Babin knew that no matter how optimistic this young SEAL was, or how much his teammates liked him, a mistake made during combat could result in that man's death, the death of his team members, or the death of innocent civilians. If Babin cut him from the team, he wouldn't be able to get a replacement ahead of the deployment and would have to go a man short and if Babin fired him from the deployment, a Navy board would likely review his underperformance and permanently strip him of his SEAL designation, crushing his career ambitions.īut as training progressed, the young SEAL still underperformed, even at the alternative roles Willink told Babin to consider. Babin decided to get one of the more experienced members of his team to mentor the younger SEAL, but even with hours of extra training, it didn't seem to stick.īabin consulted with Willink, and the two decided that there may be a role on the team that would be helpful without getting in the way. This SEAL was a team member everyone was friendly with, and he had a good attitude.
When to mentor and when to fireĭuring the training that took place ahead of a deployment to Iraq, Babin remembered, one of the fresher SEALs in his platoon was struggling to keep up during drills. In their new book "The Dichotomy of Leadership," Willink and Babin explain how to be "close, but not too close" with those who report to you. In 2010, after their service, they founded the leadership consulting firm Echelon Front, which has worked with more than 400 companies in the last eight years. Willink was the commander of US Navy SEAL Team 3 Task Unit Bruiser - the most highly decorated US special operations unit of the Iraq War - and Babin was one of two platoon leaders who reported to him. Account icon An icon in the shape of a person's head and shoulders.
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