Distancing: How Great Leaders Reframe to Make Better Decisions

What if there was a way to instantly see your reality with the clarity of a coach – unencumbered by the baggage of you being you?

In Distancing, bestselling author and former submarine captain David Marquet (Turn the Ship Around!) and psychology professor Michael Gillespie introduce a powerful solution: distancing. This simple but underused superpower lets us step outside ourselves to see with clarity and decide with wisdom.

Through three practices—Be Someone Else, Be Somewhere Else, Be Sometime Else—we adopt the perspective of a coach, view our situation from afar, or become our wiser future self. Each unlocks instant insight, reduces anxiety, and improves judgment.

Blending science, stories, and practical tools, Distancing equips us to rise above ego and emotion, cut through bias, and make choices we’ll be proud of—in leadership, in life, and for the long term.