office politics
I learned the hard way that the biggest, fastest, smartest aren’t always promoted first
The difference between courage and arrogance
The root of what makes leaders go bad is hubris
Living in an age of arrogance
I’ve lived through a lot of mistakes the young people will make
No one thought I’d make it as a Seal
Best thing I did was to push away from my desk and walk around with my people