Building high-performing teams
A former Navy SEAL turned corporate trainer has developed a list of attributes over the years that represent “what one needs to develop optimal performance.”
Tune into this week’s episode of The American Legion Tango Alpha Lima podcast for a deep dive on the topic of building teams and improving one’s performance featuring retired Navy SEAL Commander Rich Diviney.
As the officer in charge of training for an elite Navy SEAL command, Diviney spearheaded the creation of a directorate that fused physical, mental and emotional disciplines. Since his retirement, Diviney has worked as a speaker, facilitator, and consultant to train businesses, military leaders, athletic teams and others with the Chapman & Co. Leadership Institute and Simon Sinek Inc., speaking to and training more than 5,000 business, athletic and military leaders.
Diviney discusses his first book, “The Attributes. 25 Hidden Drivers of Optimal Performance,” free assessment tool at his website and much more in this episode.
In his 21-year SEAL career, he went on more than 13 overseas deployments – 11 of which were to Iraq and Afghanistan.
Diviney cites an example of an attribute that relates to recruits who succeed at SEAL training. They achieve “a high level of compartmentalization. Inside of an environment you need to prioritize what you want to focus on and block out everything else.”
In the book, Diviney aims to educate anyone about which attributes are most applicable to them, their role and their team.
“The cool thing about attributes is they are very elemental in terms of human behavior and human performance,” he says. “I didn’t want to write another SEAL book. I wanted to write a book about the person who’s reading the book. One of my goals was to take the SEALs off the pedestal and humanize everybody. We can all agree that we are rock stars in some domains and doofuses in other domains, regardless of who you are.”
Over time, Diviney has evolved the list to 42 attributes.
Diviney’s website offers an assessment so that individuals can see how they rate and what niche they are in so they can optimize their performance. “This means understanding your innate traits, or attributes. We all have a unique combination of attributes, some of which we are high on, some of which we are low on, and some of which we are average on,” it explains.
The assessment identifies strengths and weaknesses.
“But just because you are low in a particular attribute doesn’t mean you have to improve it,” he says. “It may actually be detrimental to what you are trying to do.”
Also in this episode, co-hosts Stacy Pearsall, Adam Marr and Joe Worley address:
• How voting during deployment is a pain in the “scuttlebutt.”
• Cell phone infractions.
• The new Navy pocket policy.
• Where to find accredited American Legion service officers, who offer free assistance to all veterans. Use this handy tool to find one near you.
Check out this week’s episode, which is among more than 230 Tango Alpha Lima podcasts available in both audio and video formats here. You can also download episodes on Apple Podcasts, Google Play or other major podcast-hosting sites. The video version is available at the Legion’s YouTube channel.