The Strategy Skills Podcast: Strategy | Leadership | Critical Thinking | Problem-Solving 577: Former Submarine Commander L. David Marquet on How Leaders Make Better Decisions
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Aug 13, 2025 
L. David Marquet, a former nuclear submarine commander and author of Leadership Is Language, revolutionizes the way we think about leadership. He shares his journey from traditional command to a collaborative approach that empowers teams. Key insights include replacing permission with intent to boost ownership and clarity. Marquet also discusses the importance of separating doing from thinking to enhance decision-making. He advocates for cultivating a 'student mindset' to combat organizational biases and urges leaders to embrace feedback for growth.
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Ask People To Wear Your Shoes
- Ask people to imagine themselves in the leader's seat or as their future self to change their perspective before deciding.
- Prompting "If you were me, what would you do?" often produces better, broader thinking without new data.
Distance Clarifies Decision-Making
- Imagining your future self or a different vantage drops ego filters and clarifies choices.
- Distancing lets you see the bigger picture because your brain stops defending past choices.
Identity Bias Keeps Organizations Stuck
- Ego and identity bias filter incoming evidence to protect past success, delaying necessary strategy shifts.
- Distancing or imagining replacements helps break that inertia and reveal better options.
