It is called BUDS: Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training. The seal candidates were divided in teams of seven in one of the most grueling exercises during their week of training often called ‘hell week.’ They were to race other teams while carrying inflatable boats that weighed more than 200 pounds in cold stormy weather.

After several races, one team, Team 2, was constantly outperforming the other teams and coming in first or second. The leader of the team created a culture of teamwork and accountability, where everyone knew their roles and compensated for each other’s weaknesses.

Another team, Team 6, was dead last in every single race. The arguments and insults from Team 6 members could be heard everywhere. The team leader believed that he was given the worst individuals and that there was nothing that could be done to change their performance. He did little to motivate and guide them, and they kept on failing.

Then, the junior officer training instructor had an idea: what if he switched the leaders of Teams 2 and 6? Would that make any difference? He decided to implement his idea quickly. The leader of Team 2 will now take charge of Team 6, and vice versa. A few races later, the outcomes were completely different: Team 6 was now the top performing one, followed closely by Team 2. Just taking an effective leader and putting him in charge of an under-performing team changed the morale of the members and led them to motivate and challenge each other to success after success.

But what about Team 2? How come it was still performing well? Based on his observations, the junior officer concluded that the style of the first leader had already rubbed off the other team members, so when they lost their leader they could still perform at a high level, albeit under a far less effective leader.

This story is relayed in the exceptional book “Extreme Ownership.” In it, ex-navy seals Jocko Willink and Leif Babin argue that there are no bad teams, only bad leaders. Whether in the battle ground or in the board room, good leadership is contagious. Effective leaders create a culture of teamwork. They teach their members how to win by creating mutual accountability. “Leadership is the single greatest factor in any team’s performance. Whether a team succeeds or fails is all up to the leader. The leader’s attitude sets the tone for the entire team. The leader drives performance- or doesn’t,” note the two seals.

Another powerful and related concept in the book is that of extreme ownership. The idea is very simple: as a leader, anything that happens for you individually, for your team and for your organization, are your responsibility. There are no excuses for poor performance. You can’t blame bad luck, the volatile economy, the resource-rich competitors, or the incompetent employees. Willink and Babin propose that “on any team, in any organization, all responsibility for success and failure rests with the leader. The leader must own everything in his or her world. There is no one else to blame. The leader must acknowledge mistakes and admit failures, take ownership of them, and develop a plan to win.”

How can leaders resist the temptation to come up with excuses and adopt the extreme ownership mindset? It has to start with humility. Even in the best trained combat unit in the world, the best leaders display humility. They put the mission above their personal needs and they accept the suggestions and ideas of their team members. In my recent book “Intangibles,” I argue that the most effective leaders are those that display humility to acknowledge their mistakes and their lack of knowledge. The seals agree: “Ego clouds and disrupts everything: the planning process, the ability to take good advice, and the ability to accept constructive criticism.”

Putting it All Together

There are no good teams or bad teams, only effective leaders and ineffective ones. Effective leaders take full ownership when they make a mistake or when things don’t go as planned. They display humility and create mutual accountability, and in the process, lead their teams and organizations to high performance.

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Dr. Amer Kaissi is a Professional Speaker, Executive Coach and an expert on Leadership, Humility & Ambition, Assuming Positive Intent, Psychological Safety & Accountability, Growth Mindsets & Resilience.