Navy SEALs Reveal the One Thing That Will Cause You to Fail as a Leader '99.9 Percent' of the Time

Two former Navy SEALs are revealing the one thing that causes people to fail as a leader "99.9 percent of the time," and it has nothing to do one's physical or mental abilities.

Jocko Willink and Leif Babin, who co-authored the book "Extreme Ownership," explained in a Business Insider video recently that having success as a SEAL leader has nothing to do with one's physical skills or even their mental toughness.

"What it has to do with is the fact that the person is not humble enough to accept responsibility when things go wrong, accept that there might be better ways to do things, and they just have a closed mind," Willink said. "They can't change, and that's what makes a person fail as a leader."

The former Navy SEAL explained that ego isn't a bad thing. It's what drives people to win, he added. But it can become a bad thing if one's ego gets so big that they can no longer take criticism because they think their way is the best.

"No leader has it all figured out," Babin said. "You can't rely on yourself. You've got to rely on other people, so you've got to ask for help, you've got to empower the team, and you've got to accept constructive criticism."

So take it from two former Navy SEALs – and don't let your ego get the best of you.

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