The dichotomy of leadership
by Jocko Willink · first published 2018
75% recommend25% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Leadership guide from Jocko Willink and Leif Babin on balancing opposing demands, such as when to direct and when to step back. Its principles and everyday examples are useful for working managers.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
With their first book, Extreme Ownership (2015), Jocko Willink and Leif Babin challenged readers to become better leaders, better followers, and better people in both their professional and personal lives. Now, Jocko and Leif dive deeper into finding balance between the opposing forces that pull every leader in different directions. Mastering the Dichotomy of Leadership requires understanding when to lead and when to follow; when to aggressively maneuver and when to pause and let things develop; when to detach and let the team run and when to dive into the details and micromanage. In addition,
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…experienced guys? Leading ain't about telling people what to do. Sometimes telling people what to do is right. Sometimes it isn't. We can bring up a thousand cases proving both. I recommend the OP reads "The Dichotomy of Leadership" by Jocko Willink, which is about understanding where the balance lies. https://www.amazon.com/Dichotomy-Leadership-Balancing-Challe...
on “Ask HN: Advice for a new and inexperienced tech lead?” ↗Everything by Simon Sinek, but most important for me is "Leaders Eat Last" [0]. I haven't read the last one (The Infinite Game), but I've heard it's pretty good as well. Also Extreme Ownership [1] and Dichotomy of Leadership [2] by Jocko Willink and Leif Babin. All of these books had tremendous impact on me as a leader and I highly recommend them. [0]: https://www.amazon.com/Leaders-Eat-Last-Together-Others/dp/B... [1]:…
on “Ask HN: Best book / resources on leadership, especially for tech teams?” ↗Add in: - Dale Carnegie - How to win friends and influence people - Jocko Willink - The Dichotomy of Leadership and you've got an MBA in how to lead people.
on “More than five whys and “layer eight” problems” ↗Extreme Ownership - Jocko/Babin Dichotomy of Leadership - Jocko/Babin Every Little Step: My Story - Bobby Brown The Art and Science of Respect - J. Prince
on “Ask HN: Books you read in 2018?” ↗