David Marquet
- Naval Leadership Innovator: Transformed the USS Santa Fe from worst to best in the fleet with his Intent-Based Leadership model.
- Bestselling Author: Turn the Ship Around! is a top leadership book, inspiring leaders worldwide.
- Sought-After Speaker: A top-rated keynote speaker on leadership and workplace empowerment.
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David Marquet's 2025 biography
David Marquet: Inspiration Strikes
David was a teenager when he first discovered his passion for leadership. He was spending the summer with his grandparents in Pittsburgh. One day, he wandered down the street to the local library. He discovered a series of books—History of United States Naval Operations in World War II by Samuel Eliot Morison.
He returned to the library each day until he had devoured each of the 15 volumes—more than 6,500 pages in total. David’s dream came alive; he set his sights on one day becoming captain of a Navy vessel on which people thrived.
Embarking on the Journey
In 1981, David graduated top of his class from the U.S. Naval Academy—an institute renowned for developing “leaders to serve the nation.” Thereafter, he joined the submarine force.
Along his journey, one thing bothered him: the traditional leader-follower model. Used by the Navy and most companies around the world, the goal of leader-follower is to influence people to comply, not think. David experienced first-hand how this practice makes people feel marginalized. He knew in his gut that there had to be a better way.
He’d soon discover that to prove his theory he’d have to break some rules.
As engineer officer aboard the USS Will Rogers (SSBN-659), a nuclear powered ballistic missile submarine, David tried empowering his team. He provided broad guidance, giving the team intent rather than orders. It was … a disaster. His team made poor decisions that led to errors. He had to stop and revert to the traditional leader-follower method.
Taking Command
Ultimately, David was selected to captain the USS Olympia (SSN-717), a nuclear powered attack submarine. He studied for over a year to take command, understanding on a deep level every detail of how that submarine operated.
Unexpectedly, David was diverted to take command of the USS Santa Fe (SSN-763) when its captain quit. Santa Fe was the worst performing submarine in the fleet and a different type of submarine that he knew little about.
Troubled Waters
Less than a month later the Santa Fe was running a simple drill to simulate a fault with the reactor. In this scenario, propulsion is shifted from the main engines to a smaller, electric propulsion motor. The captain ordered, “ahead two-thirds.” The officer on deck repeated the order, “ahead two-thirds.”
Nothing happened.
Captain Marquet noticed the helmsman who was to execute the order looked unsettled. When asked what the problem was, the helmsman pointed out that there was no two-thirds in the electric propulsion mode unlike all his previous submarines. When asked, the officer on deck said he repeated the command knowing it was wrong.
David realized that the leader-follower environment meant his crew would do anything he said—even if it was wrong. That could be catastrophic. He decided to try Intent-Based Leadership again.
Turning the Ship Around
Captain Marquet began treating his crew as leaders, not followers, and giving control, not taking control. It wasn’t long before operations took a dramatic turn. Santa Fe went from “worst to first,” achieving the highest retention and operational standings in the Navy.
When Stephen R. Covey spent time aboard the Santa Fe, he referred to it as the most empowering organization he’d ever seen. He wrote about Captain Marquet’s leadership practices in his book, The 8th Habit.
After Captain Marquet’s departure from the USS Santa Fe, it continued to win awards and promote more officers and enlisted men to positions of increased responsibility than any other submarine—including ten subsequent submarine captains.
A Time for Change
Captain Marquet retired from the Navy in 2009 and is now the author of Turn the Ship Around! A True Story of Turning Followers Into Leaders. Fortune magazine called the book the “best how-to manual anywhere for managers on delegating, training, and driving flawless execution.” Captain Marquet’s Intent-Based Leadership model is turning around all types of organizations—from big manufacturers to start-ups and sport teams to government.
He helps leaders build environments where people contribute and feel valued—where everyone is a leader.
David Marquet's 2025 talks & topics
Turn the Ship Around! Create Leaders at Every Level™
This is David’s most frequently requested keynote. David shares the origins and practices of Intent-Based Leadership®. He shares his unique perspective as the one who created the concept on board USS Santa Fe including the ups and downs and what was going on inside his head. He tells how this submarine went from worst to first, achieving the highest retention and operational standings in the U.S. Navy.
This interactive keynote invites audience participation. He will take the audience inside a U.S. Navy fast attack submarine, using photographs and stories from the USS Santa Fe, to describe the challenges and frustrations in changing the way of leading, and the successes the team experienced.
He works with the organization to select which of the practices of this leadership movement would be most important for the audience to hear, from among practices such as:
- Strive for five – the practice of stating intend
- The Ladder of Leadership
- Pushing authority to information
- Tips for inviting people to think more broadly about their jobs
- “No They on Santa Fe!”
- Deliberate Action
- Certify, Don’t Brief
The in-person keynote is typically 75 minutes; the live online keynote is typically 60 minutes but both be customized depending on your needs. Both the in-person and online keynotes are engaging and interactive and use polling (electronically or manually) to include the thinking of the audience into the event, as well as offering immediately actionable take-aways that will put the lessons of the event into practice.
Participants (up to 500) receive an Intent-Based Leader’s Pocket Guide.
The New Playbook for Leaders (based upon Leadership is Language)
Why do we organize the way we do? Why do we run meetings the way we do? Why do we use the words we use when communicating and asking questions? Turns out, most of us are using language, meeting formats and organizational design inherited from the industrial age where the leaders were the thinkers and the workers were the doers.
In today’s work environment, we want every team member to be a thinker and a doer. This makes industrial age language obsolete. Instead of running industrial age plays better, we need to cast them aside for a new playbook.
Based on the WSJ Bestseller Leadership is Language, David Marquet explores the origins of our language at work, how it was shaped by the industrial age and the language we want to use in its place. The pattern that is revealed are the 6 “plays” that leaders run that will optimally balance the rhythm between thinking and doing.
Leaders will be equipped to build environments where people think deeply and broadly, and work is disciplined and focused. The structure results in adaptive, agile, and enduring organizations, even in volatile and uncertain times.
Distancing: The Leadership Superpower for Better Decisions
In the heat of decision-making, leaders often get stuck in the moment—overwhelmed by emotions, biases, and immediate pressures. But what if there was a superpower that allowed you to rise above the noise, see situations more clearly, and make better choices? In this keynote, David Marquet introduces Distancing, a transformative leadership approach that helps you break free from reactive thinking and sharpen your decision-making.
Using three key dimensions of distancing—Be Someone Else, Be Somewhere Else, Be Sometime Else—leaders see reality more clearly, reduce anxiety, and lead with greater foresight. Whether it’s becoming your own coach, observing situations from a broader vantage point, or thinking like your future self, this is the unlock leaders use to navigate complexity with clarity and precision.
Key Takeaways
- Be Someone Else – Shift your perspective by adopting the mindset of a coach, mentor, or outside observer.
- Be Somewhere Else – Step onto the metaphorical “balcony” to see the bigger picture and make more strategic decisions.
- Be Sometime Else – Think like your future self to anticipate consequences and make choices you’ll be proud of later.
- Practical Tools & Techniques – Walk away with actionable strategies to integrate distancing into your daily leadership habits.
- Sharper Decision-Making – Learn how to cut through cognitive biases, emotional traps, and situational blind spots.
This session will equip leaders with a new superpower—one that allows them to reframe challenges, see opportunities more clearly, and lead with confidence in uncertain times.
Mastering the Ladder of Leadership
Learning Methods: SEE and PRACTICE
Module Description: Start reengineering your language at work with a transformative journey with our Ladder of Leadership Module. This comprehensive learning experience delves into the construct of the Ladder of Leadership, a structured communication template designed to enhance team dynamics through a structured approach to ownership and the nurturing of psychological safety. Uses video clips from the movie Apollo 13 and/or a training clip about a medical team responding to a heart attack. The Ladder allows leaders to tune control and fundamentally shift from permission-based to intent-based organizations, building leaders at every level. This is a cornerstone module about a core tool of Intent-Based Leadership.
Key Learning Objectives:
- Comprehensive Understanding: Gain an in-depth understanding of the 7 levels of the Ladder of Leadership, its core principles and applications.
- Learn More Effective Questioning: Understand how some questions are better than others for curiously seeking what others think.
- Practical Application: Apply the template of the ladder to teams in action, understand constraints, apply the tool to scenarios in your workplace.
Materials include a set of Ladder of Leadership cards and a Ladder of Leadership wallet card for each participant.
To learn more about the ladder of leadership see
-intent is a magic word https://youtu.be/1-PclyHbDOk
-practicing the ladder of leadership. https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLg_BQpoFW2k3N3PEsaT5E3aKkKnznin00
The Know-Don’t Tell Leadership Journey
Learning Methods: HEAR and PRACTICE
Module Description: Often used to build on the Ladder of Leadership module, this is a behind the scenes reveal of the leader’s journey in Turn the Ship Around! from a Knowing and Telling behavior to Know, Don’t Tell behavior. This module places the Ladder within the context of what is the role of the leader. Depending upon timing, aspects of this module can be included in the keynote and/or the Ladder of Leadership module.
Key Learning Objectives:
- Reframing Mindsets: Enables leaders to make the transformation from “My job is to make decisions” to “My job is to create a team that can make decisions.”
- Integration: This module seamlessly complements the Ladder of Leadership, illuminating the path to “Know, Don’t Tell” through the strategic use of this framework.
- Effective Communication: Emphasize the art of asking the right questions, unlocking the power of open dialogue, and making it easier for individuals to voice their perspectives.
Materials include a set of probability cards and a Ladder of Leadership wallet card for each participant.
Supports the IBL principle of “Leaders push authority to information not information to authority.”
To Learn More about the Know-Don’t Tell leadership journey, please see framework #4.
Tune Control to Competence and Clarity (The Control-Competence-Clarity framework)
Learning Methods: HEAR and PRACTICE
Module Description: Embark on a exploration of what empowerment is with our Control-Competence-Clarity Module. Tailored for teams versed in the fundamental tenets of Intent-Based Leadership (IBL), this module offers deeper practice in the art of “leaders giving intent, while teams state how they intend to achieve it,” and “push authority to information, not information to authority.”
Key Learning Objectives:
- Diagnostic Proficiency: Master a simplified diagnostic tool to uncover missing elements and pinpoint the precise leg of Control, Competence, or Clarity that promises the swiftest and most substantial improvement.
- Intent Statement Mastery: Hone the skill of crafting intent statements, both as leaders and subordinates, fostering better clarity and more efficient team processes.
Supports the IBL Principles: “Tune control to competence and clarity” and “Leaders push authority to information not information to authority.”
Learn more about the CCC framework, please explore this video and the diagnostic C3PO framework in this video.
The New Playbook for Leaders based on the book Leadership is Language.
Learning Methods: SEE and PRACTICE
Module Description: Based upon research and analysis into our language described in Leadership is Language, this module answers the question why do we say the words we do at work, and are these the words that best achieve our objectives. The module explores the difference between thinking and doing, called bluework and redwork, and why teams often make the mistake of using doing language patterns that are designed to reduce variability when they want to be using thinking language patterns that enhance variability. Covers the tools “Vote first, then discuss” and “embrace the outlier.” Uses the highly effective and entertaining video of the error at the 2017 Oscars where ethe wrong movie was announced for Best Picture.
Key Learning Objectives:
- The rhythm of work: explains the concept of thinking/doing and the role of leaders in managing team operational rhythm.
- Meeting Mastery: Provides tools for meetings that make it easier for people to speak up, allowing everyone to know what we all know.
- Better Questions: Gives practice in the kinds of questions that enhance communication and invite honest opinions.
Supports the IBL Principles: Fix the Environment, not people.
Learn more about the new playbook for leaders with framework #1.
Build Resilience and Error Reduction through Psychological Safety
Learning Methods: SEE and PRACTICE
Module Description: Through use of a highly visible error at the 2017 Oscars where ethe wrong movie was announced for Best Picture, this entertaining and engaging module provides specific organizational and linguistic tools that enhance psychological safety resulting in better resilience and error reduction. This is a cornerstone for high reliability organizations interested in taking safety one step further.
Key Learning Objectives:
- Why don’t people speak up? Shows how industrial language constructs shut people down.
- Meeting Mastery: Provides tools for meetings that make it easier for people to speak up, allowing everyone to know what we all know.
- Better Questions: Gives practice in the kinds of questions that enhance communication and invite honest opinions.
Materials include a set of probability cards and a Ladder of Leadership wallet card for each participant.
Supports the IBL Principles: “Don’t be good, get better” and “Leaders make it safe, not add stress.”
Distancing: How Great Leaders Reframe to Make Better Decisions
Learning Methods: HEAR and PRACTICE
Module Description: In this module, Marquet unveils a novel approach to enhancing leadership effectiveness through what they call “psychological distancing.”
The concept of distancing, as explained in their book, is about gaining a fresh perspective by stepping out of our first person perspective. There are three dimensions to this: be someone else, be somewhere else, be sometime else.
Attendees will walk out with ways to improve their decision making at work and in life. Expect to leave this session equipped to act as your own coach, reducing anxiety and achieving greater objectivity in both personal and professional arenas.
Key Learning Objectives:
- Hear stories of how others have applied this technique.
- Learn why distancing to overcome the biases that cloud judgment and impede leadership.
- Learn practices for embodying the roles of other perspectives, seeing beyond the present moment, and envisioning future consequences.