Recent political events have brought to light the work and qualities of the Navy’s special unit teams, the SEALs (SEa, Air and Land). Not surprisingly, the Wall Street Journal (May 7,8) featured the work of this highly trained specialty force. I was intrigued and was completely surprised by the punch-line.

One of the notorious features of the SEALs is their intense training which culminates in the much-feared “Hell Week.” In this intense period, recruits are challenged to the extreme….mentally, physically, emotionally, and I would suspect even, spiritually. Few survive this time of constant tests and drills during which most classes sleep only a total two to five hours. Whole groups of men have been known to walk away together from the intensity of this training. In fact, most recruits don’t make it.

What fascinated me, though, were the characteristics of those who did make it. I would tend to think of dogged determination, mental rigor, and unrelenting physical strength….aka, resilience. These are contributors to success, no doubt. But they’re not what SEALs themselves identify as the key success factor.

Apparently, all of the men who survive have one common quality: altruism. Even in great pain and confronting the test of their lives, “they had the ability to step outside of their own pain, put aside their own fear and ask: How can I help the guy next to me?”  They have a “…heart large enough to think about others, to dedicate themselves to a higher purpose.”

Intriguing, isn’t it, that a sort of altruism proves to be the success factor in such an intense, demanding environment.

Hopefully, our work environments don’t resemble Hell Week. (No comment.) But when the heat is on and competition is stiff, it turns out that our first line of defense might actually not be to look out solely for ourselves. Looking out for “the other guy” may actually have a dual benefit. It not only seems to genuinely help him, but it may in some strange way help you too.

What’s all that about? I have two initial observations:

1. Team

SEALs are first and foremost members of a team. Each SEAL will not succeed by himself, and they know that. They are completely dependent on each other for their success.

Questions: Do you see yourself as a member of the larger team, whether it’s the organization that you’re in or the functional team that you’re on? Really….do you have the humility to see yourself as one of the “cogs in the wheel” that is genuinely dependent on others and they on you.

2. The Golden Rule and Fortified Resilience

SEALs possess incredible human stamina on all fronts. But the ones who actually survive Hell Week have something more….something that actually seems to fortify their existing resilience, altruism.

Virtually every religious tradition has some version of the “Golden Rule.” That is, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you.” It’s a call to move beyond ourselves and look out for the other with no thought of “what’s in it for me?” SEALs have discovered that by getting outside of themselves, they are strengthened to better move through their own pain. So it’s a funny thing, that when we begin to move outside of ourselves we receive too.

Questions: Do you believe in the “Golden Rule?” If so, do you practice it at work? Or are you mostly on the lookout for yourself? Minimally, is it possible that by helping someone else that you’re also helping yourself and strengthening your own resilience?

Very few become Navy SEALs. But it seems that it is possible and very desirable, for several reasons, to have their heart.