“Everybody wants to be a frogman on a sunny day.” – US Navy SEALs
The US Navy Sea, Air, and Land Forces (SEALs) are arguably the most elite, and revered, fighting force in the world. This saying originated within the SEAL training program, where they take volunteer candidates and run them through an intense multi-phase training program called Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training, or BUD/S for short. Only 20-25% of candidates make it through the entire process to become Navy SEALs, or “frogmen”.
Note: I have also heard the alternative phrase, “everybody wants to be a SEAL on a Friday” attributed to the same training program. I’m not sure which one is used today, but in my mind they have the same meaning: becoming a SEAL is much harder, and less glorious, than it looks to an outsider. And no matter how challenging, they are committed to achieving success.
I believe same observation applies to being the leader of an organization.
Leadership is Hard Work
By all accounts, US Navy SEAL training is brutal. Moreover, once they reach the end, newly minted SEAL operators discover the hard work has only begun. Their lives are a constant swirl of training mixed in with life-threatening and uncomfortable field operations in crisis hot spots around the world.
Despite being physically intense and exhausting, the real purpose of SEAL training is not physical fitness, it is to test the willpower and mental stability of the participants. You see, becoming a special forces operator is a high stakes and high stress profession, with danger lurking around every corner. They cannot risk having SEALs who break down at the first sign of trouble or hardship. The SEALs will not tolerate quitters; they want those who are willing to suffer while focused exclusively on achieving their goal with their team.
This is the Navy SEAL mission: “When there’s nowhere else to turn, Navy SEALs achieve the impossible through critical thinking, sheer willpower and absolute dedication to their training, their missions and their fellow Special Operations team members.”
In fact, the Navy SEALs have another saying that sums all of this up perfectly – “the only easy day was yesterday.”
Perseverance in the Face of VUCA
The trainers want to make sure that prospective SEALs are in it for the right reasons and weed out those who are in it just for the prestige or glory. The purpose of the training is to grind it out, to endure, to stay focused on the mission of finishing the training. They are looking for those who can absorb all the awful things thrown at them and still maintain a positive and focused mindset.
This is not too different from leading an organization in times of great uncertainty, like the VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex, and ambiguous) environment we find ourselves in today.
Leadership is not about basking in the perks or glory of the role, or the title, or your team’s accomplishments. Leadership, is about evaluating risk, making decisions, aligning team resources, and inspiring action to work towards a common goal. It is hard, tiring, sometimes ungratifying work.
Having the ability to coach and lead others to victory, through extreme levels of chaos, is probably the single most valuable skill in this new VUCA world we are all facing.
Now, more than ever, people are looking for strong leaders to help guide them through this crisis.
Leadership is Voluntary
Every SEAL trainee volunteers to be there, and every single one of them can volunteer to leave at any time during the training – you may have read about the mythical “bell” in the center of their training complex where a defeated trainee can “ring out” signaling their intent to quit the program immediately.
As the leader of an organization you volunteered to do the job, and every day you volunteer to keep doing it. If you get tired of it, you can always revert to being a follower.
If you choose leadership, it is a commitment you make to yourself, your team, and your organization to affect change and achieve the long-term goals of the organization. You must constantly motivate and inspire your team in their pursuit of success.
Becoming a leader is a journey, not a destination. It is by slogging through the hard times that you come to appreciate the good times, and become a better leader in the process.
Lead, Follow, or Get Out of the Way!
When the seas are smooth, the sun is shining, and there is a steady breeze it is relatively easy to steer the ship. However, what happens when all hell breaks loose and you cannot see a clear path to victory?
This is when some leaders shut down and become paralyzed by fear, uncertainty, and doubt…they make rash, shortsighted, or illogical decisions, or even worse, no decision at all.
This is also when true leaders emerge and find ways to win, no matter how difficult the circumstances, or uncertain the path forward.
Everyone wants to be a hero until you have to step up and do heroic things! True leaders have the critical mindset of being able to move beyond fear, to confront whatever VUCA situation they are handed, and make sure their organization and team not only survives but thrives.
It is not easy, but this is what the best leaders do.
Everybody wants to be a frogman on a sunny day, but real leaders also step up when it is dark, wet, scary, and the path is not clear.
-Onward