Leadership Insights From Special Forces

Being a leader in the SEAL teams can be defined by team dynamics, decentralized command, and prioritization to accomplish mission objectives under extreme pressure. SEALs excel in clear communication, performance, understanding that there is no place for mediocrity. - **Decentralized Command**: SEALs function in small, agile teams with fluid command structures, allowing quick decision-making and adaptation to evolving circumstances. - **Prioritization and Focus**: SEALs focus on tasks with the most impact and urgency, avoiding distractions and unnecessary details to maintain efficiency. - **Clear Communication and Trust**: SEALs value concise communication and trust-building, facilitating swift decision-making and execution. - **Adaptability and Flexibility**: SEALs embrace adaptability, comfortable with sudden changes and uncertainties, ensuring they can pivot swiftly. - **Extreme Ownership**: SEALs take responsibility for their actions, learn from mistakes, and empower others to excel, embodying true leadership. - **Building Resilient Teams**: SEALs foster resilient teams through teamwork, mutual support, and a strong sense of camaraderie to withstand challenges. - **Intellectual Humility**: SEALs exhibit intellectual humility, open to learning from others and diverse perspectives, fostering open communication. - **The 3-Foot Rule**: SEALs concentrate on what they can control, steering clear of distractions to stay composed in high-stress scenarios. - **The 40% Rule**: SEALs recognize that exhaustion often masks remaining capacity, emphasizing pushing through physical and mental fatigue. By embracing these principles, Navy SEALs not only achieve success in combat but also offer valuable leadership insights across diverse fields.

Leaders waste more energy on divided focus than any other activity. I learned this the hard way in the SEAL Teams. During a training evolution, I was juggling radio communications, coordinating multiple teams, and making split-second calls. And I wasn’t doing any of it well. My commanding officer pulled me aside: "Mac, you're everywhere and nowhere. Focus or you'll miss the critical moment." He was right. I was spread so thin I couldn't see the patterns emerging right in front of me. This isn't just a military problem. I see it daily with my executive clients: → Scanning emails during strategy discussions → Mentally rehearsing a presentation while their team shares crucial updates → Attention bouncing between five urgent problems, solving none completely The cost isn't just productivity. Your leadership presence evaporates. Your team's trust erodes. In high-performance environments, attention isn't just a resource. It's your competitive advantage. When you focus fully: → You notice micro-expressions that signal team tension → You spot connections between seemingly unrelated data points → You make decisions from clarity rather than reaction Most leaders know this. Few practice it consistently. The difference isn't knowledge, it's discipline. The solution isn't complicated: 1. Practice intentional monotasking. Whatever deserves your attention deserves your FULL attention. 2. Create attention boundaries. Block time for deep work with zero notifications. 3. Build a daily mindfulness practice. Even 5 minutes trains your focus muscle. 4. Batch-process inputs. Schedule specific times for email and updates rather than letting them hijack your entire day. In my 17+ years as a SEAL, the leaders I trusted most weren't just the smartest or toughest. They were the ones who could maintain complete presence amidst chaos. They showed up fully. Their attention wasn't divided. Their focus created a gravity that pulled teams together. What deserves your full attention today? ——— Follow me (Jon Macaskill ) for leadership insights, wellness tools, and real stories about humans being good humans. And feel free to repost if someone in your life needs to hear this. 📩 Subscribe to my newsletter here → https://lnkd.in/g9ZFxDJG You'll get FREE access to my 21-Day Mindfulness & Meditation Course with real, actionable strategies.

🌟 Lessons from the Green Berets: Embracing Change and Overcoming Challenges 🌟 US Army Special Forces Green Berets are the epitome of resilience, adaptability, and success in adversity. Their unique experiences offer many insights for leaders and businesses striving to thrive in today's dynamic environment. As a Green Beret veteran, I've first-hand experience handling complex scenarios with limited resources, making crucial decisions under immense pressure, and demonstrating resilience and adaptability in adverse conditions. These competencies are valuable on the battlefield and crucial for navigating the shifting terrains of the business world. Here's how the Green Beret ethos can empower your organization to turn challenges into opportunities: Master the art of prioritization: In crises, identifying and addressing the most pressing issues ensures optimal resource allocation and a proactive approach to problem-solving. Foster collaboration and open communication: Transparent communication fosters unity, facilitates collaboration, and aligns the team towards shared objectives. Embrace innovation and adaptability: Unforeseen situations often require out-of-the-box thinking. Embrace change, entertain fresh perspectives, and constantly adapt to overcome hurdles and capitalize on opportunities. Maintaining composure under pressure: Keeping a cool head in crisis fosters effective decision-making and instills confidence in your team. Cultivate resilience: Weathering setbacks and persisting in adversity is a cornerstone of lasting success. By infusing the invaluable wisdom of the Green Berets into your organizational strategy, you can build a team that is prepared, adaptable, and resilient, setting your business up for success, no matter what challenges lie ahead. #GreenBerets #ChangeManagement #Leadership #Innovation #Resilience #Adaptability #Communication #Success #BusinessStrategy #imperioconsulting

YOUR STANDARD IS YOUR IDENTITY Before a deployment, we got an intel brief that felt… shallow. The guy giving it tried to be entertaining. Funny. Light. Casual. But the details weren’t there. I didn’t really know it at the time, but he glossed over what mattered. Didn’t dig in on what we’d really be facing on the ground. In Special Forces, intel isn’t a box to check. It’s the foundation that allows smart, capable operators see patterns, spot opportunity, and make real decisions. That briefing didn’t waste our time—but it cost us depth. It dulled our edge. And while we still executed—we likely could have been far more effective. And that’s the thing with standards: You don’t always know what you lost… only that you lost something. Later, after I was appointed to attend the Special Forces Intelligence Sergeants Course to became the Intelligence Sergeant (18F) on my ODA, I saw all the intel we missed out on in those previous briefs. I decided right there that I’d never let that happen again. I wanted to know everything I could. I went deep. My briefings weren’t 15 minutes—they were 60. I gave names. Faces. Nicknames. Mid-level and low-level leaders. I built every brief like it could save someone’s life—because it could. I didn’t just pass along intel. I delivered context, clarity, and consequence. Why? No one else on the team would know if I skipped something. But I would. And that’s the difference between a position and a standard. Anyone can wear a title. Only some earn the identity. It hit me: the standard I hold myself to will becomes my identity…for myself and for others around me. In business, it’s the same. The details matter. The way you carry yourself when no one’s watching? That’s your brand. We had a term in the Army for guys who were consistently sloppy: “Soup sandwich.” Not because of one mistake—but because of a pattern of half-assed execution…even on the small things. If your standard is high, your reputation takes care of itself. If it’s not—no title will save you. 📸: US Army

SOF Thruths: Early on in my Special Operations career I learned about SOF Truths. These are applied as a guiding principle for many SOF elements. Applying the 5 Special Operations Forces (SOF) truths to the business world offers valuable insights into organizational strategy, team building, and operational excellence. Here's a synopsis of how each truth can be related to business contexts: 1. **Humans are more important than hardware.** In business, this truth translates to the idea that the talent and skills of employees are more critical to the success of an organization than the technology or tools they use. Investing in people, through training and development, yields greater returns than focusing solely on upgrading equipment or software. 2. **Quality is better than quantity.** Just as a smaller, highly skilled SOF team can outperform a larger force, a business should focus on cultivating a workforce characterized by its expertise and efficiency rather than its size. Quality in products, services, and personnel leads to higher customer satisfaction and operational effectiveness. 3. **Special Operations Forces cannot be mass-produced.** This truth underscores the importance of carefully selecting and nurturing talent within an organization. High-performing teams are built over time through deliberate development and cannot be quickly assembled to meet immediate needs. This approach fosters a culture of excellence and continuous improvement. 4. **Competent Special Operations Forces cannot be created after emergencies occur.** For businesses, this emphasizes the necessity of proactive planning and the development of robust contingency strategies. Building resilience and adaptability into the organization ensures it is prepared to face crises and capitalize on opportunities without the need for reactive scrambling. 5. **Most Special Operations require non-SOF assistance.** In the corporate world, this principle highlights the importance of collaboration and integration across different departments and with external partners. Success often depends on leveraging diverse skill sets, resources, and perspectives, recognizing that no single team or department can operate in isolation. The longer I advance in my business career, the more relevant and applicable these truths become. The more I stick to them, the more successful my business becomes. Clandestine Media Group

4 Battle Tested Ways to Stay Cool Under Pressure Calm under fire isn’t a personality trait. It’s a skill. And you can train for it like Special Forces. Special Forces don’t meditate in the middle of a firefight. But they do have tools to stay calm when everything’s on fire. Stress hits you fast. Deadlines. Politics. Pressure. Same thing in the business world, just fewer bullets. But here’s the play: Elite soldiers train their nervous systems to lead under chaos. And leaders? You can steal the exact same tools. Let’s talk about 4 stress control tactics straight from the battlefield and how to handle stress like a Special Forces operator. 1. Box Breathing ↳ SEALs use it. CEOs should too. ↳ Inhale 4 – Hold 4 – Exhale 4 – Hold 4 ↳ 2 minutes = calm brain, steady hands. ↳ Science-backed cortisol drop. ↳ Control your breath, control the room. 2. Tactical Visualization ↳ Elite teams see the mission before stepping into it. ↳ High-stakes meeting? ↳ Visualize your posture, your tone, your outcome. ↳ That’s not woo-woo. That’s mental armor. 3. Pre-Mission Checklists ↳ Warfighters don’t wing it. ↳ Why should you? ↳ Create a checklist for your pressure moments: presentations, hard convos, hiring decisions. ↳ Reduces stress, increases precision. ↳ Harvard found it boosts success by up to 38%. 4. Controlled Exposure ↳ Special Forces train under chaos. ↳ Not to get used to pain, but to get confident in discomfort. ↳ You want less stress in real life? Don’t avoid it. ↳ Rehearse it. Speak up in small rooms before the big ones. Roleplay tension. You’ll stop flinching when it’s real. Stress isn’t the enemy. Your relationship to it is. You can lead like a pro under pressure. But only if you train like one. Which tactic are you going to try first? Drop it below. 📱 Book a discovery call to start leading with confidence: let’s make it happen! ♻ Repost if you believe calm is a leadership advantage. 📩 Subscribe to my leadership newsletter, Beyond the Title, for more insights on leadership that actually works.

People Are What Make the Difference—Learn From and Admit Your Mistakes One cold morning at Fort Bragg as a junior leader, I rode in a warm vehicle while my soldiers froze in the back of an open truck. I justified it to myself at the time—we had a timeline to meet, they didn’t properly prepare. But the truth? I chose comfort and timeline over compassion and flexibility. That moment stuck with me. It was a failure—not of planning, but of leadership. I have tried to apologize to every one of them as we crossed paths later. Over a 30-year career across the Army, Joint, and Special Operations, I have made mistakes. We all do. But what I learned is that leadership isn’t about getting everything right—It’s about owning your missteps, caring for your people, and never losing sight of what matters. In SOF, we say: “People are more important than hardware.” I would add: they are more important than your rank, your plan, or your ego. To the next generation of leaders—inside and outside government; lead with empathy. Don’t wait until you have regrets to realize that how you lead matters just as much as what you accomplish. It matters today more than ever. #Leadership #MilitaryLessons #EmpathyInLeadership #PublicService #MissionAndPeople #SpecialOperations

Unconventional ethics? I had the opportunity over the holiday to read this book by retired Green Beret, Dan Pace, on ethics within Special Forces. It covers the complexity and need of having an ethical framework in situations where there may not be an obvious “ethical” choice to be had. These are the environments where our unconventional warriors often find themselves around the world. An example he uses to illustrate this is where a soldiers beats an Afghan who has assaulted a local child. Does the soldier ignore the assault because it’s culturally accepted in the host nation? Does he act, as he did, damaging the relationship between US forces and our allies and potentially putting US lives at risk? Either course of action can be defended as “right” or “wrong”. There is no clear “right” answer. We often face difficult decisions where we may be forced to choose between two bad options. The establishment of an ethical framework prior to encountering these dilemmas is critical not just in the military but throughout our lives. As leaders it is critical to understand this and establish clarity with those you lead on the rules of the day. Your organization will operate much more efficiently and effectively knowing where the boundaries are. Appreciate Dan taking the opportunity to address this difficult subject based on years of experience in these exact types of situations.