Mark Divine

Listen to "Navy Seal Mark Divine Releases The Book Staring Down The Wolf" on Spreaker. Courage begets trust; trust begets respect; respect leads to growth; growth leads to excellence; excellence forges resiliency; and resiliency gives you the power to constantly align with your team. That is the foundation of what it takes to command a team of elite individuals, laid out in expert fashion by former Navy SEAL, entrepreneur, and New York Times bestselling author Mark Divine in his arresting new book, ?STARING DOWN THE WOLF: 7 Leadership Commitments That Forge Elite Teams (St. Martin's Publishing Group, on sale 3/3/20, $28.99). Divine applies principles gleaned from the battlefield, his training of SEALs, and his own growth company ventures to reveal the keys to getting your team to commit to and achieve elite status. With his own diverse background, he knows how teams can get there but more importantly for every reader, how to avoid the pitfalls that can breach these commitments. As he notes: . Courage - Divine states the principle to stand up for truth is both a universal as well as personal truth. Embrace inclusiveness and interconnectedness with your team, and have the courage to follow your own calling instead of doing what others think is "right." Every day, expand your risk tolerance and lead from the heart as much as the head. . Trust - The main principle of trust within your team is that you first commit to becoming trustworthy yourself. One of the most powerful actions you can take as the leader of your team is to admit your mistakes. Own them, day in and day out. Everyone will benefit. . Respect - Divine says to clarify your specific and implied objectives, and what acceptable victory and failure look like, then communicate these with disciplined integrity and a moral compass. You have to earn respect every day, and you do that with communication steeped in integrity. . Growth - The principle of true growth for your team is embracing "vertical" character development, both for the team as a whole and you as an individual. Mark Divine believes in committing to "training" yourself daily in his stated seven leadership commitments, akin to a physical workout. Going hard at them every day, and occasionally changing your approach keeps your perspective fresh. . Excellence - In his book, the author proclaims that excellence is first found in the leader and then expressed to his team though the leaders' character and actions. Excellence is not so much a way of acting as a way of being. . Resiliency - Fall down seven times, but get up eight, each time stronger and more resolved, accepting the times you fall and embracing what they can teach us. For leaders, instead of adapting and then overcoming, they should overcome and then adapt. . Alignment - the principle of alignment in the team is to share everything worth sharing. Open yourself to sharing exposure to risk, reward, and the experience of the whole team. Everyone's got a unique skill. Don't hide yours or squash others. Elite leaders challenge themselves and their teams every day in order to achieve extraordinary results. They aren't worried about who gets the credit. They won't point fingers of blame; they will accept their mistakes and correct them. Embracing and honing the leadership commitments laid out by Mark Divine in STARING DOWN THE WOLF will insure every team can thrive in environments that are volatile, uncertain, complex and even ambiguous.