April 2, 2026

by (Huy) Alex Le

“I’d rather be lucky than good.” People often say or think this when cutting things close. But in practice, it’s flawed reasoning because it’s not a choice of one or the other: lucky or good. Instead, luck happens when we create opportunities by taking action in the spaces around us.

Luck is about combining what we have with whatever’s available. In other words, “capabilities plus opportunities equal success.” Within the past few years, I have realized several ways in which we make our own luck. We do this by staying open to opportunities, strategically positioning ourselves, taking risks, and seizing moments. Finally, as we create our own luck, it’s our job to help others create theirs as well.

Genuine Luck Prevails

Luck isn’t something we’re born with. It’s the result of our efforts. “The Ship That Wouldn’t Die” is an extraordinary study in this.

On April 16, 1945, the USS Laffey of the Allen M. Sumner class faced the largest kamikaze attack ever leveled against a single ship. Under Navy Commander Frederick Becton, the Laffey directed all guns on her attackers. As damage and casualties mounted, her crew took measures to stay afloat, including partial flooding, evasive maneuvers, and working with friendly air patrols.

The Laffey took ten direct hits, and the crew kept fighting “… as long as there was a single gun left to fire.” Today, the Laffey floats as a testament to the luck of her crew. But we know it wasn’t just luck that kept them alive. The captain continuously made decisions to position the ship to have the best chance of survival. Blind luck didn’t keep them afloat. Purposeful choices, risky maneuvers, and capitalizing on environmental conditions were the differentiators. They followed the four ways to make their own luck.

1. Stay Open to Opportunities

Opportunities are out there waiting, but it’s up to us to find them. This happened to me as an Army National Guardsman when I volunteered for a military deployment.

In 2023, my unit was seeking soldiers to accompany its parent brigade in a rotation to train Ukrainian military units. I immediately volunteered, but the position somehow vanished. Simultaneously, however, the brigade was also preparing another battalion to deploy to the Horn of Africa. I volunteered again, staying open to any opportunity that came my way. If we’re not continuously seeking opportunities to thrive, they won’t show up for us.

The crew of the Laffey understood this well. Captain Becton saw opportunities to keep the ship afloat, whatever it took. He didn’t just wait for those actions. He made them happen.

When we’re proactive and open to alternative opportunities, we have a better chance of finding our luck. Without doing so, we remain in our metaphorical bubbles.

2. Put Yourself in the Right Place

The next step to luck is to strategically place ourselves in positions to maximize our advantage. Getting our foot in the door gets us closer to our goals.

In my deployment opportunity, the brigade was building its two task forces within an ever-shrinking time window. I understood that soldiers within the brigade had an easier time getting onto the deployment, and I positioned myself inside the unit to fill the open slots, subsequently being accepted to the deployment.

We need to constantly be seeking the place where luck happens. As the skipper, Becton took great responsibility in directing everything, including the ship, his crew, their guns, and himself to be in the right places at the right times. This was how he made his own luck.

We must always move to the point of opportunity before the opportunity moves away from us.

3. Take Calculated Risks

Creating luck is an active process. It often takes professional risks to make it happen.

The greatest risk I took on this deployment was balancing my obligations as an Army officer, a high school teacher, and a graduate student. In the two weeks following my Captain’s Career Course and right before the deployment, I had to pull all-nighters to plan the final month for my high school students and request late assignment exceptions for my graduate course. It was a lot, and a risk, but after settling those affairs, I flew down to Fort Barfoot and integrated with the Africa-bound unit.

Upon arrival, I became the unit’s primary safety officer and knowledge manager due to a manpower oversight. I had no prior experience in either role. But like the unit motto says, “No Step Backward.” If I didn’t take those risks, then I wouldn’t have opened new doors to opportunities.

Becton drove the Laffey like he stole it, circling at full speed to stave off the kamikaze fighters. Without this risk, the ship may have been lost. Luck requires more than living a status-quo life. It often demands calculated risks. 

4. Recognize and Seize the Moment

Finally, we create luck by understanding where we are in life and capitalizing on those opportunities.

No one asked me to be a teacher, a soldier, a graduate student, or a tutor. I made those leaps of faith based on opportunities before me. Luck happens when we seize the moment. Prior to flying out to Africa, I had our safety and knowledge management programs established and working for the task force. From the moment I volunteered and was accepted to the unit, I made those moves toward luck.

The same was true with Commander Becton. He fully understood the threats of a kamikaze attack. But instead of hoping his crew would be successful, he took action and seized the moment through his leadership to fend off the attack. His decisions saved the ship as he seized the moment.

These examples of simple volunteerism and complicated warfighting show how luck never comes to us; it waits for us to step forward to claim it.

Create Luck for Others

Leaders set conditions not only for their own luck but for the luck of those around them. They do this by making opportunities, putting themselves in the right positions, taking risks, and seizing the moment.

From my deployment experience, I knew I wanted to prepare our replacements as best I could. The digital workspace I created and refined became an enduring blueprint. I codified my experiences into interactive manuals. Once our replacements arrived in the country, I meticulously trained them so that they could be just as successful. Hard work from both sides guaranteed a successful handoff.

It’s not better to be lucky or good; it’s better to be both. Captain Becton proved this as he made several challenging decisions to ensure his crew was lucky.

Ultimately, the story of the USS Laffey isn’t about a ship that survived by chance. It’s about a captain and crew that stepped forward to claim their own luck. The odds of us facing an air attack aboard a ship are low. Still, we will navigate the bureaucracy of life. Always work hard and position yourself well to make your own luck. Then help those around you make theirs.

(Huy) Alex Le is a 2019 alumnus of Drexel University and a Captain within the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. With almost ten years of service to date, he looks to rebrand himself as a logistics officer. After a successful deployment to the Horn of Africa under Task Force Associator from 2024 to 2025, he enrolled in a doctorate of education program with one course completed from Gwynedd Mercy University. He also started up a private tutoring business (https://tutorquickle.my.canva.site). Through these steps in his return to education, he seeks to not only continue bettering himself but also cultivate thinkers and potential leaders.

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of the Army, Department of War, or the U.S. Government.

Other articles by Alex Le: So What: The Question We All Need to Ask

March 31, 2026

by Stephen T. Messenger

The 2026 NCAA March Madness tournament has narrowed from the 68 teams that started to the Final Four. It has been amazing to watch, knowing that any team, on any given day, can win one of these games. Life is a lot like that. Sometimes we just have to put ourselves out there and try things in which we may not succeed.

I have this narrative that I am perfectly average. I’m average height, build, and intelligence. These traits have made me an underdog my whole life. But my redeeming quality is that I’m incredibly hardworking. This skill has transcends any genetics of being average.

The underdogs know this, and it’s amazing watching a lower-seeded team upset a heavyweight, much like No. 3 Illinois’ stunning 65–55 takedown of No. 2 Houston. The beauty of this tournament, and life, is that any team can win, as it’s all settled on the court.

Too often, we sit on the sidelines because we don’t think we can win. But any time we get a chance to play, we have a shot. As Kentucky’s Otega Oweh put it after an insane buzzer-beater to tie in the last second: “It’s March. I feel like that’s just what happens. It’s crazy. I just tried to get the shot up.”

It’s a great lesson to always “get the shot up,” reminiscent of Wayne Gretzky’s classic, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” Watching the tournament this year presents three ideals to convince us to get on the court: anyone has a chance to win as long as we are in the game, don’t leave anything in reserve, and focus on the here and now.

That’s Why We Play the Game

Life is intimidating. There are so many things out there that persuade us to stay in bed and turn off the alarm. Marcus Aurelius famously stated that when we want to huddle under the covers, we should instead get up and do the things that we were born to do.

Many NCAA basketball coaches understand the great divide between elite and low-seeded teams. But the court remains the great equalizer. After the first round, the AP framed it as, “All it takes is one thunderclap moment by an underdog for the chalk to be washed away.” The “chalk” is the team that’s expected to win. Underdogs seeded 12, 11, 10, and 9 all made it through the first round. Teams 11, 9, and 6 made it to the Sweet Sixteen. And No. 9 Iowa and No. 6 Tennessee were in the Elite Eight. Amazing!

I remember competing in the Master Tactician Competition at Fort Leavenworth in 2014. I was a logistician competing in a tactician’s world, my own version of the NIL divide, but through dedicated study and just competing, I made it through the first three of four rounds and finished a formidable fifth overall.

Just like Marcus stated, the underdog teams and I could have stayed in bed, but they went for it. That’s something we all need to do.

Eliminate the Reserve Tank

It’s tempting to rest up and save our energy for the big moment. The problem is, we never know when that moment will be the “big one.” Sometimes, “saving yourself for later” is a form of arrogance. The tournament showed that even top seeds like Houston lost when they couldn’t find their rhythm until it was “too little, too late.”

Illinois coach Brad Underwood understands this well. He admits to a few games this season where “…we’ve gotten up early and let teams come back.” With the pressure of the Elite Eight, he understands the need to rely on the work already put in so we can all play our best on the court.

I can remember attempting to get into an impressive Army school. The testing and training were ridiculously hard to qualify for. And simply being accepted was subjecting yourself to even harder training and testing in the next round. But to get there, the candidates had to go all in during qualifying.

To get to the elite levels, we have to leave it all on the court. There’s no point looking back and asking, “What if?” Instead, whether we win or lose, it’s important to know we tried our hardest.

Focus on What Matters

I’m not a huge basketball fan, but one of my favorite moments is when fans try to distract free throw shooters from making the shot. There have been half-naked spectators, college frat boys pretending to give birth, and all sorts of shenanigans. But to be at our best, we have to block out the noise.

There are so many distractions in our lives. We have to focus on the high-percentage actions that drive results. The NCAA tournament would call these “points in the paint.” It’s about doing the high percentage activities to run up the score.

When Kentucky went down by a basket with seconds left, their coach Mark Pope said it best: “One of the things I was really proud of was there was no pause, throw your hands up, feel sorry for yourself reaction from our guys.” We have to focus on the task at hand. I can remember getting my next Army assignment, and my mindset shifting to that next job in six months. But there were still things that required my total focus in the here and now.

David Allen said, “You can do anything, but not everything.” For us, that means focusing on what really matters and blocking out the noise.

The Final Four

Every year, 68 teams start the tournament, and there’s only one winner. While that winner will most likely be a top-seeded team, it doesn’t mean the other teams should give up. Instead, it means that they should try even harder.

For us, we’re probably not top-seeded at whatever we’re trying to accomplish, but instead of discouraging us, it should encourage us. When we get on the court, give our all, and spend time and energy on the most important things, we have a much greater chance of coming in first. And while the scoreboard may not always favor the underdog, the person who leaves the court with an empty reserve tank never truly loses. The tournament ends, but the standard we set carries us into the next season.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step to get published.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

March 24, 2026

by Stephen T. Messenger

Dwight D. Eisenhower walked the fields of Gettysburg in 1915 as a cadet attending the U.S. Military Academy. Last weekend, I wandered the same hallowed grounds, learning about and gaining an understanding of the battle in 1863, much as Eisenhower did.

He was participating in a battlefield staff ride, field trips for military professionals meant not to memorize facts, but to understand concepts of war to use them more effectively in the future. While history will never repeat, it often rhymes, a saying commonly attributed to Mark Twain. In this case, Twain could not have been more correct.

Dwight Eisenhower must have been thinking about Gettysburg in early June of 1944, prior to D-Day. The similarities between what he learned on the battlefield standing at the starting point of Pickett’s Charge and his monumental decision staring across the English Channel to give the go for D-Day had to be rhyming in his head. This is a striking reminder that the study of the past informs our future.

Pickett’s Charge

It was 87 degrees with high humidity on July 3, 1863. Confederate Major General George Pickett stood watching the Union lines almost a mile away, ready and excited to lead his troops into combat for the first time. The two forces stood on opposite ridgelines after fighting for the past two days, both sides hoping for a decisive blow.

General Robert E. Lee’s strategy was to conduct a forward assault of 12,500 men over open terrain and surge against the Union line. It was a bold, audacious plan not supported by some of his subordinate commanders. Yet after a punishing artillery barrage at 1 p.m., the generals gave the order to proceed, and with a Rebel yell, Pickett shouted to his all-Virginian division, “Don’t forget today that you are from Old Virginia!”

What happened next Eisenhower could almost see and smell while standing on the battlefield. I walked the same path as Pickett and Eisenhower across the undulating terrain. It’s easy to see why this was a killing field.

Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Sawyer of the Union 8^th Ohio Infantry told of the carnage from his perspective during Pickett’s Charge: “They were at once enveloped in a dense cloud of smoke and dust…Arms, heads, blankets, guns and knapsacks were thrown and tossed in to the clear air…A moan went up from the field, distinctly to be heard amid the storm of battle…”

In the end, the Confederates lost almost half their men, suffering 6,555 casualties in one hour. They retreated back to their lines a shell of their former selves. When Pickett was ordered to reform his division, his response was supposedly: “Sir, I have no division.”

I could imagine a young Eisenhower standing at Gettysburg seeing in his mind’s eye the frontal assault disaster, and reflecting greatly on it. If this were a movie, Cadet Dwight’s young face would be surveying the field, and it would transform to General Eisenhower, Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Forces in Western Europe, looking across the English Channel on D-Day.

Eisenhower’s Charge

Pickett’s Charge and the D-Day invasion into France rhymed. They both were frontal assaults into a heavily fortified position with divisions of troops just waiting for the signal. In this case, the cadet turned General Eisenhower was having to make the same decision as General Lee did to commit the bulk of his forces into the breach.

But for Eisenhower, this was no longer a theoretical exercise. In 1918, he served as the commander of Camp Colt, a tank training center located on the very same field as Pickett’s Charge. He spent months maneuvering on the same undulating terrain. He knew exactly what it looked like for an attacking force to be exposed to a dug-in defender.

Like Lee, Ike was considering the conditions of his forces and the environment. He had to contend with weather and sea conditions, the readiness of his troops and equipment, pre-assault bombardment, enemy defenses, sustainment, and morale.

Perhaps most pressing, he had to consider the strategic ramifications if D-Day failed. From Gettysburg, I imagine he remembered Robert E. Lee’s quote saying, “this has all been my fault,” and the defeat which led to the demise of the Confederacy. Eisenhower even drafted a letter in the event of failure:

“Our landings in the Cherbourg-Havre area have failed to gain a satisfactory foothold and I have withdrawn the troops. My decision to attack at this time and place was based upon the best information available. The troops, the air, and the Navy did all that bravery and devotion to duty could do. If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt it is mine alone.”

This language is very Lee-esque. The gravity of this decision and the ghosts of Gettysburg had to be weighing on him. From a historical perspective and a failed Pickett’s Charge, perhaps the right decision was to delay or fight another day on another ground. But victory often goes to the bold.

Eisenhower knew the Gettysburg staff ride was informative of history but not directive of the future. I see him using the lessons from Pickett’s Charge to mitigate Lee’s mistakes. Lee lacked reliable intelligence, conducted an overt frontal assault, and used underwhelming artillery support, among other issues. Eisenhower used deception, darkness, distraction, bombardment, intelligence, and overwhelming logistics support to correct some of Lee’s mistakes.

Finally, once the plans were in place, he made the best decision he could when he approved the order with a simple, “OK, we’ll go.”

The Past Rhymes with the Future

General James Mattis said about learning from the past: “If you haven’t read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent, because your personal experiences alone aren’t broad enough to sustain you.” Eisenhower probably didn’t understand that as a cadet at Gettysburg, but he did as a four-star general.

His past helped shape present decisions. It’s incumbent upon us to learn from the past to inform our present. As I walked the battlefields of Gettysburg, I couldn’t help but feel the echoes of the field wanting me to understand how this applied to my present and future.

The lessons are there in staff rides and books to help us make better decisions. It’s up to us whether we choose to study them or ignore them at our peril.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step to get published.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

March 17, 2026

by Stephen T. Messenger

A Nazi guard ripped out the lining of his coat, seized his manuscript, and threw years of intellectual labor into the fire. In that moment, Viktor Frankl had a choice. He could mentally give up on living or choose to wake every day to recreate his life’s work.

Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning is a glimpse into both the best and worst of human behavior. Frankl was a Jewish neurologist and psychologist from Austria prior to World War II. At the age of 37, the Nazis took him and his family to a number of concentration camps where he and his wife were separated.

What followed was a series of injustices that are beyond human comprehension. He was physically tortured, mentally abused, and emotionally isolated. But his story of finding meaning in the chaos revolves around that lost manuscript he wrote and how reconstructing it became a psychological lifeline.

In the end, his story to us was about rising every morning with the intent to fulfill our purpose in life. This links to Stoic concepts and results in three takeaways from Frankl’s experience directly traced to the ancient philosophers. His theory, called logotherapy, focused on finding our “why,” choosing our attitude, and believing that suffering won’t last forever. But to understand this through Frankl’s lens, we must know his story.

Turning Loss into Legacy

Frankl developed a manuscript of his logotherapy theory prior to his deportation. It was literally his life’s work. Before arriving at Auschwitz, he hid the manuscript inside the lining of his coat and tried to keep it through the intake process. But a guard found the papers and confiscated them, destroying everything he worked for and devastating his psyche.

Frankl now had to choose what to live for. He writes about asking himself if it was worth living when his sense of meaning was lost. But instead of spiraling into despair, Frankl reset his mind to survive and reconstruct his manuscript, to help others in the future. This shift was the difference between his death and survival.

He began to reconstruct his ideas by memorizing large sections, writing on scraps of paper, and hiding notes. This microwork allowed him to rebuild his manuscript mentally, and he cemented his belief that he must survive to rewrite his life’s work. This got him through starvation, abuse, forced labor, and sickness. He concluded that people can survive anything as long as their lives have purpose.

After being liberated, Frankl returned to Vienna and rewrote his theory, eventually becoming his book, Man’s Search for Meaning, which has sold tens of millions of copies. His theory of surviving with meaning was proven in the depths of a concentration camp and brought him a will to live. Frankl’s manuscript became his purpose, and he came to realize that purposeful living was a universal law, one the Stoics had determined centuries earlier.

Purpose as a Survival Mechanism

Frankl famously observed that those with a purpose, a task, or a loved one to return to were the ones who survived. This was a point of his theory of logotherapy: that we must all have a “why” or a sense of meaning in our lives.

Marcus Aurelius brought this same Stoic concept to bear, speaking about how we all have a duty to perform. In Meditations, Aurelius writes that we shouldn’t linger under the covers in the morning, but get up and do the work of a human being. The sun, birds, ants, and animals do their part. So should we.

Ultimately, we can’t wait for meaning to come to us; we have to find our own meaning. That’s the reason to get out of bed.

Regardless of the Situation, We Choose Our Attitude

Frankl’s philosophy was, “Everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms—to choose one’s attitude in any given set of circumstances.” He would know. Absolutely everything was taken from him but his will to survive.

There will always be this space between what we want and what we control. The environment happens to us. Our response is what we own. Stoic philosopher Epictetus calls this the “Dichotomy of Control.” Born a slave, he taught that we should focus on what we control while accepting what we cannot. In his paraphrased words, it’s not what happens to us, but our reaction that matters.

This is often easy to say and hard to do. Frankl saw the worst of mankind in concentration camps. Yet, he was able to assert that no one could conquer his will to live.

Surviving the Lows to Anticipate the Eventual Highs

Finally, Frankl found that there is meaning even in suffering, so long as there is a reason to suffer. This is not about pretending that everything is fine but acknowledging the reality of our current situation. Frankl didn’t ignore life, but he looked to the future.

Seneca’s Stoic teachings spoke to “Premeditatio Malorum,” or the rehearsal of our nightmares. It’s where we imagine the worst that could happen to us. By expecting the lows, we can’t be broken by them. This creates a psychological floor which prevents us from panicking if they happen.

The lows are a natural part of life. They’re not only meant to be suffered through but are a bridge to get to the highs. Life is a combination of ups and downs, and we must live through both.

Life Has Meaning Which We Must Find

No one could understand the concept of finding purpose more than Viktor Frankl. Everything, literally every possession of his life including his name, was taken from him. Yet he found purpose in creating his manuscript, not for the sake of fame, but for helping others in the future.

His story mirrors another Stoic, Admiral James Stockdale. A fighter pilot shot down in Vietnam, he spent years in a prisoner of war camp, abused and tortured. Stockdale was well equipped with Stoic teachings, and understood that to survive, he had to have purpose, choose his attitude, and weather the lows.

This theory is codified in the “Stockdale Paradox.” Here, we must have faith that, no matter how dire it looks, it will work out in the end, all while confronting the brutal reality that we’re currently facing.

Both Frankl and Stockdale accepted their current situation, while also believing that one day it would end. This allowed them to wake up every day with a reason. Instead of quitting, they survived the lowest of lows, and went on to have a significant impact on the future.

Life has meaning when we have purpose. The key is to rise every day knowing our reason to live, and then go out and make it happen.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step to get published.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

March 10, 2026

by Stephen T. Messenger

Would you want to sit next to yourself on a bus?

Dr. Carol Kinsey Goman wrote about this question in a 2024 Forbes article titled The Power of Likability. In it, she tells a story about a recent college graduate who was interviewing for a prestigious company and got the job.

When she asked the applicant why she was hired over all the others, the person explained it was because she passed the “sit next to on a bus test.” In this theory, companies want to hire people they would feel comfortable sitting next to on a long bus ride. If the hiring team is going to spend countless hours in the workplace with this new person, it should feel like a treat, not a burden, to sit near them on a metaphorical bus.

Yes, competency matters. A lot. But so does liking the person we’re going to spend all day with, five days a week. Likability is an important part of being around other people. If we don’t want to sit next to someone on a bus for a few minutes, we wouldn’t want to work alongside them for years.

Which raises a bigger question. What actually makes someone likable?

Yeah, But Do You Like People?

Perhaps you have someone in your life who is truly likable. I do. Every time I’m around them, I leave feeling like a better version of myself and more motivated to conquer the world. I often wonder why they’re like that and if I am or could be too.

It reminds me of a phrase I use a lot. “If we want to be a leader, we have to do two things. First, we have to like people. Second, we have to do something about it. Dale Carnegie makes a similar argument in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People.

He tells a story about his dog, and it’s similar to mine. Every day I come home, my dog runs up to see me, happy as all get up. I like him because he likes me. Dogs win people over for a simple reason: they like us first.

Carnegie says, “You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by getting other people interested in you.”

He also tells the story of President Teddy Roosevelt, who knew every White House worker by name. He asked about their families, hobbies, and interests. In other words, he first liked them.

Then he had a habit of calling workers if he thought they’d be interested in something. He knew the valet’s wife loved rare birds, and once called her to tell her a bird was on the White House lawn. In other words, he did something about liking people.

But liking people isn’t just a feeling. It shows up in our specific behaviors.

Keys to Being Likable

Podcaster Jennifer Cohen from Habits & Hustle talks about three keys to likability: empathy, authenticity, and enthusiasm. These are the characteristics people tend to display when they genuinely like other people.

Empathy. This trait is the ability to understand and share the feelings of those around us. Generally, people want to feel heard and understood. No one likes telling a story designed to evoke a certain emotion and receiving nothing in return.

To be empathetic, we should ask questions and take a genuine interest in what the other person is experiencing. We celebrate wins when they’re on a high, and we commiserate during lows when they’re feeling down. Empathetic people hear other people’s underlying feelings and try to understand why they feel the way they do. And as Cohen says, we should be empathetic even when we don’t agree with them.

Authenticity. The second characteristic is the quality of being real or true. No one likes a fake, and it’s important to be confident in the person we are. That means not trying to be like other people, not chasing something we don’t want just because the crowd does, and not pretending we are something we’re not.

Being authentic means knowing what we genuinely believe and staying both consistent and humble about those values. Authentic people tell the truth with kindness, admit when they don’t know something, and live out their value system. Research professor Dr. Brené Brown believes that vulnerability in sharing our thoughts and feelings is the start of authenticity. People just want to know we are honest and genuine.

Enthusiasm. Finally, no one wants to be around a “Debbie Downer.” If you recall the recurring SNL skit, Debbie can find the negative in every sentence spoken, even the most positive ones. Now imagine if we were the opposite. Now, I don’t mean fake optimism or ignoring reality, but sincere encouragement.

Enthusiastic people enter each workday excited to be there, give compliments to people, share credit, and find moments of joy even when things get tough. This isn’t about being fake happy all the time, but it is about not letting the stressors of life spill over negatively into other people. Ideally, when a person leaves our presence, they should feel better than when they arrived.

The Secret Superpower Everyone Already Knows

Nothing we’ve written about today is a secret. In fact, many of these lessons sound like the simple rules we learned in kindergarten: be kind, listen, and treat others well. When we genuinely like the people around us, they tend to like us back.

In today’s language, that means putting our phones away during conversations. It’s moving away from a computer screen when someone walks in the office. It’s introducing people to other people when acquaintances meet. It’s about remembering the details of other people’s lives and following up on them. But most importantly, it’s about being like our dogs.

They like us, want to run to us, and love being with us. If a dog could talk, it would want to know all about our day… and probably ask when dinner is. The love and affection a dog shows for humans is reciprocated. The reason is simple: dogs feel what we feel, they are unapologetically themselves, and they are genuinely excited to see us.

If we can live out this not-so-secret superpower that dogs have by being empathetic, authentic, and enthusiastic, or genuinely liking other people, we’ll probably pass the “sit next to you on a bus” test too.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step to get published.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

March 5, 2026

by Joe McAlarnen

I had only been at the Command and Staff College for eight months, working among colleagues whose credibility far predated my arrival. I suddenly found myself operating from a position where I was in charge of a project with no official authority yet leading a cross-functional team filled with intelligent and experienced peers.

We all find ourselves in positions like this. It’s the space I refer to as the squish: the ambiguous middle where leadership is required, authority is constrained, and influence matters most. Here, traditional hierarchies go out the window, and our command leadership must be replaced by perspective-taking, trust, and respect.

The “What Now” Moment We’ll All Face

My task was to introduce Joint All-Domain Operations (JADO) into Professional Military Education (PME) at scale. A small team had previously implemented an impactful elective, but now we were building it out into a larger program. I looked around the collaboration room; in it were distinguished professors and lieutenant colonels of varied backgrounds. The idea as originally pitched to me came with a warning: it may be perceived as a threat to some of these experts’ life work. 

The uncertainty was palpable in their posture and stillness. I could have framed the effort as guidance. I could have focused on process. I could have invoked institutional priority. All of those were true and already understood, but leaning on these concepts to move forward would only heighten the very concerns I needed to mitigate. I laughed inside as the standing Marine Corps phrase from The Basic School echoed in my head, “What now, lieutenant (colonel)?”

When Knife Hands Aren’t Enough

Our dominant concepts of leadership tend to revolve around positional authority within hierarchical organizations. This is readily apparent in military structures but equally visible in the private sector. We picture leaders as those who direct, compel, and evaluate; individuals whose authority is formalized and whose legitimacy is reinforced by structure.

Notably, leadership in these contexts is well studied, taught, and researched. A simple keyword search for “leadership” yields tens of thousands of books, frameworks, and development programs. We intuitively understand this form of leadership because most organizations depend on it to function. Many of us have experienced it directly, applied aspects of it ourselves, or learned to recognize its familiar styles and tools.

But much of today’s consequential work happens outside these familiar structures. It unfolds in spaces where authority is less defined, peers are empowered, cultures intersect, and directive tools carry unintended costs. In these environments, like those found in joint, multinational, academic, interagency, or corporate middle layers, leaders are accountable for outcomes they cannot order into existence.

The Shift to Informal Leadership

Formative military training and continuing education overwhelmingly focus on positional authority, which often centers on command leadership. This is not to discount the importance of this instruction. Rather, it is to offer that regardless of institution, most people spend limited time in command roles; they instead are more often team members or specialist contributors.

Interestingly, I would align the most significant contributions of my own career to informal roles where organizational change or improved multinational partnership occurred through leading collective action. My impact occurred by, with, and through peers, rather than by virtue of positional authority.

Leadership in the squish doesn’t rest on personality or style. It rests on setting the conditions that allow peers, often with varied incentives and identities, to bring their expertise and effort to bear in pursuit of collective gain. Over time, I have found that leadership in these environments hinges on three practices: perspective-taking, trust-building, and respect.

Perspective-taking

Military readers are most likely familiar with the concept of intelligence preparation of the battlefield, or the systematic process of analyzing all variables such as enemy, terrain, and weather to assess the effects on operations. This is how I envision perspective-taking. It is a deliberate effort to understand where each potential contributor is coming from as they join the team. An individual’s experience, cultural frameworks, professional identity, and perceptions of risk all shape how people engage in group dynamics. Bureaucratic position matters as well.

As Miles’s Law suggests, “where you stand depends on where you sit,” and institutional roles are frequently internalized as personal positions. Together, these individual and institutional factors shape what each person brings to the table. Perspective-taking helps the peer leader anticipate friction, reduce resistance, and create conditions for convergence.

Trust-building

Without the ability to compel compliance, peer leaders must rely on trust-building to create conditions that encourage engagement and shared purpose. Research supports this dynamic. In her work on implementation research, Dr. Allison Metz identifies the foundation of equalizing power differentiators as “co-creation and humility.” In practice, trust is reinforced through behavior, such as how individuals run meetings, how disagreements are framed, how input is integrated, and how credit is allocated.

Building trust in these environments requires balancing openness with direction. Leaders must encourage debate while still guiding the group toward both directed and shared objectives. This is complicated by the realities of human behavior: some contribute readily; others hesitate. Yet those quieter voices often hold insights critical to progress. By deliberately drawing them into the conversation while managing dominant voices, peer leaders signal that all contributions matter.

Respect

Underpinning perspective-taking and trust-building is respect. It is the enabling condition that sustains leadership in the squish. Challenging work requires the full engagement of teams, and research consistently shows, such as the 2022 study by Zhao, that respect is central to collaboration and innovation. In practice, this places an imperative on leaders to reinforce the value that each individual’s expertise and prior contributions bring to the collective objective.

Respect becomes especially critical during periods of change, when new approaches can feel like a rejection of past work or professional identity. When transformation is the goal, leaders must take deliberate steps to help team members carry forward into what comes next. Without this effort, resistance hardens. With it, individuals are far more willing to invest in a future they can see themselves in.

From Theory to the Global Stage

I saw these dynamics most clearly not in theory, but in practice. In 2023, one such moment occurred in a collaboration room on the fourth floor of the Multinational Joint Warfare Center in Istanbul, Turkey. Around the table were experts in intelligence, targeting, and operations from multiple nations, services, and organizations.

We shared a common objective: NATO needed a targeting process that would give the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) a meaningful way to influence how resources were prioritized. The only way forward was to understand national and organizational perspectives, create trust across professional and cultural lines, and ensure that each participant had a voice in the process.

The Squish Is Where It Happens

Leadership in the squish is rarely visible and often undervalued. It lacks the clarity of command and the simplicity of authority, yet it is where much of today’s consequential work is done. In these spaces, progress is not directive; it is fostered through alignment built on perspective-taking, trust, and respect.

The practices described here are not novel. Most readers will recognize them intuitively. What is different is the context in which they become essential rather than optional. When authority is constrained and outcomes still matter, these practices are no longer stylistic preferences; they become functional requirements for collective action in service of institutional objectives.

In such environments, leadership emerges not from position, but from the ability to create conditions where peers can move forward together. That is the quiet work of leading through the squish, and it is where many leaders will spend far more time than they expect.

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Bio: Joe McAlarnen is a Marine officer who has served on active duty for almost 25 years. He is passionate about his family, Fútbol, Liverpool FC, and Virginia Tech. Find him on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/joe-mcalarnen.

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Marine Corps, Department of the Navy, Department of War or the U.S. Government.

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March 3, 2026

by Stephen T. Messenger

I found myself again sitting in yet another routinely scheduled team meeting that wasn’t going anywhere. I looked around at the faces of the bored participants, each questioning their life choices of attending this worthless event. Some were half paying attention. Some weren’t even pretending at this point. Others were checking their phones in (not so) secret as we waited for two strong personalities to talk about a very specific topic that only applied to them. You’ve been there.

This type of meeting is the death of organizational efficiency. Yet, they happen countless times across our workplaces destroying unimaginable hours of productivity. Actually, someone has done the math. There are over 55 million meetings each week in America. Organizations spend on average 15% of their time in these sessions, and employees report that only 11% of that time is actually productive.

The problem may be too many meetings, yes, but we should focus on increasing that 11% of reported non-productive time. That could mean eliminating them. But better, it certainly means making each gathering more useful to employees. To do so, we should focus on four core meetings that every organization needs, adapted from Kavit Haria with my spin on it.

Needs Versus Wants

My son likes to challenge me on a need versus a want. He often quips that, “You do not need it. You want it.” This is the same with many of our meetings. We don’t need them. We want them, or at least feel compelled to do them. Yet our employees do not.

Our job as meeting organizers is to get to a space where our people both need the meeting and want to be there. It takes effort, but by ruthlessly planning our meetings, we can make them both a need and a want.

To get there, we must do three things. First, establish a predictable meeting rhythm where everyone knows where to be, how often, and why they are there. Second, have a clear purpose and agenda for every engagement. Finally, have an ending point where we never go long, and often go short. By focusing on these three simple items, we can raise the reported level of engagement by our employees.

The Four Horsemen of the Meeting Schedule

Organizations thrive on predictability. There is a reason the expression, “running like a finely tuned engine,” exists. Because when all parts are working as they should, the engine of our organization works greatly. When we throw a wrench into it, the place literally seizes up. That’s why having a predictable rhythm of events is crucial to any group of people. These four meetings will help us do that.

Daily Stand Up (5 minutes)

The first thing we need is a daily touchpoint. This meeting is like starting our car every morning to make sure it runs before we drive it. While many people start rolling their eyes when they hear “stand ups,” this event is crucial for people to come together, update on yesterday’s events, note any emergencies, and drive on with the day. Each person has a voice to discuss any items of interest to the group.

The intent is to keep it quick, hence standing up. If it’s more than five minutes total, we’ve talked too long. If something is important to one or two people, they can huddle after, and everyone else goes back to work with known priorities, a face-to-face to build relationships, and a motivated “thank you” for everything they do. Keep it quick, simple, and motivating.

Weekly Huddle (1 hour)

The second meeting we need is a tactical meeting to make sure the tires have air and there’s gas in the tank to drive the organization effectively. In these meetings, we focus on the next two to three weeks. It’s how we plan for the near term and keep everyone aligned to the priorities of the collective team.  

We relentlessly focus on what items are important for multi-day execution. It’s about identifying problems, risks, and tripwires that are on the horizon. Each member of the team should cover their area of expertise and provide an update on what’s happening in their sphere of influence. Everyone gets a voice, and everyone participates.

Monthly Planning (2 hours)

This third type of meeting is like getting an oil change. It’s routine maintenance to correct any deficiencies so the organization will run smoothly over the next few months. The planners look at the big picture. They think about how all the moving parts fit together to cover the equities of the group. These meetings are about long-term thinking and success and everyone there should have a voice.

This is our chance to see how all the parts fit together and tackle the most pressing matters, many of which were identified in the weekly huddles. We have a focused agenda going in and work on two or three major topics each month. Using divergent and then convergent thinking, we always come back to solutions and assign a project lead for the next steps.

Quarterly Strategic (1 day)

This final meeting is about long-term planning and strategy. Here, we go offsite to separate from work for a day and look at the long term. We’re always in a fight to solve today’s problems, which means no one is solving tomorrow’s. This session is a chance to ensure long-term successes are being accomplished without being distracted by daily challenges.

Our job in these meetings is to understand our end states and ensure we have the ways and means to accomplish them long term. It’s about how we shape organizations one, two, and three years from now. Are we meeting our goals? Do we need to reframe? These sessions create shared understanding, build teams, and generate strategic impact. If no one is looking long-term, the future is highly uncertain.

The Power of Meetings

I am convinced that all of us, especially myself, do not harness the full power of meetings to make a significant impact on our organizations. We allow too many of them to have no agenda, get off track, and generate no impact. Moreover, we either allow too many people in the room, or we don’t give the right people in the room a voice.

By relentlessly scheduling our meetings to have deliberate objectives and take individual problems offline, we have to the opportunity to reshape how our meetings help instead of hurt. Too many times, we have them for the sake of having them. Even worse, we schedule most meetings for an hour, when many could be much shorter… or an email.

Meetings are actually a tremendous enabler when used right. Yet they’ve gotten a bad reputation based on how we conduct them. By reframing our schedules to adhere to the four types of meetings, we can eliminate wasted time and energy. When we align our meetings properly, we can increase our morale, productivity, and desire to sit in more meetings.

Leave them wanting more! Not less!

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This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

February 26, 2026

by Jerel Foster

If we really want to understand human behavior, we can skip the personality tests entirely. We just need to stand at an airport gate for about twenty minutes and watch.

Specifically, we should watch the passenger boarding with four bags while confidently insisting, “This is my personal item.” Not “these are my personal items.” Singular, not plural. As if the carry-on bag, the backpack, the shopping tote, and the winter coat stuffed to the absolute structural limits of what a small suitcase can endure have somehow achieved a kind of metaphysical unity through sheer audacity, one noble, singular object, born of ambition and a deep unwillingness to pay a checked-bag fee.

Welcome to The Carry-On Bag Theory: the spiritual successor to the Shopping Cart Theory, now upgraded with wheels, TSA PreCheck, and a remarkable, almost athletic capacity for self-deception.

A Behavioral Classic, Reimagined

The Shopping Cart Theory, for those not yet initiated into its elegant gospel, is beautifully simple. Returning a cart to its corral reveals our capacity for self-governance. There is no reward for doing it and no punishment for abandoning it to careen freely across the parking lot toward a stranger’s Camry. There is only a choice, one that benefits strangers at a minor inconvenience to us. Behavioral scientists love it precisely because it is a litmus test conducted in the wild, without a laboratory, without a clipboard, and without anyone watching.

When there are no consequences either way, what do we do? Do we leave the cart where it stands, knowing full well it will eventually slam into a stranger’s car during a windstorm, or do we walk thirty extra feet because civilization, it turns out, requires occasional effort from all of us? That is the whole theory. It is almost annoyingly pure in its simplicity.

The airport, however, offers something considerably richer. It offers a full masterclass in rationalization under pressure, observed in real time with a captive audience.

Why Airports Expose Our True Nature

Airports are, in the most literal sense, petri dishes for behavioral observation. They combine everything psychologists dream about in a single teeming environment: high stress, ambiguous enforcement, time scarcity, and several hundred strangers we will almost certainly never see again. It is anonymity with consequences, just not consequences for us, personally. Instead, the penalties accrue quietly to everyone else.

Research in behavioral economics confirms what every exhausted gate agent already knows in their bones. When rules exist but enforcement is sporadic, and when resources feel scarce, humans optimize reliably for personal advantage over collective efficiency. A 2018 study published in Psychological Science found that perceived scarcity, whether real or merely imagined, triggers self-interested behavior even among people who, under perfectly normal circumstances, hold doors open and say “excuse me” when their cart bumps ours in the cereal aisle. Strip away the social fabric, add a departure board, and apparently all bets are off.

Enter the carry-on bag. Or bags. Plural. Many, many bags.

The Carry-On Bag Spectrum: A Taxonomy

Most travelers fall into predictable behavioral categories, each one revealing something genuinely illuminating about how we navigate rules when personal convenience and institutional compliance happen to collide in the boarding zone.

The Complier (2 Bags)

This person follows posted regulations without negotiation, without sighing, and without any visible inner turmoil. One carry-on, one personal item, both comfortably within dimensional guidelines. They move through the boarding process like a well-oiled machine, finding their seat, stowing their bag, and settling in before the rest of us have finished arguing with ourselves about whether the gate agent will notice the second tote. These people almost certainly return shopping carts, tip twenty percent without calculating whether the service merited it, and have never once in their lives thought, “I could probably get away with this.” They are the scaffolding of society. We do not deserve them.

The Rational Optimizer (3 Bags)

This group understands the rules thoroughly and has studied, with some dedication, exactly how far they bend before snapping. They know that “personal item” is subject to interpretation, that gate agents are exhausted by hour six of their shift, and that if we board confidently enough and with sufficient forward momentum, no one will challenge the tote bag that is, technically speaking, a small piece of carry-on luggage wearing the clothing of a tote bag. This traveler has run the cost-benefit analysis and determined that the roughly eight percent chance of being asked to gate-check is an acceptable trade-off for the convenience of keeping everything within arm’s reach. They are not breaking rules, exactly. They are exploring definitional boundaries, like a philosopher, but with more carry-ons.

The Confident Rule-Bender (4+ Bags)

This traveler operates on a philosophy that is, in its own way, admirably straightforward: if no one stops me, it is allowed. They board with a carry-on, a backpack, a duty-free shopping bag still in its crinkly branded paper, and a jacket so overstuffed it has crossed the invisible threshold into soft-sided luggage territory. And here is the thing. This is not necessarily entitlement, at least not in the theatrical, villainous sense. It is adaptive behavior, emerging entirely predictably under weak enforcement systems. When violations go unchallenged, they calcify into precedent. What was once brazen becomes, through simple repetition, normalized. The rule-bender did not create this dynamic. They merely recognized it and acted accordingly, which is its own kind of depressing talent.

The Jacket Stuffer (Category-Defying)

The Stuffer deserves their own anthropological study, possibly their own chapter in a textbook. They are wearing a jacket in a climate-controlled terminal; a perfectly comfortable, sixty-eight degree terminal, and that jacket contains a laptop, two charging cables, a Kindle, noise-canceling headphones, a water bottle, three granola bars, and a hardcover book. Are they breaking the rules? Technically, no. Are they exploiting a loophole with the sophistication of a tax attorney who moonlights in aerospace engineering? Absolutely. From a purely behavioral standpoint, this is innovation under constraint. The same fundamental impulse that once led humans to invent the wheel is now applied with equal ingenuity to avoiding a thirty-five-dollar checked-bag fee.

The Science Behind the Overhead Bin Wars

Here is where the satire and the sociology become genuinely indistinguishable. Studies on social norms, particularly the research of behavioral economist Dan Ariely at Duke University, demonstrate that when violations go unchallenged, they normalize with startling speed. Observing someone else break a rule makes us statistically more likely to break it ourselves, as though rule-bending is mildly contagious. What begins as an individual exception, one bold four-bag pioneer on a Tuesday afternoon flight, gradually becomes a collective expectation shared by entire boarding zones.

The downstream effects of this are familiar to anyone who has ever boarded a full flight. Overhead bins fill before half the plane has even reached the jetway. Boarding processes slow to what can only be described as a Sisyphean crawl, with each successive passenger performing an increasingly elaborate bin-Tetris routine. Gate agents are forced into reactive, exhausting enforcement mode, doing crowd control for a problem the system itself created. And the people who actually followed the rules, the Compliers, bless them, end up gate-checking their properly sized, regulation-compliant bags while the four-bag traveler settles in comfortably overhead, feet from the front.

Just like abandoned shopping carts, the cost is distributed evenly across everyone, but it is never paid by the individual who caused it. The tragedy is not that some people game the system. The tragedy is that the system rewards them for doing so, consistently and without consequence, which is a fairly efficient way to teach everyone else that the rules are optional.

What the Carry-On Bag Theory Really Reveals

This theory is not about luggage, any more than the Shopping Cart Theory was ever really about grocery stores. It is about what happens when personal convenience conflicts with shared responsibility, and no one is watching closely enough to intervene. It is about the gap between written rules and enforced norms, between what we say the standards are and what we actually allow to happen on a Tuesday afternoon in Terminal C. It is about how quickly the concepts of “allowed” and “unchallenged” become functionally indistinguishable in the human mind, a merger that happens quietly, without announcement, and with remarkable efficiency.

The same dynamics surface everywhere we look, once we know what to look for. Corporate expense policies, where a working dinner for two becomes a business dinner for six because no one ever audits the receipts with any real intent. Traffic behavior, where the gap between the posted speed limit and the speed everyone actually drives has widened to a comfortable fifteen miles per hour that no one discusses. Workplace accountability, where “I didn’t see that email” has become a socially acceptable explanation for missed deadlines. Systems do not fail because of bad actors in the dramatic, mustache-twirling sense. They fail when the incentive structure rewards rule-bending over cooperation, when convenience consistently trumps consideration, and when individual benefits quietly accrue while collective costs compound in the background: invisible, unattributed, and growing.

For Leaders: Culture Is What We Tolerate

For anyone responsible for organizational culture whether running a Fortune 500 company, a military unit, a school, or a mid-sized regional airline with chronic overhead-bin problems, the Carry-On Bag Theory is not merely a metaphor. It functions as a diagnostic tool and a behavioral mirror we can hold up to the systems we oversee.

Culture is not defined by what we write in the handbook, however carefully worded and professionally formatted that handbook may be. Culture is defined by what we consistently allow. When small violations go unchallenged, we are not simply permitting individual instances of minor rule-bending. We are actively normalizing a pattern. We are teaching the people around us that the rules are negotiable, that enforcement is sporadic, and that the system, on balance, rewards those willing to push the boundaries furthest. That is a curriculum, even if we never intended to teach it.

High-performing organizations are the kind that execute well under genuine pressure. They do not rely on constant policing to maintain standards. They design environments where doing the right thing is expected, visible, and reinforced by the culture itself, and where the social cost of bending the rules quietly outweighs the personal convenience of doing so. Discipline at the margins, in the small, unglamorous, easily-ignored moments, ends up determining success at scale. Because whether we are boarding a plane or executing a complex operation, the small stuff is never really small. It is a preview, a dress rehearsal, and a reliable indicator of exactly what will happen when the stakes get considerably higher.

Final Boarding Call

The shopping cart did not disappear, of course. It evolved, as things do. It now has wheels, fits overhead when circumstances align favorably, and quietly reveals, to anyone paying attention, how we navigate shared spaces when accountability is optional, the bins are finite, and everyone else is simply trying to get home.

So next time we find ourselves at the gate, it is worth taking a moment to watch the bags. Notice who boards with two, and who boards with four, and who boards wearing a jacket in July that somehow weighs fifteen pounds and clinks faintly when they walk. We will learn a remarkable amount, not just about air travel and not just about the eternal human struggle against the checked-bag fee, but about human nature itself when the rules are soft, the overhead bins are closing fast, and no one appears to be watching very carefully.

And maybe, just maybe, we will think twice before convincing ourselves that the purse, the laptop bag, and the shopping tote taken together are technically one personal item. Or maybe we won’t. That’s the theory.

Jerel B. Foster is a retired Command Sergeant Major with over three decades of leadership, having commanded and guided high-performing teams in some of the most demanding operational environments in the world. Rooted in the stoic belief that true leadership is forged through discipline, resilience, and unwavering service to others, he has dedicated his career to developing unbreakable leaders and building organizations that endure under pressure. Jerel, now channels that same ethos into his work as an operations executive, strategist, and mentor backed by a lifetime of earned experience. www.linkedin.com/in/jerel-b-foster

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February 24, 2026

by Stephen T. Messenger

For 18 months, I’ve been working hard on improving my sleep. There’s just one problem. When I want to sleep, my family is up. When I’m up, my family wants to sleep. The frustrating part is that my kids are most engaging right around 10 p.m., the same time I’m least engaging.

After some careful study, I’ve realized that we’re on different sleep cycles. It’s the reason why I’m an early riser, and they’re night owls. When the two don’t match up, there’s friction.

Even worse, if we don’t understand our own circadian rhythms, we could be trying to be productive when our bodies are fighting us. The tension is real… and real disruptive.

That’s why it is so important to understand the chronotype of our bodies. A chronotype is the natural inclination that we all have to sleep, eat, exercise, and engage best during certain parts of the day. If we understand our type, we have a better chance of managing our day based on our strengths. There are generally four categories of chronotypes: the lion, bear, wolf, and dolphin, and knowing our type will improve our productivity.

Chronotypes Matter

Dr. Michael Breus of the American Board of Sleep Medicine has studied sleep patterns for years. He developed a theory that there are four chronotype categories where each individual is genetically programmed to sleep at certain times. We’ve probably heard the two general categories where we’re either a morning person or a night owl. In reality, these choices aren’t binary but fall within a scale.

If we can understand when our bodies naturally want to sleep and work, we have a better chance of leveraging our expected rhythms to be productive at the right times. The U.S. Army believes so strongly in the value of sleep that they made it one of its five principles of Holistic Health and Fitness.

While we may not always be able to stick to these cycles, knowing where we best perform can help us during normal schedules to maximize our time. During disrupted schedules, we’re at least aware of how the changes in sleep are affecting our productivity. The four categories that Dr. Breus developed can inform this thinking.

Lions. These types of people do their best work in the morning. Lions hunt early and get things done first. They are optimistic, disciplined, and regimented. My profession, the military, loves lions. They go to bed early, wake up early, and work out early. In the mornings, lions are energized and sociable, ready to tackle the day like hunting a wildebeest.

Lions have an increased chance of healthy heart fitness, proper weight, and mental health. Approximately 15% of the population are lions. They’re most productive waking up around 6, focusing best between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., and going to bed early around 10 p.m., on time, with no regrets.

Bears. This chronotype follows the solar patterns. When the sun rises, so do they. When the sun sets, they call it a day. Society roughly follows the pattern of the bear with work schedules, eating times, and social interactions. Bears can maintain the typical 9 to 5 office hours and still hang out in the evenings. Basically, they match expected norms.

However, bears have a tendency to carry sleep debt. They lack sleep during the weekdays and hibernate or sleep in on weekends. This creates a challenge in health with them often experiencing weight issues. They wake around 7 a.m., are most productive from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and turn in around 11 p.m. They’re also the most common chronotype with 55% of all people being bears.

Wolves. This type is the late-night crew. Wolves are nighttime hunters and nocturnal beings. They are creative, find new experiences, and take risks. They wake up later than the other two animals and go to bed much later. Their rhythms don’t match society, so they’re always groggy for morning work and school while socializing well into the night

About 15% of the population are wolves. They wake up with just enough time to make it to work (7:30 a.m.), reach peak productivity between 1 p.m. and 5 p.m., and go to bed at midnight. They often don’t get enough sleep, which can impact their health. This cycle creates problems linking up with societal norms.

Dolphins. This last type are ones whose brains are running wild even when it’s nighttime. Like the aquatic mammal, half their brain keeps thinking while the other half is sleeping poorly. Their nervous energy at night prevents them from fully resting, and they’re alert while trying to sleep because of a non-standard pattern of increased nighttime brain activity.

About 10% of people are dolphins. They wake up early, say 6 a.m., go to bed late around 11 p.m., and are most productive between 3 p.m. to 7 p.m. In the morning, when everyone else is ramping up for the day, they are crashing. However, this type is intelligent and focused on details, albeit often anxious.

No One Size Fits All

Remember, these are models and few people cleanly fit into these exact types. But what is clear from science is that most of us need about seven hours of sleep every night. For lions, it’s easier to power down and go to bed early to wake up early. For wolves, that means understanding that work or school may require an early rise, which could be a challenge to those night people.

It’s hard to change our chronotype. But it’s easier to train our circadian rhythm, or our sleep cycle, by when we sleep and rise. The key is to match our chronotype to our circadian rhythm to the times we need to be most productive while getting our full complement of sleep. If we can manage those four pieces, we’ll be more alert, productive, and engaged at the right times.

Keep in mind also that our chronotype also shifts over our lives. Young children start as lions, going to bed early but needing more sleep than adults. As teenagers, they shift to wolves, staying up late and often having to be dragged out of bed in the mornings (you parents get me). Then in adulthood, they settle into their genetically influenced type. As an older adult, they often revert back to lions, hence the early-bird specials for dinner.

Managing our Sleep

So when we know our sleep patterns and compare them to when we need to be most alert, we can now take steps to be more productive. First, our work schedule probably isn’t going to change, but the times when we need to be most “on” might. If we can schedule our toughest mental work when we’re most alert, our brains will perform better.

Second, know there are certain associations between our sleep type and how we act. Morning people are often better with standardized school material while wolves are usually wired more for creativity. Evening people often struggle to have a consistent sleep schedule resulting in grogginess, while lions lack social energy at evening events. If we know we have certain requirements, we can occasionally adjust our sleep to meet them.

Finally, other things may be affecting our sleep. Caffeine, alcohol, sugar, meal timing, late-night screen time, and workout schedules can all affect our sleep. It’s important to match our intake to our rhythms with our chronotype to be most productive. What we feed our bodies physically and mentally matters greatly.

Own Our Animal

Know yourself and know your enemy and you will be successful in 1,000 battles, says Chinese Philosopher Sun Tzu. I’m more of a lion myself, and here I am at 11 p.m. finishing up this article. I can feel my brain working slower and my body wanting to bail. It’s a perfect case study on what not to do.

The next day: In contrast, as I review this in the morning, I can tell I’m sharper, clearer, and write more better(er). I know this because this morning edit cleaned up a lot of evening nonsense that I typed.

The key is to own our animal. Being a lion, bear, wolf, or dolphin is not good or bad, it just is. And if we know how to engage our bodies with our world, we can harness the power of sleep and productivity to be incredibly successful.

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We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step to get published.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

February 19, 2026

by Ralph “RJ” Johnson

“Major VC, stop asking, just execute. I trust you. You have my intent and guidance. Let me know if you need me to knock down an obstacle in your way, otherwise RUN!”

These were the words said to my Assistant Operations Officer three months prior to deploying 60 personnel, vehicles, and $25 million of equipment 1,600 miles to the West Coast for our military exercises RED FLAG and BAMBOO EAGLE. It was a highly visible event with many moving parts, and he was understandably cautious about getting it wrong. But he had already shown me his ability to plan, coordinate, prepare, and execute large exercises in the past; each success added trust to the bucket. That little affirmation helped facilitate his confidence and yield a successful deployment, execution, and redeployment of personnel and equipment across multiple locations, even garnering Air Force-level accolades.

In high-performing teams, there is a critical ingredient that is non-negotiable. Without it, initiative dies, risk aversion paralyzes decision making, subordinates avoid action, and leaders revert to firm control that stifles growth. Basically, the mission fractures. This ingredient is trust.  

The Decisive Factor

Trust is the invisible force that turns guidance and intent into action, strategy into execution, and teams into something greater than the sum of their parts. It determines the level of capacity an organization has to seize the initiative and take prudent risks to maintain a competitive advantage. In my Air Force Air War College studies on how to develop culture, I think of organizational trust as a bucket. A shallow bucket creates minimal initiative and risk-taking. When the bucket is full, speed, adaptability, and freedom of action are unlocked. 

When a follower decides to exercise initiative and accept prudent risk, they place their personal and sometimes organizational reputation on the line. Here, they are operating in a space where their boss may or may not agree or approve. Basically, a person in this position must ask themselves: “Am I willing to take action that I know is important without fear my boss will punish me for doing so, even if it doesn’t work?”

The Confluence of Trust, Initiative, and Risk

Stephen Covey describes trust as equal parts competence and character. He believes character is rooted in integrity, values, and ethics while competence is rooted in judgment, skill, and reliability. Subordinates must believe their leaders have the requisite knowledge, judgment, and skills to lead them, and supervisors must believe their team is trained and proficient in their functions with the mindset of doing the right thing to make progress.

We all want to be surrounded by people of competence and character; we want to be those people too. These trusting relationships create initiative and risk acceptance on behalf of the boss to make things happen when they’re not around.

Initiative is empowered judgment and action in key moments to take advantage of an opportunity. It’s confidence in the level of mutual trust between two people to act when orders and policies do not fit the current situation. It also fosters responsiveness, allowing teams to navigate challenges and solve problems.

Risk acceptance is the judgment to move forward with a mission or task after careful consideration of potential loss to resources or objectives. It’s about understanding the risks clearly and making deliberate decisions. It is not recklessness; it is informed action. 

Both initiative and risk acceptance require trust, because without it, the faucet closes.

Trust Unlocks Disciplined Initiative and Prudent Risk Taking

The world is rapidly evolving, both in warfare and business. Artificial intelligence, the race for quantum computing, evolving technologies, and more have made the military and business landscape extremely competitive.

So how do teams not just survive, but create advantage in this environment? Trust! It is the only way to increase speed, agility, and adaptability to capitalize on opportunities. No single leader can micromanage a fast fight or evolving business landscape. No leader can script every contingency. And no team can adapt when everyone is waiting for permission.

When trust fills the bucket, teammates have the confidence to shoulder their share of the task. Teams act with unity of effort and have a bias towards action. Initiative flows from the bottom up, not the top down. And the beauty is, things happen automatically!

Major VC understood that terrain and weather would complicate long-haul communications during our exercise. Rather than wait, he coordinated with a sister squadron in Hawaii to secure advanced communications equipment. He later back-briefed me on his actions and the associated $900 shipping cost. I was happy. Why? Because he solved a problem using three essential items: my trust, intent, and boundaries to operate within.

A key role as leaders is to maximize mutual trust, allowing our people to increase ownership and freedom of action. The more trust flowing into the bucket, the safer our people feel to make decisions and take action to accomplish the mission when we’re not around.

The Harsh Reality on Trust

Here is the uncomfortable truth: most organizations say they value trust but operate on fear. 

Fear of failure.  Fear of judgment.  Fear of punishment.

Fear punches holes in the bucket, and our trust leaks out. This is catastrophic because trust is one of the hardest things to build. It is gained in droplets and lost in buckets. It requires leaders of high standards, competence, and character who must live out their values every day in public and private. It doesn’t mean everyone has to like our message or decisions all the time. But words and deeds must be consistent.

Ways to Fill the Trust Bucket

Trust doesn’t appear on its own. It is earned through deliberate actions. Some ways to do so are:

• Reassure our team constantly on how much we trust them.
• Develop people of strong character and high competence. 
• Courageously hold those who fail to meet standards accountable. 
• Don’t lie, cheat, or steal, nor tolerate those who do. I’m sure we have the first half covered. Relentlessly enforce the second half.
• Assess decisions, actions, policies, procedures, and statements to determine: “Does this build trust, or erode it?” 
• Match our words and actions in everything we do.  Complete alignment!

Leaders control the faucet. Each interaction we have with others either adds trust to the bucket or punctures a hole draining it. The severity of the action determines the size of the hole. And some holes take a lot of work to patch up.

If leaders want teams to act boldly, we must create an environment where exercising initiative and accepting prudent risk are expected, honest mistakes are discussed rather than punished, and subordinates are encouraged and expected to think, decide, and act. 

Low-trusting teams never won a war, built a great company, or held a nation together. But those teams that trusted each other to lead with boldness and confidence, up and down the leadership chain, to execute the boss’s intent and make it happen, achieved greatness.

Leaders don’t get the initiative they want; they get the initiative that trust allows. Remember to keep our trust bucket filled!

Bio: Ralph Johnson is a native of Texas, husband, and father of two, serving as an Air Force Special Warfare Tactical Air Control Party officer. He’s currently stationed at Maxwell AFB, AL as a student at Air War College. When he is not spending time with family or working, he enjoys fitness and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. 

Check out RJ’s first article in The Maximum Standard here: The Leader and the Blacksmith

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of the Air Force, Department of War, or the U.S. Government.

February 17, 2026

by Stephen T. Messenger

For as long as I can remember at work, I’ve been eating at my desk. Lunchtime comes around, and I hit the community kitchen, throw some leftovers in the microwave, head back to my office, and chow down while continuing to be productive. As a model employee, work stops for nothing, not even food.

This year, I tried something different. Every day at noon, I ask people around me to grab lunch and fellowship for 30 minutes. The rallying cry: Never eat lunch at your desk.

In this experiment, I’ve found that having a group lunch every day does three things. It builds interoffice relationships, increases happiness levels, and makes us more productive.

Breaking Bread Builds Bonds

In 1938, Harvard began a study tracking 268 sophomores and continued to follow them for over 80 years. Now known as the Harvard Study of Adult Development, researchers studied physical and mental health, following the subjects and their descendants to assess human behavior. What they found was fascinating.

Good relationships keep us happier and healthier. Period. More than wealth, IQ, or social class, the quality of close relationships predicted long-term health and life satisfaction.

For decades, my lunch relationship was with my computer and work. This year, it’s about the people I work with. We have somewhere between three and ten people attend each day, and we share stories of our kids, weekends, and lives. We sometimes learn more about each other in 30 minutes than we learn in a month of passing each other in the hallways.

The stories are funny, emotional, exciting, and entertaining. We’ve talked about restaurants, vacations, jokes, and fails. In that short window, we’ve grown together as a team and enjoyed each other’s company.

But the biggest benefit of our “family lunches” is that we build trust with each other that has grown exponentially over these half hour periods. And that trust doesn’t stay at the table, it expands into the rest of the day in the forms of collaboration and decision-making.

Shared Supper Sparks Satisfaction

The 2025 World Happiness Report has been studying social connections for over a decade. They have determined that sharing meals has a direct correlation to the levels of happiness in individuals. Across 142 countries, they’ve studied countries that share almost every meal with others and countries that habitually eat alone.

The results show that community meals are a high indicator of well-being. Those who break bread with others state a higher level of life satisfaction than those who eat alone. These results transcend income levels, age, gender, and country. Yet in America, one in four people reported eating every meal alone the day before the survey.

I’ve noticed that immediately following our group meals, I am in a much better mood. I just spent time with my work friends, laughed, and escaped the daily grind of work. My mood increased, my social capital went up, and I enjoyed time recharging for the second half of the day.

Coupled with building relationships, community lunches increase happiness in people and communities. It not only raises individual-level satisfaction, but group happiness as well, which continues into the workday.

Team Tables Turbocharge Throughput

A 2015 study from Cornell University’s Dyson School found an increase in productivity from teams who ate meals together. They surveyed 50 firehouses over 15 months and found significant differences between those teams who ate together and those teams who didn’t. Notably, the group lunches created networking and social opportunities that increased morale and success at work.

But it expands beyond the firehouse. Columbia University found that families who eat dinner together five or more times per week have kids who do better academically, eat healthier, and have fewer behavioral problems than those who do not. This directly correlates to the workplace as shared bonds increase performance within teams.

I’ve found that taking a dedicated 30 minutes for lunch with friends helps me be more productive. It gives my brain a mental retreat to relax and refresh for the afternoon’s work. I’m more mentally alert after eating than if I were to work straight through lunch to burnout. Finally, the trust we build while hanging out directly correlates to our work, improving teamwork and engagement levels.

Our brains were not made to work continuously. Taking a break allows us to mentally reset and prepare for the second half of the day, while building bonds to work more effectively as a team.

Communal Cuisine Cultivates Culture

I used to think that working during lunch was making me more productive. What I’ve learned is that it was making me less so.

By stepping away from our desks and breaking bread together, we strengthen relationships, increase happiness, and become more productive. While it often seems counterintuitive, pausing for lunch is one of the great work hacks that costs nothing and gives everything.

Next lunch, knock on some doors and invite coworkers to a standing lunch date. You’ll be surprised at the immediate return on investment, and how much it lasts.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step to get published.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

February 12, 2026

by (Huy) Alex Le

One of the most thought-provoking questions we use every day has only two words: “So what?”

Normally, this question makes anyone sound like they couldn’t care less about the latest hot topic. But in an organizational context, it opens a gateway for those who give and receive it.

Our military expects leaders and subordinates to be critical and creative thinkers in a team of teams. In this dynamic and fast-paced world, using those qualities alongside others to our advantage helps us stay on top of our agendas and solve problems.

Through the work they do, the staff has a stake in their commander’s decision-making. They gather their tools and teams, do their analyses, and make tangible products for review by their boss. From beginning to end, this work has to be thorough and flexible.

Throughout the entire process, a quality boss will ask his staff about how these different moving parts come together. “Why should this be our resupply route?” “How will these conditions affect us over time?” “Say we take these actions. What then?”

While they come from different angles of the situation, these questions are similar forms of the same two-word question: “So what?”  To get to the meaning of this question, let’s look at three other ways we can phrase it as seen from an academic perspective

I. What is significant about your claim?

Your research into a problem makes you more informed than the audience you brief. You must clearly articulate how your main idea connects to the bigger picture. You bring credible and positive value by explaining why your claim matters and creates favorable progress.

II. How does this enrich my understanding?

Pick anyone in the room. They see the same problem you’re seeing but with a different lens. By exchanging and questioning information, you will fill in each other’s gaps. This creates shared understanding and the ability to move forward, together.

III. What are the implications of your claim?

With a complete and accurate working picture in hand, you must now explain the call to action. All the work you and the team have done fuels collective understanding. This shared understanding, coupled with your implications, is a catalyst for the informed decision the boss must make. They need your expert suggestions to approve action.

To make this topic more concrete, I’ll share one past experience and one future experience.

Throughout my deployment in Africa, I was the knowledge manager for a 1000-man task force. Much of my work involved putting together and formatting inputs or updates from the staff and commanders. We used the resulting products for many events to include update briefs, country briefs, emergency deployment readiness exercises, and redeployment working groups.

During these events, our bosses dissected our products and ideas in real time. They dug deeply to ensure the collective group gained a shared understanding across the knowledge of the team. If we came up short on information or recommendations, they pressed further to ensure we provided the significance, justifications, and opinions of our claims.

Our bosses liberally used, “So what?” to make sure our efforts paid off. And they did.

In a future example, I will soon begin my doctorate program. Currently, I’m looking at researching how to improve andragogy. This is the set of theories and practices supporting adult education. Like other contenders, this topic sounds worthy of research. But I can imagine the advisors asking, “So what?”

My advisors will know the big picture of education well. But even they might need a moment to pick out specific details. One way I could start answering their initial questions is by reframing the topic into another question: ”How well do we think adults are learning while they balance their everyday priorities?” Here, we can get the ball rolling.

Ask Away

Whether in the past or the future, we will find ourselves in situations where we have the power and the need to advocate for our ideas and contributions to stand on their own. The demand for influencing others to see things our way and answering a call to action has never been greater.

When done correctly, we enter every conversation with the ability to answer the significance of our argument, explain why it matters to the audience, and provide recommendations going forward. Part of maintaining this skill lies in the power of the question, “So what?”  We must always be prepared to both answer and ask it.

(Huy) Alex Le is a 2019 alumnus of Drexel University and a Captain within the Pennsylvania Army National Guard. With almost ten years of service to date, he looks to rebrand himself as a logistics officer. After a successful deployment to the Horn of Africa under Task Force Associator from 2024 to 2025, he enrolled in a doctorate of education program under Gwynedd Mercy University and started up a private tutoring business (https://tutorquickle.my.canva.site). Through these steps in his return to education, he seeks to not only continue bettering himself but also cultivate thinkers and potential leaders.

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step to get published. Click the link in this paragraph to start your writing journey with us!

February 10, 2026

by Stephen T. Messenger

Every day, I come home from work and hang my jacket on this one particular hook in our house. It’s not in the closet, but more out in the open, easy to reach, and quickly accessible. It’s just what I do, and have been doing for months since we moved in.

Last week, my wife, out of seemingly nowhere, let me know that she hates it when I place it there. Her point was that it was in the open and taking up space for something else.

I had no idea! Prior to this conversation, my actions were both correct in my mind and failing in hers. I was both right and wrong at the same time.

This wasn’t anyone’s fault, just a simple communication disconnect. But this happens so often. We supervise, work with, or work for people who have different expectations than ours. And when those two people don’t communicate, one is frustrated, and one is failing without even knowing it.

That’s why it’s so important to clearly communicate our expectations, or we create a Schrodinger’s Cat situation.

The Cat in the Box

Erwin Schrodinger in 1935 created a thought experiment where a cat is placed in a sealed box with a radioactive atom, a Geiger counter, and a vial of poison. If the atom decays, the Geiger counter senses it and has a mechanism to release the poison. Why someone would do this, I don’t know, but in this particular scenario, there is a 50% chance the atom will decay within the hour, and the poison kills the cat.

There are two fates for the cat. Fifty percent of the time, the cat dies. The other half, the cat lives. According to Schrodinger (and quantum mechanics, which is beyond my comprehension), until the box is opened and we can verify the cat’s status, the atom exists in both its normal and decayed condition; therefore, the cat is in this nebulous state of being both alive and dead until we can verify.

While this experiment has a number of quantum physics applications, for us, it shows how reality can exist in multiple states until it is observed. Every day at work, we exist in multiple states of being right and wrong until our boss tells us so. This is why unambiguous communication is critical to organizational success.

Being In Multiple States Causes Confusion

In four of my last five assignments covering over a half-decade, my bosses were in different locations. We rarely saw each other, and I was working independently under their written and verbal (virtual) guidance. They often provided explicit direction, and I followed it as best I could.

But in reality, until they came out and checked on me, I was both completely in line with their guidance and absolutely out of line with what I didn’t know. They can’t possibly tell me every one of their expectations, and I’m paid to often guess what actions would best meet the boss’s intent. I was both right and wrong at the same time.

Once they visited, they could then observe where I was right or wrong, and thank me in some areas and help me get back on track in others. When we don’t have clear guidance, whether from states away or the next office, those ambiguous times are often the most challenging. We make decisions that we think are correct, but we won’t know until the boss validates them.

Ways to Clearly Communicate

Luckily, whether the boss is in the next cubicle or hundreds of miles away, there are effective strategies to communicate in a manner where we don’t wonder whether Schrodinger’s cat is dead or alive.

1. Listen. If we’re the subordinate, the first step is to hear what the boss is saying and listen. Listening is less a passive act than an active skill. Sometimes, we have to hear things that are unstated in order to truly understand what other people want. I’m sure my wife hinted that where I hung my jacket was bothering her; I just didn’t listen.

2. Speak Directly. If we’re the boss, we must clearly define our expectations. When we provide guidance that is obscure, vague, or can be interpreted in different ways, we’re causing confusion in the organization. A better way is to speak clearly and directly about what we want. If my wife had said early on that she didn’t want my coat hanging there, I would have moved it. No big deal.

3. Build Relationships. Communication is always better when two people know, trust, and like each other. It’s important in the workplace to build relationships so we can freely share ideas and transmit information more effectively. Never underestimate the power of relationships. My wife and I have an amazing relationship, but it was still hard to understand the “jacket incident.” Imagine how much harder it is with people at work.

4. Communicate Early and Often. Unstated expectations are unmet expectations. There is no need to let an issue fester. If something is wrong or off, the other person wants to know about it. Tell them. We owe it to others to identify a problem and convey our expectations. If we let it go, the situation will not change. I left my jacket up for months before I even knew it was an issue.

While my jacket on the wrong hook incident was just a placeholder for me, this lack of communication created a slow-burning friction that neither me nor my wife wanted. When we let things go, the situation does not change and the organizational climate will begin to decay.

Clear communication is not hard, but it does take work. It is incumbent on us to either provide clear guidance or ask when we’re unsure of the direction we’ve received. When in doubt, state our desires or clarify the direction we’ve been given.  

Save the Cat: Don’t Be Both Right and Wrong

Schrodinger’s cat was in both an alive and dead state at the same time. We owe it to those around us not to wonder if they’re like the physicist’s cat: both right and wrong at the same time. As bosses, we should be as explicit as possible. As subordinates, we are owed clear guidance to execute the boss’s intent, and when in doubt, we should have a good enough relationship to ask.

When we provide or receive clear expectations, there’s no longer a box obscuring whether we’re right or wrong. When there’s obscure guidance and instruction, Schrodinger’s box creates confusion leaving us to wonder whether we’re right or wrong.

Do everyone a favor and let’s throw the box out (along with the radioactive material. No one wants that!). Set clear direction in our organization and watch people move heaven and earth to make it happen!

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step to get published.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

February 5, 2026

by Sean Elwin and Jacob Pattison

“The only thing of real importance that leaders do is to create and manage culture.”

-Edgar Schein

The military understands that culture is not just a concept, but a critical component in the transformation process from civilian to warfighter. Recruits arrive at basic training as one of many, with different backgrounds and attributes. While individuality is stripped away, drill sergeants mold service members to become part of a greater collective while still leveraging their skillsets. Basic training is designed to teach people who are different what it means to become a team.

This principle applies to any organization. The initial integration is where the foundation of culture begins: creating shared understanding and common values transforms individuals into cohesive teams. Culture is the first standard. It’s a journey where without it, no team can achieve excellence, regardless of talent or effort.

The Transformation from Individual to A-Team

We arrived at Basic Training as a motley crew, a ragtag group that could not be mistaken for the A-Team. If you remember, this group of four from the 1980’s TV show was completely different, yet leveraged their strengths to collectively excel. John “Hannibal” Smith was a U.S. Army colonel and strategist. Tempelton “Face” Peck was an intelligence officer, con-man, and smooth talker. H.M. Murdock was a skilled pilot. And B.A. Baracus was a heavy weapons specialist and mechanic, also known for his strength. These four different people should never be together. Yet they bonded through repeated covert missions behind enemy lines to become a highly knit team because of their different strengths.

Back to basic training, we were individuals from all backgrounds and walks of life, with our only goal to pass initial entry training, not understanding the team concept. But it was quickly apparent that we would do everything together. Training, sweating, missing our past lives, and even using the restroom became group activities. We would win as a team, and we would surely be punished as a team.

The Drill Instructors loved to make full use of the forward area of the barracks, known as the Quarterdeck, to provide corrective training. This is where the undisciplined, or sometimes just unlucky, found themselves taking part in what can only be described as misery. Recruits performed seemingly endless mountain climbers, leg lifts, and pushups. Not just any pushups, but diamond pushups, after all, diamonds are forever.

If you’re particularly unlucky, your bunkmate might be a physical education major at the University of Connecticut. This bunkmate might think it’s fun to smile at the drill instructors while engaged in corrective action on the quarterdeck. This gesture is likely to infuriate the drill instructors, and the entire team will pay the price with their sweat.

But shared hardship builds shared responsibility. Teams that sweat together, struggle together, and learn together are the teams that survive and succeed. They observe where each one thrives and where each one is challenged, and discover how to help in times of need.

Over time, our differences will turn into similarities when we become laser-focused on achieving group goals instead of individual ones. In Basic Training, that goal was usually to survive today, then repeat every 24 hours. But when we forget our differences and unite as a team, our goals will be achieved, and success will be collectively earned.

This is the A-Team mentality. If you have a problem… If no one else can help… Maybe you can hire… the A-Team. With four different people knowing and trusting in each other’s strengths, they thrived as soldiers of fortune, able to accomplish any mission.

Strengths, Weaknesses, and the Cost of Specialization

Everyone comes with a different skillset. Some excel at physical training, a handful will shoot well on the range, and others are mentally resilient, but our team is only as strong as the weakest link. Only after we recognize our strengths and weaknesses can we realize the full potential of the team.

Each member of the A-Team had issues, as we all do. Hannibal was overconfident and routinely placed them in bad situations. Face was constantly distracted by women. B.A. had a fear of flying. And Murdock was mentally unstable.

In a realistic example, around 2010, the Army transitioned to a team recruiting concept. Some recruiters would process packets while others canvassed the area and established centers of influence to aid in recruiting efforts. The idea was to place individuals where they were the strongest and leverage the strengths of individuals to make a more efficient team.

The drawbacks were that packet processors never grew as recruiters, and the communicative recruiters never understood the administrative processes. This was a disservice to both types of people when team recruitment went away. It begs the question: should leaders leverage strengths or develop well-rounded individuals for long-term sustainability? There’s no great answer to that.

In basic training, even with our strengths and weaknesses, we still have to get through each individual event. But through the process, we build camaraderie by leveraging each other’s strengths. This creates culture, and every individual workplace has its own culture. However, the best ones foster respect, curiosity, and interest in other people. This type of environment reduces stress, boosts productivity, and retains loyal employees.

Confronting the Dilemma

Initial military training is an example of the “Heterogeneity Dilemma.” This is where individuals and groups with significant differences in their behaviors, preferences, and decision-making collide and initially produce communication challenges and discomfort.

Over time and through strong leadership and team-building events, those challenges lead to more creative groups and better performance. Different backgrounds bring unique experiences, perspectives, and problem-solving approaches. The differences that individuals bring to a team encourage critical discussions, foster innovation, and enhance creativity.

For example, a team composed of individuals from varied cultural and professional backgrounds is more likely to approach problems from multiple angles, leading to better decision-making and performance. These high-performing teams are more likely to avoid common thinking pitfalls like groupthink or confirmation bias.

However, achieving this synergy requires intentional effort to build trust, respect, and understanding among team members. Discomfort from initial differences is not a threat, but a necessary stage in achieving cohesion and performance.

Leaders who embrace the Heterogeneity Dilemma within their organizations unlock the full potential of their teams. This principle applies not only to the military but to any organization striving for excellence.

From Difference to Dominance

The journey from a ragtag group to a cohesive team is a testament to the power of leadership and teamwork. Through shared experiences, strong leaders, and mutual respect, individuals can overcome initial challenges to achieve extraordinary results.

Whether in basic training, the workplace, or on the A-Team, embracing differences and fostering teamwork are essential for building resilient, innovative, and high-performing teams.

Teams are not born; they are forged. Leaders such as Hannibal who prioritize culture and leverage strengths create teams that survive, endure, and dominate, just like the A-Team.

Sean Elwin is a Massachusetts native and father of two with over 20 years of active-duty experience and deployments to Kosovo, Horn of Africa, and Iraq. He is a Marine through and through. His other articles include:

• The Yellow Footprints of Perfect Discipline
• A Love Letter: The Marine Corps

Jacob Pattison is an Army Non-Commissioned Officer with 20 years of active service, filling leadership positions from team leader to operations sergeant major. In his spare time, he can be found hanging out with his family, being in the great outdoors, and inching closer to completing his master’s program one course at a time. his other articles include:

• The Situational Leadership Model: Whiteboard Fables

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. We would love to work with your article in any current form to get it published on The Maximum Standard!

The views expressed here are the authors’ own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of the Army, Department of War, or the U.S. Government.

February 3, 2026

by Stephen T. Messenger

“You are no better than anyone else, and no one is better than you.”

John Wooden

We’ve all been told by our moms to “Never judge a book by its cover” or “Things aren’t always what they seem.” These sayings were ingrained in us from a young age, yet we’re often so quick to dismiss this great advice. Why?

The psychological effects of the halo and the horn have much to do with it. In the halo effect, we observe other people and knight them as angelic when we see things we like. With the horn effect, we’re immediately turned off by what we see and label them as having metaphorical devilish horns. These observations affect the way we treat people, good or bad, without knowing who they really are.

Snap judgments are dangerous by nature and run the risk of mislabeling others. This halo and horn bias results in misplaced trust, missed talent, or lost opportunities. A better way to approach this bias is to judge a book by its content and thoughtfully assess with intent, discovering not what others appear to be, but who they actually are.

The Tab Check

On a soldier’s uniform, the left side is reserved for the unit patch. But when they attend and pass a difficult school, they earn a tab that goes above their patch. The major ones are sapper, ranger, or special forces schools. There are also badges to rest upon the chest of the soldiers who graduated from other coveted schools, have proved expertise in their skills, or have been in combat. Each service has these symbols of accomplishment on their uniforms: Air Force has pilot wings, Navy has the SEAL Trident, and the Marines have the Marine Special Operator Insignia.

These are all important and amazing accomplishments! But no single school automatically defines someone. When soldiers in the infantry community first introduce themselves, there’s sometimes a “tab check” to ensure that they attended and graduated Ranger School, a rite of passage for infantrymen. A successful tab check and you’re in the club (halo). A not-so-successful check and one of the first questions is: “So when are you going to Ranger School?” (horn).

No matter who we meet, the question is whether we have enough information to judge based on what we see rather than who they are.

One of the First Lessons

As a young infantry lieutenant, my initial assignment was Fort Benning, Georgia, at the Infantry Officer Basic Course. We had a team of seasoned cadre to mentor and coach us young, mostly tab-less and badge-less officers. The Army sends the best instructors to mold newly commissioned second lieutenants, and their halos were on full display, minus our staff sergeant. The captain and sergeant first class each angelically strutted around with seemingly every tab and badge known to man on their uniform.

But the staff sergeant, his uniform was as tab-less as could be, with only the bare minimum on display: name, rank, U.S. Army, and his unit. To us young lieutenants, his horns were practically showing. The first Friday, he taught a course, and while we were previously wowed by our multi-tabbed and badged instructors all week, this instructor was a bit of a letdown. After all, this guy couldn’t teach us much when he hadn’t been to combat, let alone any schools.

Monday morning brought him back to the podium and in a new uniform. His horns had disappeared, and a halo was on full display as his uniform suddenly sported every badge, tab, and patch I could imagine, far exceeding the other instructors.

He knew exactly what was happening, and his opening comments went something like this: “Last week, you thought I had zero experience and nothing to share. In your mind, I was the lowest-ranked and least experienced instructor. In my Friday class, you all checked out.

“But today, I can see it on your faces. You think I now know a lot more than I did last week and can offer you knowledge to be successful in your career. But I’m not smarter today. Nothing changed but some cloth sewn on my uniform.

“You’re going to meet people for the rest of your career. Some will have visibly done impressive things. Some accomplishments will be harder to see. Your job is not to judge them on day one. But to listen and give everyone a chance.

“It’s not in what others wear that makes them worthy of your attention. It’s their competence, character, and commitment to team success.”

What he exposed that morning wasn’t just a bias we held as young lieutenants, but a leadership failure we were already rehearsing.

It’s Not about the Patch

It’s not just our officer class that does this, it’s science. Edward Thorndike conducted the initial Halo Effect Experiment in 1920, seeking to understand how physical attractiveness influences perception by other people. Thorndike presented military officers with photos of people along with their biographies. The officers then evaluated each person on physical traits and personality.

Of course, there’s no way the officers could have known anything beyond their physical appearance, but it didn’t stop them from judging. They rated personality traits higher on the photos with more physically attractive people.

This study provided empirical evidence for the halo and horn effects, where superficial qualities change the perception of unknown traits. Many studies have validated this since.

I see this all the time. People dismiss others because they’re too old or they don’t know the other person’s background. I’ve seen military students practically ignore civilian instructors before learning of their PhDs in leadership or 20+ years of military experience and rank far beyond the student. I’ve seen older guests be relegated to the back, only to find out they were World War II vets. I’ve also seen people with all the tabs gain instant credibility only to struggle with their task.

Level the Playing Field

Just because we have biases does not mean all is lost. These strategies can help us reduce or overcome the halo and horn effect.

1. Focus on content. We wouldn’t buy a car just because it looks good. We would first take a test drive. When we meet others, don’t form initial impressions based on looks, but focus on their behaviors, actions, and words.

2. Do some research. Find evidence to validate or refute initial impressions.

3. Collaborate with others. Seek out different opinions and perspectives from those around us.

4. Know what we’re biased by. If our first inclination is to judge someone based on their military badges or civilian dress, know that’s an issue going in, and actively work to combat it.

Using these strategies can help prevent us from making value-judgments based on little information. This allows us to accurately assess others regardless of our first opinions.

Angels and Demons

We all see halos and horns, whether we admit it or not. They’re shortcuts our brains take when information is incomplete and time feels compressed. But the people we meet demand better than shortcuts.

The uniform, the resume, the title, or the tab may tell part of a story, but never the whole one. Our job is to dig deeper than the surface and get to what really matters: competence to do the job, character to do the right thing, and commitment to helping others.

We owe people more than first impressions. When we meet someone new, pause the judgment, observe performance, and listen long enough to separate appearance from ability. When we do, we stop chasing outward show and start recognizing substance. And that is where real learning, trust, and leadership begin.

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This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

January 29, 2026

by Mitchell Watson

On a cold morning in Tallahassee, I found myself struggling to push through the halfway point of a grueling 3-mile Marine Corps Physical Fitness Test. My breath was heavy, and the will to continue was slipping away.

Through the thin fog, I spotted Staff Sergeant Champion, a mentor of sorts, standing next to a red pull-up bar with a stopwatch in hand. Since I’ve known him, he has consistently placed others’ goals above his own. His booming voice cut through the air as he shouted my name with excitement, running toward me with an almost contagious energy: “KEEP GOING! DON’T YOU STOP! ONE MORE LAP TO GO! YOU’RE AT 11 MINUTES AND 22 SECONDS!”

His enthusiasm ignited something within me. In that moment, the weight in my legs seemed to lift, replaced by a surge of adrenaline and determination. My stride lengthened, and I pushed forward with renewed vigor. When I crossed the finish line at 23 minutes and 7 seconds, minutes faster than my previous best, his pride in my accomplishment was evident.

That single interaction left a profound mark on me and shaped my understanding of leadership and the power of motivation. It was a vivid example of how servant leadership, rooted in genuine care and encouragement, can inspire others to achieve more than they ever thought possible.

The Desire to Serve Others

Servant leadership is a concept first coined by author and scholar Robert K. Greenleaf in his now-famous 1970 essay “The Servant as Leader.” His work was partially inspired by Hermann Hesse’s Journey to the East, a story of Leo, a humble servant.

In this story, Leo is a simple member of a traveling party who subtly supports the group from the background. The narrator describes Leo as pleasant, beloved, happy, and having a rapport with animals. Along the way, Leo disappears from the group. Years later, they reconnect, and to the narrator’s surprise, he discovers that Leo is more than a simple servant but has always been a man of extreme importance.

This tale serves as the foundation for Greenleaf’s philosophy. He argues that true leadership begins with a desire to serve others, no matter the position. He contrasts the “servant-first” leader with the “leader-first” individual, one who seeks power or material gain over others.

Staff Sergeant Champion’s actions on that cold morning perfectly align with Greenleaf’s philosophy of servant leadership. His focus was not on his own authority or position but on my success and growth. By running toward me with encouragement and enthusiasm, he fell back from his official position to demonstrate a genuine desire to serve and support me in achieving my goal. His actions were not about asserting power but empowering me to push beyond my perceived limits. This is the essence of servant leadership: putting the needs of others first and inspiring them to reach their full potential.

Putting Service into Action

From Greenleaf’s work, we can derive several actionable insights about servant leadership and its role in fostering motivation. Much like Leo, those in power are at their best when they lay it down for the needs of the team.

Servant leadership begins with a genuine desire to promote others, focusing on meeting individual needs, fostering their growth, and empowering them to succeed. These actions create a supportive and nurturing environment that motivates individuals, almost like a loving mother lifting up her children.

When asked by the narrator why artists look half-dead while their art looks fully alive, Leo replied: “It is the same with mothers. When they have borne children and given them their milk and beauty and strength, they themselves become invisible, and no one asks about them any more.” The narrator became depressed by this remark, but Leo corrected him: “Perhaps it is sad and yet also beautiful.” Serving others does mean we take a backseat, and that sacrifice is precisely what gives the act its beauty.

Staff Sergeant Champion invested in me and then stepped into the background. His actions highlight the ripple effect of servant leadership. Through encouragement, he not only motivated me to perform better in that moment but left a lasting impression on how I lead.

I have adopted a similar approach in my own leadership journey, focusing on serving others and helping them achieve their goals. This ripple effect is a hallmark of servant leadership, as it inspires those who are served to become servant-leaders themselves, creating a perpetual cycle of motivation and growth.

Servant leadership stands in stark contrast to other leadership styles, such as authoritarian or transactional leadership. An authoritarian leader might have focused solely on my previous performance, criticizing my earlier time and demanding improvement. A transactional leader might have offered external rewards for a faster time. Frankly, these strategies often work. There are many driven not by intrinsic motivation but either by freedom from punishment or by the desire for reward. But as the narrator of our story noticed, once Leo left the group along with his service, they shattered into disunity, finger-pointing, a loss of faith, and “it did seem as if the prosperity of the League… was completely gone.”

However, Staff Sergeant Champion’s servant-first approach motivated me intrinsically by showing genuine care and belief in my potential. This intrinsic motivation is far more powerful and enduring than external rewards or fear of criticism. Leo would support this narrative with his pleasant demeanor and encouragement of others.

Service is a Challenging Lifestyle

The principles of servant leadership can be applied in a variety of contexts, from workplaces to schools to communities. Just as Staff Sergeant Champion’s encouragement helped me push through a challenging moment, small acts of care and support can have a profound impact on individuals in any setting. For example, a teacher takes the time to mentor one struggling student, changing their educational mentality. A manager invests in the professional development of their motivated team member and inspires them to improve. These small acts are the first stone in the pond of creating ripple effects.

But beware, practicing servant leadership is not without its challenges. Balancing service with authority can be difficult, especially in environments where traditional leadership styles dominate. Additionally, servant-leaders may face resistance from those who are accustomed to hierarchical structures.

However, Staff Sergeant Champion’s approach demonstrates how these challenges can be overcome. He was in a position of authority, but by focusing on the needs of others and leading with empathy and encouragement, he was able to motivate me effectively without relying on coercion or authority.

Be Transformative

As I reflect on that morning in Tallahassee, I am reminded of the transformative power of servant leadership. It is a leadership style that prioritizes service, fosters trust, and inspires motivation through care and encouragement. The experience with Staff Sergeant Champion not only helped me achieve a personal milestone but also shaped my understanding of what it means to lead. It’s a vivid example of how servant leadership can act as a catalyst for motivation, inspiring individuals to achieve more than they ever thought possible.

In a world that often prioritizes power and results over people, servant leadership offers a refreshing and impactful alternative. By adopting the principles of servant leadership, we can create environments where individuals feel supported, valued, and driven to succeed. Whether in the military, the workplace, or the community, servant leadership has the potential to inspire meaningful change and foster a culture of growth and collaboration.

As Greenleaf suggests, the true test of leadership is whether those served grow as individuals and become more likely to serve others. In the narrator’s case, Leo taught him that serving others produces the highest organizational reward, no matter the rank. By embracing this philosophy, we can all become catalysts for motivation and positive change.

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Mitchell Watson is a proud husband to Rachel, best friend to his dog Cash, and an enthusiast of all things fitness and outdoors. When he’s not hiking trails or lifting weights, he’s working to support soldiers and their families through his role with Army Family, Morale, Welfare and Recreation. Mitchell believes in the power of servant leadership and the ripple effect of positivity. Connect with him on LinkedIn to talk leadership, outdoor adventures, or share ideas on building stronger communities!

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step to get published. Click the link in this paragraph to start your writing journey with us!

January 27, 2026

by Stephen T. Messenger

Last week, I was speaking to someone about completing a task. They were struggling, and I had some great ideas to help them out. But after my third suggestion, I noticed that they weren’t receptive to my input. That’s when they let me know they weren’t asking for help; they were trying to vent.

I was in the wrong conversation. Where I thought we were solving problems, they just wanted to share emotions and tell a story. The result was a few hurt feelings, and me not helping at all.

It is critically important to be in the same mode of discussion as the person we’re talking to. After researching the different types of conversations, I found Charles Duhigg’s theory in his book Super Communicators the most effective where he argues there are three types of conversation: practical, emotional, and social. To communicate effectively, we must align our conversation to successfully connect.

Types of Conversations

Regardless of the type of interaction, the most important thing to remember is being in the same one with your partner. However, the ways scholars categorize conversations vary greatly, depending on who we ask.

David Angel believes there are four types: debate, dialogue, discourse, and diatribe. The first two are conversations between multiple people, while the latter two are one-way discussions. Meanwhile, discourse and dialogue are cooperative while diatribe and debate are competitive. He has a quad-chart to describe it, and it’s a helpful visual.

Ivan Andreev references four different communication types. Analytical communicators talk about hard numbers and facts. Intuitive types prefer the big picture while avoiding the details. In contrast to intuitive, functional communicators are detail-oriented and want to discuss facts in depth. Lastly, personal styles seek human connection and focus on emotions and feelings.

Finally, psychologist Jose Alvarez talks about five kinds. Casual conversations exchange quick, small bits of information between those who know each other. Deep conversations are where participants uncover levels of emotion through intimacy and trust. Therapeutic ones are where mental health professionals attempt to promote self-growth. Constructive conversations solve problems. Finally, destructive conversations create conflict and discomfort.

These different types are all very interesting, but with so many, it becomes hard to keep track of them all. Journalist and author Charles Duhigg researched this problem and solved the complication by simplifying it into three conversational styles. To me, it’s the easiest model to grasp when trying to identify what’s happening in the moment.

1. Practical. “What is this really about?” A practical conversation asks to understand the decision-making and thought processes behind the players. In practical engagements, most people have an agenda and are trying to accomplish something or solve a problem. In this conversation, both parties should understand what the other is trying to achieve.

2. Emotional. “How do we feel?” Here, the conversation focuses on beliefs, emotions, and memories. Emotions are a critical component of two people talking. It is a process of sharing thoughts and attempting to connect on a deeper level. These people are growing closer through an exchange of feelings.

3. Social. “Who are we to each other?” Social conversations are about identity and togetherness. Social roles and norms influence people talking to each other. It allows us as participants to focus on relationships and attempt to discover how others see us and how we see ourselves. These conversations create networks and bring people together.

Regardless of how we want to frame different types of conversations, the important thing is that we get on the same page as the person we’re talking to.

On the Same Page

When people are having different conversations, trouble arises. When we enter a conversation, we must understand what the other person is expecting. Or else, we’re that person who keeps talking as we roll our eyes wishing it would stop.

I was recently working with a person on a project mainly over Teams. We never had a one-on-one engagement, but spoke frequently in groups about our task. One day, he was in the area, and we met in my office. It was a great opportunity to make some progress.

But unknown to me, he showed up wanting to have a social conversation. We spent the whole 30 minutes exchanging information about the past and people we knew. At the end, I casually mentioned that we didn’t really get anything done, and he was surprised we were even going to work on anything at all. He was having a social call while I was having a practical meeting.

We were in two different conversations. But I could have avoided this whole miscommunication through an easy solution: ask and share.

Duhigg outlines a number of great ideas in his book, but the simplest one is to ask the other person what they are looking for in this conversation and share what we want. My wife has a phrase: “Unstated expectations are unmet expectations,” especially when applied to personal preferences on where we go and what we do.

As we enter a conversation, if we’re unsure the other person knows, we should share our goals and expectations. Or we could first ask: “What are you trying to get out of this?” Much like a good meeting, a good conversation has a mutually agreed-upon framework to cue the participants into what types of sharing will result in a successful engagement.

Without knowing this, and as demonstrated by my failed engagement example, unstated expectations are unmet expectations. Duhigg says this another way: effective conversation requires the parties to understand the kind of conversation they’re having and match each other. Without matching, confusion results.

Super Communicators

Duhigg believes “conversation is the communal air we breathe.” If that’s true, when one person is breathing the wrong gas, it results in miscommunication… or suffocation, to extend this analogy. No one should ever be without oxygen while talking.

By using the simple framework of practical, emotional, or social conversations, we are more likely to understand the conversation we’re having. It’s important to state our intentions clearly, and we should ask clarifying questions if it seems like the two partners are speaking past each other.

Finally, it’s possible to mix and match the conversations. We can still have a practical conversation while building social components and injecting emotional aspects. That said, don’t be afraid to combine the models or use any of the other frameworks.

In the end, it doesn’t matter what kind of conversation we’re having, just that we’re having the same one. Most communication failures don’t come from bad intent or poor skill, but from mismatched expectations. Leaders who pause to align the purpose of the exchange create trust, efficiency, and far better outcomes.

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This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

January 22, 2026

by Ralph “RJ” Johnson

Cultures characterized by trust, discipline, and high standards are hallmarks of high-performance organizations, including the military, competitive businesses, and sports. The best teams have leaders who deliberately develop conditions for thriving climates. The role of a military commander or organizational leader requires high energy and intentionality. Command is in many ways craftsmanship, and the commander is in every meaningful sense a blacksmith.

Blacksmiths do not simply make blades. They forge weapons through fire, pressure, cooling, grinding, and balancing. The same method must be used by leaders seeking to develop warrior cultures capable of winning in high-stakes environments. This metaphor is powerful because it encapsulates three truths: great teams are not tossed together, they are deliberately formed; success is developed under stress; and high-performing organizations are created by leaders (craftsmen) who understand the process of forging teams through adversity without causing them to break.

The Fire: Creating Temperature and Pace for Transformation

The first step for a blacksmith is building the right fire, one hot enough to make raw metal malleable but controlled enough to avoid damaging it. The same concept must be applied by leaders. The “fire” of an organization is its operational tempo. 

A fire not hot enough, or a pace too slow, produces little change. Teams will get soft, stagnant, and remain untested, setting the stage for mediocrity. Too hot a fire, or too relentless a training pace, burns people out; morale collapses, discipline slips, and cohesion unwinds. 

Skilled craftsmen know how to create a climate of deliberate pressure, not arbitrary stress. They set a pace that elevates performance without damaging their foundation. They know when to turn up the heat during training cycles, major exercises, and deployments, and when to reduce training tempo to achieve maximum results.

The Pressure: Developing Values, Standards, and Ethical Force

When the metal has spent the right amount of time in the fire, causing it to glow, the blacksmith shapes it with a hammer. Each strike is precise and deliberate, and the metal remembers each blow, as do people. The pressure gives uniqueness to the blade similar to the culture of the organization. 

In leadership, the hammer should not deliver fear or punishment. Instead, it must deliver values, standards, and discipline. Leaders use their proverbial hammer to deliver moral and ethical direction that provides the organizational structure and identity. 

Every time a leader stands firm in high standards, corrects small deviations, praises high performance and excellence, or confronts misconduct incongruent with desired values, they are hammering the shape of the team. These blows develop a culture within their organizations where there is no doubt what will and will not be acceptable from a moral standpoint. The person in charge must provide that pressure for all to see.

The Cooling: Knowing When to Reduce Intensity

Even the strongest of metals cannot remain in the fire for long. A blacksmith removes the metal at the precise time and plunges it into a large pool of water, or quenchant, which hardens the blade and locks in the grains made under the heat. Neither metal nor humans can remain under pressure indefinitely.

Leaders must know when to cool their people. After hard training cycles, major exercises, deployments, or periods of intense strain, those in charge must deliberately reduce the intensity of the organization through reconstitution efforts. These could be times such as rest cycles, family time, professional development, mentorship, or resiliency days.

These breaks are not designed solely for physical recharge, but for mental recovery as well. By allowing time and space for individuals and teams to reflect on their experiences, they can lock in the knowledge that was forged under pressure. The best leaders take advantage of these cycles.

The Grind: Refining Excellence

After the blade has undergone multiple cycles of being in the fire, shaped by the hammer, and cooled in the quench, the blacksmith moves to the grindstone. This phase is slow, detailed, and unforgiving. The blacksmith notes the minor flaws in the blade and works to sharpen its edge. 

A leader has the same grindstone process. This includes conducting effective after-action reviews while, more importantly, disseminating that information and implementing the lessons learned into current processes to create enduring successes. The craftsman uses his grindstone through coaching, feedback, repetition of fundamentals, and the cultural mindset of doing routine things routinely well. 

Improving the small imperfections of a unit is the leader’s opportunity to sharpen individuals and teams into lethal and professional organizations that perform under pressure. Many subpar leaders stop at “good enough,” but the best ones take the grindstone to sharpen even finer edges in execution. 

The Balance: Creating the Ultimate Weapon

When a master blacksmith tests the blade, they look to see if it is balanced, able to strike without wobbling, and able to hold its edge through adversity. This is the final test that both blacksmiths and leaders use to assess their teams. 

Military leaders use capstones or validation exercises to assess performance. This could be the end of a training cycle, inspection, or a combat training center rotation. Business leaders may use audits, operational reviews, or capability assessments. Whatever the method, true leaders test performance to assess readiness.

Should these tests not yield desired results, leaders must decide what the right step is. Sometimes it requires returning the fire to break the team down to its core and rebuild. Often, it is minor enough to put back on the grindstone and refine the edges. Whatever the method, the result must be a balanced blade.

From Raw Metal to an Expert Blade

During my squadron command, we moved through all five phases of the blacksmith process. The Tactical Air Control Party (TACP) career field provides command and control and precision strike capabilities for the joint force. The fire was fed by robust training requirements, exercises, and constant deployment rotations. The method to achieve the right balance was a series of 90-day surges followed by 30-day resets that were predictable and resourced effectively to prevent burning out our airmen.

The next step was the pressure process to uphold the highest possible ethical standards. Routines, rituals, daily physical training, and training events were always tied to instilling the mindset that we’re a values-based and learning organization. Through transparent messaging and difficult, courageous decisions, the standard was honored regardless of organizational position. 

Third, we followed the cooling method to allow our airmen proper rest time to reset, making them stronger for the next iteration. In July 2024, two flights had just finished their 90-day surges culminating in multi-week exercises, and it was clear our people were smoked. Keeping a pulse on the team, the decision was made for a two-week operational standdown with leave and half-days to recharge within the 30-day reset and maximize family time.

My favorite stage was the grindstone. This is where we spent hours reviewing our training and getting better for the next round. We’d review the training and strategic plan with lines of effort, objectives, and copious amounts of metrics to measure our performance and effectiveness. The best organizations review tapes, discuss failures, and work to improve at the smallest tasks. 

This brought us to the final phase of ensuring we have a balanced lethal weapon, and a great example was the combat mission readiness validation exercise, or “check ride.” Spanning 36 hours, new TACPs endured a grueling, full mission profile at night designed to test the individual and team levels on their ability to accomplish mission-essential task standards.

Just when they thought it was over while driving back to the unit, we simulated vehicle breakdowns and culminated in a 12-mile exfiltration road march under load, adding extra items provided throughout the movement to induce additional stress.

The outcome of the holistic blacksmith process was not simply endurance, but transformation to hardened professionals who internalized that every member is an asset to the team and never a liability.

The Leader as Craftsman

Leadership is an act of creation in many ways. Those who take deliberate and methodical steps in building high-performing teams, as blacksmiths do, understand that strength is produced through heat, pressure, cooling, grinding, and balance. 

The outcome is determined based on the level of mastery applied by the leader. Teams and units are never forged by accident. Much like a professional blacksmith, be intentional as a leader, embrace adversity, and watch your team grow.

Ralph Johnson is a native of Texas, husband, and father of two, serving as an Air Force Special Warfare Tactical Air Control Party officer. He is currently stationed at Maxwell Air Force Base, AL as a student at Air War College. When he is not spending time with family or working, he enjoys fitness and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. 

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of the Air Force, Department of War, or the U.S. Government.

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January 20, 2026

by Stephen T. Messenger

“Accountability separates the wishers in life from the action-takers that care enough about their future to account for their daily actions.” – John Di Lemme

We’ve all been there. A project at work goes wrong, and we’re sitting in the conference room trying to understand what happened. One person acknowledges the failure but has no way to implement solutions. Another didn’t even know there was a problem. A third chimes in with ways to fix it.

Across the group, we’ll have a range of people who feel responsible and accountable to those who couldn’t care less about the project failing.

This diverse response demonstrates the accountability ladder theory. Each person has a different level of perceived ownership, ranging from ignorance to solving problems. Our job is to understand where each person is and move ourselves and others further up the ladder.

Climbing the Accountability Ladder

The Accountability Ladder is a tool that helps us identify the extent to which people take ownership of a particular situation. It was developed by Bruce Gordon in 2007 when he was the President of the civil rights organization NAACP.

There are eight steps to the ladder with the top four rungs representing levels of accountability and the bottom four representing levels of being unaccountable. Basically, those who hold themselves accountable live by an internal locus of control, where they believe they control their outcomes and future. Those who fail to hold themselves accountable live by an external locus of control in which they feel they are driven by the environment through no fault of their own.

This ladder helps individuals reflect on their mindset during a project to determine how vested they are in success. A person on Level 1 is considered the least accountable, with Level 8 being the most accountable. Let’s walk through the eight rungs.

Level 1: Are Unaware. This person fails to even acknowledge that there’s a problem. They are either uninformed or disinterested in the project and in the success of the team. These people use phrases like, “I don’t see anything wrong,” “I didn’t know,” or “No one ever told me.” At this stage, there is no ownership or initiative. They’re simply along for the ride.

Level 2: Blame Others. At this stage, the person understands there is a problem, but they deny any personal wrongdoing. Everything is the fault of someone else. They have a victim mentality and refuse to admit mistakes. You may hear them say, “It’s their fault, not mine,” and believe others are in the wrong, but not them.

Level 3: Make Excuses. This person also acknowledges there’s a problem but will make excuses as to why it wasn’t their fault. It gets back to poor guidance, old processes, lack of communication, inadequate resources, or anything but them. “Well, I can’t do it,” is their mantra and instead of looking for solutions, they look for excuses.

Level 4: Wait and Hope. Here, the person is aware of the situation and wants it to get better, but they’re not willing to do anything about it. With teammates around, they think, “Someone will solve this,” but it won’t be them. The good news is they aren’t making excuses, but the bad news is they won’t take action. They will sit there, admire the problem, and hope someone takes care of it.

Levels 1 through 4 are considered the unaccountable stages where the external locus of control makes them feel like victims and powerless to take action. Levels 5 through 8 are stages where the individual feels an internal locus of control. They are empowered to take action and accountable for the success or failure of the project.

Level 5: Acknowledge Reality. This is a critical crossover mentality from victim to champion. Here, the person accepts reality and their part in the situation. They accept responsibility for what went wrong and stop making excuses. They admit, “I should have done something,” and while they’re not yet solving the problem, they accept ownership of the situation.

Level 6: Own It and Take a Position. Now, this person accepts responsibility and looks to get better. They move from “We have a problem,” to “It’s my problem,” and they’re willing to take steps to solve it. On this rung, no longer is the individual deflecting blame, but instead accepting it and taking steps to avoid the same mistake in the future.

Level 7: Find and Create Solutions. At this stage, the person is no longer waiting to hear problems but has conducted research and says, “I have an idea.” They move from being a problem identifier to a problem solver and actively jump in with new solutions. They are brainstorming and collaborating to make this better. Most importantly, they believe they have the influence to make a difference.

Level 8: Implement Solutions. “I’ve got it, boss!” This person has full accountability of the problem and is already taking action to solve it.  They understand they have the authority and ability to take action and are already doing so. They assume full responsibility for the issue and lead others through tangible steps to make things right. These are the ones we want on our team, and most importantly, we want to be like them ourselves.

Why Climb the Ladder?

We’re all on different rungs of the ladder based on the project. A person may be on Level 8 for their capstone project, but have no interest in another area they’re a part of, and be a Level 3 employee. But when people move higher on the ladder, there are a number of benefits:

Increased Problem Solving: The higher we climb, the more we create solutions across the organization.

Stronger Relationships: The most trusted people at work are the ones who don’t blame others and take responsibility for things around them.

Better Team Performance: When everyone is accountable and solving problems, success is happening all around us.

Shift from External to Internal Locus of Control: We want people to be empowered to solve problems; not just feel like they have no control over their lives.

Coaching Up the Ladder

This tool is helpful during individual coaching sessions. When one-on-one, bring out this chart and talk about where our people feel they are on the ladder in various areas. It will be eye-opening and therapeutic to have a common understanding of where they feel empowered and where they feel they’re the victim.

When you have a professional dialogue on accountability within this ladder, you suddenly find root causes for why people are not climbing as high as they could based on their perception in the workplace. Taking time to understand their point of view is critical to reducing obstacles in their path and moving them up the ladder.

Climb High

This ladder is a window to the soul that we can use on ourselves and others. Each time we climb another step, we have the ability to take more control of our lives and solve problems with the help of others. And any time we can understand where our people are on the ladder, have a conversation on why they are there, and encourage them to climb higher, we are making our organization better.

Accountability is about taking responsibility for ourselves, others, and our results. Let’s ask next time we want to throw out an excuse, which rung are we on, and whether we need to climb higher to be the most effective leader our people need.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step to get published.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

January 15, 2026

by Tom Console

By the time the phone rang for the tenth time that day, I’m sure the person on the other end could sense my frustration. I know, because I can often hear it in other people’s voices when they answer. But what if every time we picked up the phone, we considered it an opportunity to serve instead of considering it a distraction?

How many times a day do you answer a phone call? How often do you return missed calls? You might be calling family or friends, doing business, or answering the phones for a living. When you look at the caller ID, you might be excited to talk to the person on the other end or dread the coming conversation.

Regardless of the nature of the call, leaders should always answer the phone with the same phrase: “How may I help you?” These five words allow leaders to make themselves ready and available to support the person on the other line, lower any possible tensions, and place an attitude of service at the very beginning of the conversation.

Demonstrate Availability

As leaders, we’re expected to help address and fix problems. We must stay in that readiness mindset as often as we can, but especially when people bring us their issues. When we answer the phone with “How may I help you?” we convey a clear message: I am here, I am ready, and I can help, regardless of who is on the other line.

Let’s consider this from the caller’s perspective. They have some sort of issue, and they’re calling us to get help. The first thing anyone wants is for their problem to be heard. They’re looking for someone emotionally available to listen and express empathy for their situation.

When we start a conversation offering to help someone, we place an obligation upon ourselves to see that promise through. That’s what a leader does. We take accountability and responsibility for problems, even if they’re someone else’s, and work with them to find a solution. The entire cascade of fixing problems and finding solutions begins by making ourselves available.

Lower Tensions

Some phone calls, we know, are going to be confrontational from the start. We’ve all had those moments where we see caller ID and know we’re in for a rough one. Whether it’s an angry boss, client, or significant other, that feeling is pretty universal, and when we know someone is upset with us, it’s easy to get defensive.

If we can learn how to answer the phone correctly during these tense moments, we might be able to lower temperatures considerably and have a more productive conversation, instead of a combative one. If we can answer with a “How may I help you?” we might save ourselves quite a big headache.

Using this method, I can demonstrate almost immediately that I’m not here to be combative or defensive. I’m choosing to engage in a polite discussion, and hopefully that behavior will be reciprocated. Let’s be real; it might not be. We might get torn apart regardless of how we answer the phone. But we all already know that we cannot control the actions and behaviors of others, only our own. When dealing with a potentially combative phone call, we can choose to start the conversation off on a Stoic, polite foot and potentially keep any emotional responses in check.

Convey Service

At the core of all leaders should be an attitude of service. This means service to others, to our organization, and to a cause and purpose greater than ourselves. I could sit in my office at work and answer every phone call curtly with: “This is Dr. Console.” I’ve had my own doctors answer my calls like that, and sometimes, I can detect a slight pang of annoyance that I dared to bother them with a phone call.

Simple phrasing can inadvertently (or advertently for some) make it seem as if one person is superior to the other, and create a clear divide. “How may I help you?” does not just convey that we’re free to talk now, but that we’re here to help you. That subtle change can be quite powerful.

Our job when answering the phone is to make the caller feel a part of the team, like they belong. Big degrees, position titles, or fancy education don’t really matter when we’re trying to establish a connection with someone. Leaders place their willingness to serve others at the heart of work, and our word choice can convey that desire to serve upon first contact. We can win others over and serve people more effectively with five simple words.

More than a Transaction

No matter the occupation, we all deal with phone calls. On the other end of the phone is another human being, usually looking for help, advice, or information. They are calling us because we are leaders, and they expect to be helped by us.

As professionals, we need to remember every phone call is more than a transaction. It’s an opportunity to demonstrate leadership in real time. By answering with a simple “How may I help you?” we do more than offer assistance, we signal availability, lower tensions, and lead with an attitude of service.

Leadership isn’t reserved for the great moments in life, but often in the small, conscious choices we make every day. The next time our phone rings, remember, our response will set the tone, influence someone’s experience, and shape the engagement.

Other articles by Tom Console:

The Great Leadership Academy

Lessons from the Operating Room

The Man in the Arena

Baptism by Fire

The Dragon Warrior

The Main Character

Wins and Losses

January 13, 2026

by Stephen T. Messenger

The 2012 film Zero Dark Thirty, based on real events, portrays CIA agents dedicating their careers to locating Osama bin Laden. After years of setbacks, frustrations, and dead ends, they are summoned into the boss’ conference room.

As frustrated as they are, he shouts: “I want to make something absolutely clear. If you thought there was some secret cell somewhere working al-Qaeda, I want you to know that you are wrong! This is it. There’s no working group coming to the rescue. There’s nobody else hidden away on some other floor. This is just us. And we are FAILING!”

It would be nice if there were people in the back room working on solutions to all our problems, ready to come to the rescue. But it’s clear that nobody is focused on our lives but us. Sure, we have a boss, but their job is not to do ours. It’s to make sure we do it, and they expect us to be successful.

There are two key ideas in this narrative. First, we have to act like no one is coming to save us and do everything in our power to not just avoid failure, but deliver overwhelming success. Second, when we see someone drowning, we can be their help.

Ender’s Game: No Help and a Helper

The novel Ender’s Game follows a similar theme to Zero Dark Thirty: no one is coming to help. Young Ender Wiggins is a child recruited to become a high-ranking officer in Space Command. The adult instructors put him through tests where he shows promise, elevating him to the top of the class. However, this newfound success draws the attention of the other cadets, who begin to bully Ender.

As the instructors watch Ender getting pummeled by his classmates, they debate helping him out. Ultimately, they decide that Ender must learn that in his battles, there is no help coming. He must figure it out by himself.

Ironically, Ender turns around and is always there to help his friends when they need assistance. He accepts that he is totally responsible for his own fate while reaching down to assist others around him. This is a great picture of leadership where we are accountable to succeed on our own while lifting others up.

There Is No Help Coming

We’ve all experienced places where no help is coming. No person will swoop in to fix our marriage or parenting; it’s all on us. At work, (hopefully) someone isn’t watching over our shoulder waiting to jump in and solve a problem we’re struggling with. And when we feel down, there’s no therapist that’s waiting to knock on our door to help us cheer up.

This isn’t meant to drive us to hopelessness; in fact, quite the opposite. Once we come to the realization that our life is our responsibility and can be determined by our actions, we gain control of our life. It comes from the psychological principles of self-reliance, resiliency, and internal locus of control.

Self-reliance is the ability to trust our own judgment and capabilities to be successful. Resiliency is the ability to stand in a tough place and recover quickly from adversity while still moving forward. Locus of control is the belief that we own our actions and subsequent outcomes, with the results based on our choices. With these three mindsets, we recognize that our destinies are shaped by the decisions we make.

Now, perhaps we’re in a place with lots of help. That’s a great thing. But at the same time, we should still have the mindset that we control our outcomes based on our thoughts, actions, and decisions, and can make it through any situation no matter what.

You Are the Help Coming

On the flip side, there are people out there who believe the opposite: help has to come, or I am doomed. For these people who work around us or are potentially in our home, they are looking to us to help, and we should jump in when needed.

On the radio, there’s a DJ on the National Christian Music Radio Station KLUV that likes to say: “There are good people in this world. If you can’t find one, be one.” Just because we have the mindset that no help is coming for us, it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t help those around us.

Not only is the gift of helps a great leadership trait, it also has positive psychological effects. People who help experience a neural response similar to those who receive. We are wired to want to give joy and kindness. Studies have shown that giving has a number of positive effects including stronger friendships, a sense of belonging, reduced stress, higher self-esteem, and many more.

Just because no help may be coming for us, doesn’t mean we shouldn’t go out of our way to help others. As the DJ says, be the good in this world for those who need it.

We Can Be Both

As a young infantry platoon leader on a remote outpost in Afghanistan, I frequently manned the Quick Reaction Force, or QRF. This was a team of four military HMMWVs with machine guns that would respond if an element outside the wire received contact. It was the last local combat power we had if things went sideways.

We were simultaneously the help for someone else and the last help that was coming. When on the QRF, after us there was no one. We had to solve whatever problem we responded to.

Life is like this. We should be actively looking to help people in all walks of life. At the same time, we will constantly experience problems. In those, we need the mindset that we can solve these challenges with our skills, knowledge, experience, judgment, and critical thinking, five key attributes of military commanders.

There have been so many times in my life when I had to figure it out myself: a student at Airborne School, patrols in Afghanistan, my marriage, raising a child (in this case no help was coming to help both my wife and me), commanding a garrison, and literally hundreds of work projects that I was expected to solve. This is not a bad thing. People trust us to get the job done. Simultaneously, people trust us to help them in their time of need.

There is no secret back room solving our problems. Responsibility rests with us, and so does the duty to help others.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step to get published.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

8 January 2026

by Michael Posey

“It’s never just business. It never will be. If it ever does become just business, that will mean that business is very bad.” — Phil Knight

Nike didn’t begin as a legend, but started with uncertainty. Phil Knight, the co-founder of the Nike footwear and clothing company, describes in his memoir, Shoe Dog, months when bankruptcy hovered over him. Banks denied him credit hours before payroll, overseas factories faltered without notice, and customs agents seized shipments over minor paperwork issues. Some weeks, the team had no inventory and no idea how long they would survive.

But today, Nike made it through that challenging beginning because Knight understood a critical component in leadership is that it’s never transactional and never inhuman; it’s more than just business. He goes on to explain how he moved from surviving to thriving during those days through leadership forged in trust, purpose, and endurance when the outcome is anything but guaranteed.

Trust: Waffle Irons and Mission Command

Before Nike had its iconic swoosh logo, it had an unbreakable bond of trust. Phil Knight and Bill Bowerman, a University of Oregon athlete and his track coach, shared a restless desire to make better shoes.

Knight once brought Bowerman a shoe prototype he thought could revolutionize the sport. Trusting Bowerman to provide critical feedback, Bowerman studied it, tore it open, and examined every scrap. Rubber curled, and glue flecks drifted like dust. This ransacking, unearthing behavior was not the iconic coach rejecting Knight, rather it was Bowerman studying the shoe in pursuit of perfection.

Even though Bowerman’s creativity sometimes looked like chaos, Knight trusted him explicitly. In 1971, Bowerman poured melted urethane into his wife’s waffle iron, filling the kitchen with the smell of burnt rubber. When Bowerman pried it open in front of his protégé, Knight saw the pattern that would become Nike’s iconic waffle sole. Bowerman’s approach embodied Knight’s leadership philosophy: “Don’t tell people how to do things; tell them what to do and let them surprise you with their results.”

The United States Army has a similar concept in what it calls mission command. In its simplest terms, leaders provide their people with intent, and trust them to accomplish the mission in their own way. Knight demonstrated this trust within his business through Bowerman.

Purpose: The North Star at the Hanoi Hilton

Vice Admiral (Ret.) Barry Costello, a mentor of mine, reminds us that leaders must care for ourselves first, then our families, then our mission. This North Star becomes a purpose that drives us within our profession.

Taking care of ourselves depends on the circumstances, with some situations being more demanding than building a business. Admiral James Stockdale, the senior ranking officer at the “Hanoi Hilton” during the Vietnam War survived years as a POW by embracing the Stoic teachings of Epictetus: confront reality honestly and believe you will prevail. This balance of brutal truth and unwavering hope became the Stockdale Paradox. His purpose was to survive himself, return to see his family, and make the Nation proud even in his darkest hours.

Phil Knight lived a less hostile version of purpose, but one no less important. Running became his ritual for clarity while building Nike and serving as his North Star. However, in his book, he confronted where he fell short with his family. His greatest regret, he wrote, was not spending more time with his son Matthew before he tragically passed. Knight’s story of heartache reminds us that family can never be the price for success.

Our purpose must be grounded in self-care, family, and our mission. All three go together.

Endurance: Leaving Others in the Dust

Leading others is a marathon and not a sprint. We must be able to survive the hard times and demonstrate our endurance. Nike defined it early days by demonstrating stamina far from any headquarters.

At dusty California track meets, Knight would arrive with boxes of shoes and almost no money. Before rubberized tracks, dust would float across the lanes as runners warmed up. Knight would connect with the runners individually and pitch his shoes, selling them from the trunk of his car. I can picture Knight in the heat, explaining how his shoe could transform running. He worked tirelessly in the dust, inspired by his vision to earn enough to make one more month, then one more quarter.

Moments like this explain Knight’s grit and Nike’s success: “The cowards never started, and the weak died along the way. That leaves us.” Knight connected with people in his business transactions, transcending monetary exchange for enduring connections.

Leadership must constantly demonstrate endurance in the highs and lows of business and life. We will all have dusty days, and must fight through the frustration to thrive along our journey.

Leadership Beyond Business

I learned these three lessons in my own way as a controller at TOPGUN. Here, I needed every ounce of trust, purpose, and endurance to survive this 13-week program to develop Naval aviators in the most updated strike-fighter tactics.

Early on and long after a difficult debrief ended, I sat alone replaying my tapes. Always the perfectionist, I was frustrated with the amateurish radio calls I made during an event and feared I would never improve. I thought my squadron had made a mistake sending me to the dusty Fallon, NV, schoolhouse. I was struggling to trust myself, understand my purpose, and endure this grueling course.

Then LT “Jello” Aiello, one of the most respected fighter pilot instructors, walked in and could feel my frustration. He told me I wasn’t the wrong guy. I was simply overwhelmed. The course was a mountain, and I needed to climb it one step at a time. His belief steadied me and helped me find hope during this challenging time.

His wise counsel helped me trust in the instructors, my peers, and myself to tackle this course. His words allowed me to remember my purpose that I’m doing this for myself, my family, and the Navy. Finally, he gave me the grace to allow myself to stumble along the journey while continuing to pushing forward.

While by no means comparing this to Stockdale’s experience, I was in his paradox of balancing hope and truth, reminded that leaders encourage others and persevere. Stockdale once quipped, “It is in disaster, not success, that the heroes and bums really get sorted out.”

Steadiness begins inside but spreads outward. Leaders steady their teams through trust in their people, purpose in life, and perseverance in hardship.

Trust: A Better Way Forward

The best teams share the same DNA: trust in each other, clarity of purpose, and the encouragement to endure. Leadership is forged in the places where it is tested: the dusty track meet, the POW’s cell, the kitchen where a waffle iron becomes a prototype, and the quiet room where an instructor believes in you before you believe in yourself.

Our host, Steve, challenges us “to be great today.” One way forward is to identify one person you lead and give them intent, not instructions. Trust them enough to let them surprise you. Ensure they know their purpose. And encourage them to persevere in the hard times.

This action should remind you that leadership is never just business; it’s human.

Mike Posey is an active-duty Naval Flight Officer in the E-2C Hawkeye and the F/A-18F Super Hornet. He is a father of two phenomenal children and the husband of a fantastic woman. He holds business degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Florida and is pursuing a doctorate in education from Penn State University.

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

Other articles by Mike Posey in The Maximum Standard:

How to Prioritize Your Life

Grow Your Coaching Tree

Forged in Failure: How Setbacks Shaped American Greatness

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step to get published. Click the link in this paragraph to start your writing journey with us!

January 6, 2026

by Stephen T. Messenger

Every year in January, I develop twenty personal, audacious goals to accomplish by the following December. It’s a challenge and a thrill to get them all done, and it encourages me to fulfill my maximum standard, the whole concept of this website.

In the article each year, I come back to this quote from Ellen Johnson Sirleaf: “The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them. If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.” Trust me, every year, I swear to you that I scare myself with the size of the goals.

This year is different. While I still have a list of things I want to achieve, I’m more focused on becoming the person I want to be. “Doing things” is different from becoming a better version of ourselves. And while action remains the vehicle, becoming a better person is the goal.

Doing Versus Being

I don’t know about you, but I love a good checklist. Sometimes, the first item on my checklist is to create a checklist so I can check something off immediately. I would call this the definition of “doing.” It’s a conscious effort to accomplish something to feel better about myself. This act likely has goodness in many other ways to propel me forward, but ultimately, I’m looking to check a box and move on.

“Being,” in this year’s narrative, is different. It’s about growing as a person, family member, friend, co-worker, neighbor, acquaintance, or stranger. It’s a conscious effort to evolve to positively impact those around us.

Becoming someone better often requires us to accomplish activities that help us grow. While there’s still a checklist and activities to complete, they all serve a common purpose: to make us a better person.

Moving from Doing to Being

This year, I asked myself, “What kind of person do I want to be?” This is harder than figuring out what I want to do. For example, completing a triathlon is a noble goal, but how does that help me in the long run? Fitness fades over time, but mindsets last forever.

So, I first listed the attributes of the kind of person I want to be, then wrote down what that person would do if they were me. The results were enlightening, and I found eight character traits I want to focus on this year.

1. To be… A Mighty Man of God. I will go all in on God and see the fruits of His labor in my life.

2. To be… An Encourager. I seek to lift up my bride, kids, and those around me at all times.

3. To be… A Mentor and Coach. My goal is to help others along in their journeys.

4. To be… Physically Fit.  Fresh from surgery, I will return to my former fitness levels.

5. To be… Adventurous. If there is fun to be had, I will be the first to raise my hand.

6. To be… An Improved Writer. Through reading and writing, I’ll demonstrate growth.

7. To be… A Great Sleeper. Nothing functions well without rest, and I’ll continue to improve my sleep.

8. To be… Financially Sound. I will continue to work on building generational wealth for my family.

Each of these eight items requires hard work, focus, and dedication, which means they all require action. For each characteristic, I then laid out goals to accomplish.

While this may seem counterintuitive to the narrative of being versus doing, it’s actually aligned, just backwards. Instead of focusing on checking boxes, my goal is to focus on embodying the qualities at the top of this list. You can see the full list in the photo at the top of the article, where each quality has actionable items.

For example, under being an encourager, one of the things I want to do is date my wife more. It’s not to say I dated her and check a box, but to be a better encourager to my bride. I’m not eating healthier to check that box that I avoided donuts today, but to be more physically fit. And I’m attempting my first cold plunge this year, not just because it’s fun, but to cultivate adventure in my life.

Being Can Change the World

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was the first female elected head of state in Africa. As a young woman, she repeatedly questioned Liberia’s ability and desire to stand up for equality, and she set a goal to become the person who could solve this problem.

Reading her speeches and memoirs, she outlined a clear picture of who she wanted to become. She aimed to be a serious, principled, resilient public servant. She sought to become someone who chose responsibility over comfort and discipline over ego.

Along her journey, she faced prison, death threats, and exile. Yet she never gave up on her dream to improve the nation in the face of naysayers and setbacks. Along the way, she achieved. She graduated from Harvard, participated in numerous levels of government, won the presidency, and ultimately earned the Nobel Peace Prize.

Her achievements in life were amazing, but her focus on the person she wanted to be was what truly enabled her to change Liberia. She understood that being is more important than doing, and doing serves being.

Who Do We Want to Be This Year?

It’s a worthy exercise to understand the type of person we want to be. I mentioned that my previous goals scared me, as per the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf quote. I’ll tell you, attempting to become a better person is even scarier, in an exciting way.

This year, in 2026, who do you want to become, and how will you become that person? Whatever you pursue, focus on lifting others up. The more we can make it about other people and less about ourselves, the greater our influence on the world!

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step to get published.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

by Stephen T. Messenger

December 16, 2025

As 2025 winds down, we face two significant milestones. The first is the holiday season. The second is setting conditions for 2026 to be successful.

The holidays give us a chance to relax, recharge, live life well, and spend time with family. At the same time, they offer space to establish the mindset and planning foundation that gives us an advantage in personal and professional goals. Together, these allow us to walk into the new year energized and prepared to move immediately.

The Holiday Recharge

With the two holidays of Christmas and New Years around the corner, most people have a pair of small vacations or elect to take an extended one. Arguably, the holidays are anything but relaxing. There is travel, parties, preparations, and the rush of getting things done. Instead of winding down, we often amp up, running from event to event.

While this can be fun, it is also exhausting. Our goal, instead of trying to do everything, should be to do what energizes us while still fulfilling our obligations. We rarely have a chance to catch our breath in this hectic world. Rather than trying to attend and do everything, we have an opportunity to selectively plan December to accomplish key events and responsibly recover from a demanding year. We do this by managing our time, food, and sleep.

Own Our Time. Recharging is not just about managing big events, but daily tasks. By packing too much holiday fun into our lives, we can easily exhaust ourselves and turn the season into something draining. By clearly mapping out our days and leaving time for both seasonal and restorative activities, we position ourselves for success.

Eat to Perform. The holidays are a great chance to, dare I say, overindulge and experiment with all kinds of amazingly delicious food and drink. Yet this is a recipe for disaster, as going off the rails in consumption only leads to less energy and motivation. Our goal should be to responsibly enjoy the eclectic mix of holiday food while maintaining our energy and fitness goals into 2026.

Sleep Like a Boss. Sleep is the hero of any holiday season. If we can win the war on sleep, we will carry the right amount of energy through the holidays and into the new year. That is why high performers focus relentlessly on nightly rituals: consistent schedules, clear nighttime patterns, the right sleep environment, and eliminating stimulants near bedtime.

Set Boundaries by Saying “No.” We all want to attend every family and friend holiday event, experience all the new foods, and stay up late. But this is negligent, if not simply impossible. Instead of accepting every invitation, a better approach is to think about who we want to see and what we want to do, then plan around that. Everything else is an opportunity to politely decline. Remember, we do not owe anyone an explanation. “No” is a complete sentence.

The Setting of Conditions

Most people wait until January 1st to tackle new goals. A better approach is to set conditions now by planning activities that allow us not only to start on New Year’s Day, but to sprint into it. We can do that while recharging, if not by starting outright, then by building a clear plan to execute.

Physical. Working out during the recharge period may seem counterintuitive. One approach is not to fully jump into a new routine, but to do enough to stay loose and ready. This modified training does not exhaust us, but increases strength, flexibility, and motivation. By not waiting until January 1st to begin, we enter the new year with increased energy while capitalizing on downtime.

Mental. This is the year to get “more smarterer.” But seriously, it is not about intelligence. It is about keeping our brain active, learning, and engaged. There are many ways to do this: taking classes, starting a program, reading books, and writing, among many others. None of these will happen without a plan. We have to capture what we want to do now so that we actually do it in 2026. Make some notes on 2026 activities and lock them into our plans.

Nutritional. Eating right is hard, especially over the holidays. But having the right food in our house is the first step toward holistic improvement. By going to the store and buying nutritious food that can be used in multiple ways, we set conditions to properly fuel the body. First step, clean out the junk and stock the shelves with good stuff.

Spiritual. Perhaps the most important conditions we need to set involve how we stay in tune with our faith. God is a combat multiplier. By harnessing the power of prayer and Biblical teaching, our efforts, when focused on God’s will rather than our own, carry the blessing of someone greater than ourselves. This requires a clear idea of how to connect with Him daily.

Have a Plan. Bottom line, physical, mental, nutritional, and spiritual health will not happen by accident. The holidays give us the time and space to think this through.

Holidays Are for Recharging and Setting Conditions

Like a great Hallmark movie, the holidays are for spending time with family and friends. They are also for ensuring we personally achieve the rest and rejuvenation needed before returning to normal life. Most importantly, they give us the opportunity to enter the next year stronger than ever.

Unless we intentionally plan to attend what we want and say no to what we don’t need or want, the holidays can quickly get away from us. Instead of letting the holidays own us, we need to own the holidays.

That mindset is at the heart of “the maximum standard” concept. If you’ve never read the initial theory of the name of this website, now’s the time to do it.

The best leaders haven’t drifted into excellence. They prepare for it, set conditions for it, and execute with purpose.

The Maximum Standard is taking a break until January. We already have five guest authors with submitted articles in the 2026 editing process. We hope you’re next!

Rest up, reset, and we will see you in 2026, ready to move.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step to get published.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

by Stephen T. Messenger

December 9, 2025

I love the story of a teacher who divided her art class into two groups. The first group was graded on quality. Their assignment was to spend the entire semester creating one perfect clay vase. The goal was perfection, and their final grade depended on achieving it.

The second group was graded on quantity. They were instructed to make as many vases as possible. Quality didn’t matter but output did.

At the end of the semester, the results were surprising. The students chasing perfection produced vases that were okay, but nothing extraordinary. With the students who had focused on quantity, not only did they produce a large number of pots, but their vases were better than the ones from the perfectionists.

The lesson is clear: when we obsess over perfection, we spend all our energy trying to be flawless. When we focus on repeated attempts, failure, and iteration, we learn through every cycle, and our skills improve naturally.

Malcolm Gladwell in his book Outliers said that it takes 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert at something. Mastery doesn’t happen overnight. It requires repeated effort, trial and error, and consistent learning. In the era of social media, this can be especially frustrating. Every feed is filled with people traveling to exotic places, achieving amazing fitness milestones, or living lives of extraordinary wealth. Meanwhile, many of us are still stuck our “40th vase”  in failing, learning, and trying again.

This isn’t just motivational talk. Research backs it up. In 1993, K. Anders Ericsson conducted landmark studies on how deliberate practice shapes expertise. He found that it’s not innate talent or planning that produces mastery, but sustained, focused, and feedback-driven effort. His framework identifies four core components that transform repeated practice into high-quality outcomes:

Repetition with feedback
Simply trying and failing isn’t enough. Improvement requires quality feedback. Someone observing our work such as a coach, mentor, or peer, can identify where we’re off track. This allows us to make targeted adjustments and refine our technique. We can’t discount being critiqued enough.

Targeted improvement on specific weaknesses
This principle aligns with The Theory of Constraints by Eliyahu Goldratt. He believed that every system has a limiting factor. By finding and focusing on our weakest areas, we can accelerate overall performance. For instance, one of our clay students might struggle with symmetry or balance. If they concentrate on that one aspect, it will dramatically improve the overall product.

Continuous adjustments
Repetition is not just about quantity but about making small, incremental changes over time. This aligns with the “1% rule” from James Clear’s Atomic Habits where improving just 1% everyday compounds into massive growth. A small tweak in hand positioning, pressure, or technique might seem trivial, but over dozens of attempts, it produces dramatic improvement.

Stretching just beyond current ability
Quantity alone isn’t sufficient. We must challenge ourselves to go slightly beyond our current capacity. The students making multiple vases likely experimented with new techniques, shapes, and approaches. By stepping out of our comfort zone, we embrace failure as a learning tool, which drives continuous improvement.

These principles translate across disciplines. In physical fitness, three perfect workouts in a year don’t produce the same gains as consistent effort, even if some sessions are imperfect. In writing, creating one flawless article is far less instructive than writing multiple drafts, exploring new topics, and putting our work out for feedback. I personally learn more from producing many articles than from laboring over a single perfect piece.

The biggest barrier isn’t a lack of effort, it’s fear of failure. We hesitate to show our work to the world, worried that imperfections will embarrass us. Yet, visible failure is one of the most powerful tools for improvement. When others see what we’ve done, they provide feedback, ideas, and corrections that we can’t generate in isolation. Without putting our “vase” on display, we rob ourselves of the insight needed to improve.

Showing our failures isn’t easy, but it is essential. Every failed attempt is a lesson, and every iteration a step closer to mastery. The next time we chase a perfect outcome, consider this: perfection is a moving target, often unattainable. A better goal is progress over perfection. It’s to make a better vase than the last one, to improve slightly every day, and to embrace the learning that comes from quantity, iteration, and failure.

In the end, mastery is not a single perfect performance. It’s hundreds of imperfect attempts, each building on the last. The students who made many vases didn’t start with extraordinary skill, but they gained it through persistent, deliberate action. Their results weren’t a fluke, and they were the inevitable outcome of focusing on process over product.

So, whether we’re learning a craft, improving our fitness, developing a skill at work, or pursuing personal growth, remember the Perfect Pot Paradox:

• Perfection-focus leads to stagnation.
• Iteration and quantity lead to improvement and excellence.

In the next vase, the next article, or the next workout, don’t aim for perfect. Aim to be better than yesterday. It’s not just okay to fail, learn, and try again; it’s imperative to growth. Let’s allow our repeated efforts to compound into skill, mastery, and achievement.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step to get published.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

by Stephen T. Messenger
December 2, 2025

The Spartans of ancient Greece remain one of history’s most formidable fighting forces. They earned that reputation not simply through aggression or physical toughness, though they had plenty of both, but through rigorous training, disciplined leadership, and a collective mindset that allowed them to stand against superior numbers and still fight to win.

No moment captures this better than the stand of the 300 Spartans at Thermopylae in 480 BC. During the second Persian invasion, King Xerxes I sought to conquer Greece. The Greek alliance, led by Sparta under King Leonidas, moved to the narrow pass at Thermopylae to block the Persian advance. Roughly 7,000 men from various Greek city-states stood together, but it was the 300 Spartans who anchored the line and set the tone for the entire coalition.

In Steven Pressfield’s Gates of Fire, he imagines the battle as it could have unfolded and highlights the cultural principles that made the Spartans so effective. These lessons remain relevant today in uniform, in business, and in everyday life.

1. It’s About the Team

The Spartans believed the strength of a unit resided in the collective, not the individual. In one training scene, an instructor asks a young Spartan why losing a helmet or breastplate carries no penalty, but losing a shield results in loss of citizenship.

The answer: “A warrior carries helmet and breastplate for his own protection, but his shield for the safety of the whole line.”

That one sentence is the core of Spartan culture. Their mindset was never focused on individual survival. It was always on the phalanx, the man beside them, and the cohesion of the whole unit.

Teams fail when individuals think of themselves first. They succeed when every member understands that their primary duty is to the group. To be effective, we have to think, and act, like a member of a team, not a solo performer.

2. Lead from the Front

Spartan training included eight-day exercises without food, water, or sleep, designed to simulate the misery of real combat. Trainees complained that going to war would be easier than the preparation.

But through all of it, they could see their king. At sixty years old, Leonidas endured every hardship alongside them. There was no question where he would stand when the battle began: in the front rank, at the point of greatest danger.

This is leadership in its purest form. Leaders belong at the point of greatest friction. They must stand where the consequences are real and where their presence gives strength to those around them. No leader worthy of the title hides in the back or avoids risk. They stand forward, set the example, and absorb the pressure so their people can move.

3. Hardship Creates Opportunity

When the Spartans realized they needed to send their 300 best warriors to delay the Persians, they knew it was a one-way mission. Those men were not coming home. And yet, they did not shrink from the task. They understood a truth many avoid: hardship is the arena where greatness is forged.

No one seeks war, but warriors train for the day the test comes. The battlefield becomes the proving ground, the moment where everything we’ve prepared for is put to work.

This principle applies broadly. Investors buy when markets crash. Builders buy land when housing collapses. Leaders step forward when situations deteriorate. In every crisis, there is opportunity, not for personal gain alone, but for growth, excellence, and service. Hardships reveal character.

4. Always Be Ready

We live in a culture that encourages comfort and delay. We put off the hard things such as exercise, discipline, sleep, and preparation because easy pleasures are always within arm’s reach.

The Spartans rejected that mindset. While preparing for the Persian invasion, they were instructed:
“Exercise campaign discipline at all times. Let no man heed nature’s call without spear and shield at his side.”

Readiness wasn’t a state they turned on for war; instead, it was the baseline and way of life.

We can all apply this. Be physically ready to help or save someone if needed. Be mentally sharp to solve the next hard problem. Be spiritually resilient when life delivers a blow. Attacks will come, but we just don’t know when. Our job is to be ready.

5. Stand in the Face of Danger

After the first day at Thermopylae, many Greek allies deserted. When confronted, the Spartan leaders acknowledged the shared humanity. Everyone had lain awake that night thinking about home, family, fear, and the instinct to run.

Even the leader admitted he felt the same. Then he asked if others had those thoughts. A lone voice answered:

“Yes! But we didn’t do it!”

We all feel the urge to run from discomfort and our fear, stress, confrontation, and responsibility. Strength is not the absence of fear. Strength is standing firm despite it, shoulder-to-shoulder with those who rely on us.

In life, fear is normal. Desertion is a choice.

6. Know Who We Fight For

On the final day, when the Spartans knew they would not survive, yet there was no panic nor retreat. They just stood with purpose. Before the final charge, the leader delivered a message that still echoes today:

“Forget country. Forget king. Forget wife and children and freedom. Forget every concept, however noble, that you imagine you fight for here today. Act for this alone: for the man who stands at your shoulder. He is everything…”

Hopefully, none of us will face the certainty of death on a battlefield. But the principle remains: the most powerful form of motivation is the person beside us. When we give our all for a mission, an organization, or our family, it shouldn’t be for personal glory. It should be for the people whose lives we touch directly, for the ones on our right and left.

7. Act Like a King

On the final day of the battle when King Leonidas fell, the Spartans risked everything to recover his body. Their loyalty was fierce because he earned it.

Pressfield writes of a true king and leader:

“The king does not abide within his tent while his men bleed and die upon the field.
The king does not dine while his men go hungry, nor sleep while they stand watch upon the wall.
The king does not command his men’s loyalty through fear nor purchase it with gold;
He earns their love by the sweat of his own back and the pains he endures for their sake.”

This is the leadership model that inspires people to follow us into fire. If we serve others rather than demanding their service, we build teams that will stand firm in the hardest moments.

Spartan Lessons for Modern Life

The Spartans lived and died by principles that hold value far beyond the battlefield. Lead from the front. Think as a team. Recognize that hardship is the path to excellence. Stay ready. Stand firm in danger. Fight for the person beside us. And lead in a way that earns loyalty, not demands it.

We don’t need to be a Spartan, a soldier, or a warrior to apply these lessons. Whether we’re a parent, a professional, or a leader of any kind, these timeless principles strengthen teams, build trust, and prepare us to overcome whatever challenges stand in our path.

The Spartans understood what all great teams eventually learn: unity, discipline, and purpose are combat multipliers.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step to get published.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

by Stephen T. Messenger

November 25, 2025

“God gave you a gift of 84,600 seconds today. Have you used one of them to say thank you?”

–William Arthur Ward

As we approach Thanksgiving, I am reminded of the importance of this holiday. It’s especially impactful to me this year because I’m just coming off shoulder surgery, and I’m currently doing everything one-handed.

It’s so encouraging how many people go out of their way to help me out as I recover. It’s really helped me cultivate an increased attitude of gratitude by seeing how kind, gracious, and patient others are as I’m doing everything slower.

An attitude of thankfulness comes naturally for some people and must be learned by others. However, whether we do it by instinct or train ourselves to be consistent, it is a characteristic that all great leaders must possess. And practice leads to muscle memory.

The Example

I worked for a senior military leader who used to start and end every single meeting with “thank you.” In large public forums, he would often say he hoped someone would submit a suggestion box comment with:

“The boss thanks us too much! Stop it. We get it, he’s thankful!”

I’m not sure that ever happened, but I do know this leader lived a life of thankfulness through cards, notes, handshakes, and continuous verbal affirmation. I was inspired by how a senior leader understood that true leadership was about challenging others to achieve their maximum standard and then thanking them profusely for it.

In a commonly told story, there was a woman who worked as a janitor in a company for decades. One particular year, there was a change of management, and the new owner decided to write a thank you note to every employee in the company.

The woman read her card and began crying. She asked to go home, and the company, thinking she was ill, let her take the rest of the day off.

The backstory was that this woman never once received a thank you of any kind from anyone in the company. Over multiple decades, not one person expressed any type of gratitude whatsoever for her very important services. When she heard there would be a new boss, she decided to quit.

The very same day she received the thank you note. The gratitude this new owner showed through his note made her change her mind and remain with the company.

As a leader, spouse, and parent, I think about how many people do so much for me, and I fail to thank them. There are many followers that work hard, and I know I often miss the mark in recognizing their achievements—this is even after significant effort to recognize people. Still, I don’t get to everyone and can do better.

Ask Ourselves

Great leaders thank others. Not just those who work for them, but those who work around them. Here are some questions to ponder when we think about our leadership thankfulness:

–  Do we start and end every meeting with a thank you?

–  How often do we go out of our way to recognize someone’s performance?

–  When was the last time we wrote a thank you note and personally handed it to someone?

–  Have we called someone recently, not texted, just to show appreciation for their hard work?

–  Who was the last person we told, “I’m proud of you?”

Thankfulness is not one-time event; it’s continuous. If we aspire to be a leader known for gratitude, we have to actively practice it.

Practice It

With Thanksgiving around the corner, it’s a great time to start expressing our appreciation for the hard work around us. After all, if we’re doing it right and not micromanaging, they are the ones doing everything. Today is the day to start recognizing them.

Start small. With 84,600 seconds in the day, take a few of them to thank those who work hard on our behalf.

This Thanksgiving, I am thankful for leaders like you who strive to be better every day!

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

November 18, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

Leaders talk often about resilience. We talk about grit, adaptability, and discipline. But we rarely talk about limitations, those dark, scary weaknesses we like to keep hidden.

But what happens when the world narrows and something we’ve always relied upon disappears overnight? It just feels different in those moments. It becomes raw, exposed, and unfiltered.

I learned that recently after shoulder surgery. As a right-handed operator suddenly functioning only with my left hand, the experience was humbling. I say that right now as I try to write and edit an article with one hand.

The routines that normally flow without thought, like tying shoes, eating, brushing teeth, and… well, everything, became slow, awkward, and frustrating.

But limitation has a way of forcing adaptation. When every task requires intention, patience, and humility, we can understand a deeper leadership truth: the measure of a leader is not what they do effortlessly, but what they do deliberately when nothing is easy.

And that truth led me to Nicholas James Vujicic.

A Life That Redefines “Hard”

Born in 1982 with tetra-amelia syndrome, Nick Vujicic entered the world with no arms and no legs. His parents were stunned, doctors had no road map, and his childhood, by every single account, was marked by struggle.

Vujicic endured bullying, depression, isolation, and the daily pain of watching others do effortlessly what he could not do at all. He questioned his purpose. He doubted his future. For years, he wrestled with identity and value.

But as he grew, something shifted. He stopped asking the question that traps so many: “Why me?” and instead asked the question that frees people: “What can I do with what I have?”

That pivot, away from grievance, was where his life began.

Mastery Built One Task at a Time

For most people, independence is assumed, but for Vujicic, independence was engineered.

He learned how to roll in a controlled way, how to balance upright, how to turn pages, brush his teeth, write with a small foot-like appendage, type, swim, and perform tasks people had quietly assumed he would never accomplish.

None of this came easily. All of it required small victories repeated thousands of times. Leadership often praises bold strokes and strategic breakthroughs, but Vujicic built his life on micro-disciplines stacked carefully over time.

He proved that great leaders are not defined by the size of their obstacles but by the discipline they bring to overcoming them.

My living with one usable hand for a few weeks is not the same as living without limbs for life. But the experience provides a window into his world, and into the habits that sustained him.

The number one principle he had was: don’t give up. It would have been so easy to lie down and quit, but instead, he chose not to be defined by his limitations but to thrive because of them.

From Limitation to Leadership

What separates Vujicic from others with similar challenges is what he did with the mastery he built. He pursued education and earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting and finance. He learned to swim and surf. He married. He became a father.

And then he became one of the world’s most influential speakers, addressing millions across more than 70 countries.

His message is not built on theatrics or charisma. It’s based on reality, hardship, and perseverance. People don’t listen to Vujicic because he is perfect, but because his struggle is undeniable, and his discipline is visible.

That is why his story remains relevant to anyone who has faced hardship in their lives.

What Temporary Limitation Teaches Us

Operating with one hand, again, is nothing like what Vujicic goes through. But we all have temporary limitations that cause us to pause and think. These setbacks challenge us to confront the reality we face and realize that these obstacles, while they can slow us down, cannot break us.

What it also does is provide gratitude for the things that we possess today. So often, we roll through life on muscle memory, unaware of how great we have it today. It raises the question:

If limitation can make me more deliberate, disciplined, and grateful, then why am I not living that way when everything is working?

Most people wait for adversity to sharpen their character. Leaders cannot afford that. Leaders refine themselves continuously, especially when things are easy. Limitation, whether temporary or lifelong, clarifies the purpose of discipline. It reminds us that strength is not the absence of difficulty. Strength is the mastery of difficulty.

And few people embody that more than Nick Vujicic.

Vujicic’s life proves that the boundary between limitation and impact is not physical, it’s internal. His story challenges every leader to stop waiting for perfect conditions and start leading with what we have today.

And if a man born without limbs can build influence, family, purpose, and global reach, then leaders with temporary limitations, whether a recovering shoulder or a challenging season, can thrive with discipline and intention.

Because leadership is not defined by the hand we favor. It’s defined by what we do when we only have one to work with.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright 

November 13, 2025

by Alexander Limber 

“Leadership is a potent combination of strategy and character, but if you must be without one be without strategy” – Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf

When it comes to leadership, many view it in terms of making decisions, having authority, and knowing strategy. However, General Norman Schwarzkopf, a highly respected military leader of the 20th century and Commander of the Coalition Forces during the Gulf War in 1991, viewed it differently. To him leadership was the fundamental principle of “character.” In his eyes the most powerful expression of character was to lead by example.

As the Commander of Coalition Forces, he found himself leading approximately 700,000 coalition troops to a swift victory in Operation Desert Storm. What sets him apart from other leaders of his time was not simply his brilliant strategic and tactical knowledge, but his unwavering commitment to being professional, having self-discipline, and demonstrating compassion.

Professionalism: Being Present

Schwarzkopf was renowned for his calm, stoic presence that inspired confidence and earned respect from those around him. A great example is his famous press conference that was held following the success of Operation Desert Storm, known as “The Mother of All News Conferences.”

In front of an international audience, Schwarzkopf delivered a detailed briefing on the operational success of Desert Storm. He calmly explained the Coalition’s strategy, anticipating questions and answering them with humility, crediting the troops over himself. Instead of demeaning the Iraqi forces, he spoke about them with respect and professionalism.

Schwarzkopf briefed so well that reporters and military officials still talk about it today. His presence wasn’t about showmanship or ego; rather, it was about being fully present: emotionally, mentally, and physically. He had demonstrated that leadership isn’t about dominating the room, but commanding it through authenticity, clarity, and respect.

He knew that being present wasn’t simply standing in front of people. Leadership is about listening, observing, and responding to those right in front of us. As leaders, we must recognize that the perception of our presence is just as important as our physical presence. People notice when we demonstrate engagement, focus, and authenticity, and these qualities build credibility, foster morale, and inspire loyalty.

Self-Discipline: Emotional Control

Schwarzkopf’s leadership was grounded in self-discipline, a trait that would define his character and command. Nicknamed “Stormin’ Norman” due to his fiery personality and his fierce temper, he was not immune to anger. However, unlike others, he was able to recognize that such emotion would inevitably undermine the very thing that he held in such high regard: the principle of character. He understood his anger would only dissolve the trust and respect from those who served under him. Fueled by resolve, he over time mastered controlling his anger.

He demonstrated a prime example of maintaining self-control during the Gulf War. Under constant stress leading a Coalition of thirty nations, and facing intense political and public pressure, Schwarzkopf was able to maintain his professionalism during every public appearance and command meeting. Even when confronted with misinformation, provocation, and at times hostility from reporters, he would respond with a calm firmness, but never anger. His ability to remain calm under pressure gave his soldiers and allies confidence in his leadership.

Schwarzkopf, by mastering his temper, demonstrated one of the most difficult forms of self-discipline: emotional control. In moments where other leaders would lash out in anger, he chose restraint. This restraint would become a form of strength, not weakness, and helped reinforce the respect from those who followed him.

Compassion: Hidden Strength

Schwarzkopf believed that a leader should never ask their people to do something they wouldn’t do themselves. He demonstrated this notion not just with words, but through actions. He wasn’t a behind the desk leader and would often take time to visit his soldiers at the front whenever he could. This would be a habit that he had picked up from serving in Vietnam.

During his second tour the soldiers under his command found themselves trapped in a minefield. Upon hearing of their predicament, he immediately went out to the scene. Once there he encouraged the soldiers to slowly retrace their steps; but in the process, one soldier tripped a mine. This young man, now severely injured, was flailing in pain and many feared he might set off another explosion. Though he was injured himself, Schwarzkopf rushed to the wounded soldier to help hold him down while another placed a splint on the soldier’s legs.

It was at that time a second mine went off, killing three soldiers and severely wounding another. Despite the disastrous scene that unfolded before his eyes, Schwarzkopf successfully led the survivors to safety and earned the Silver Star for his heroic actions.

Schwarzkopf’s decision to enter the minefield to rescue his soldiers was not something he was expected to do, nor required. As the commanding officer, he could’ve directed the rescue from afar or tasked it to someone else. However, it was his sense of responsibility and compassion for his soldiers that drove him to take action. This moment sheds light on his core leadership philosophy: true leaders lead from the front and not from the back.

The Legacy of Character

General Norman Schwarzkopf’s legacy reminds us that leadership is not defined by our authority as a leader, but by our character that guides decisions and actions. Throughout his career, he had demonstrated professionalism, self-discipline, and compassion not when it was convenient, but as a constant reflection of who he was and the values he held dear.

His example is a testament that leadership is not a position that you claim, but the responsibility that you fill with purpose and humility. Ultimately, true leadership begins the moment we have the personal courage to look inward. That is where we confront our flaws, nurture our virtues, and commit to bettering ourselves, not just for our personal growth, but for the well-being of those who put their trust in us.

Alexander Limber is a student at The University of Akron, majoring in Emergency Management and Homeland Security. He is a Cadet in the Akron Army ROTC program and is looking to branch Infantry or Armor. His hobbies include weightlifting, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

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10 November 2025

by Sean Elwin (Marine)

“A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” – Marcus Garvey

On November 10, 2025, the United States Marine Corps marks 250 years of unbroken service to the Nation. Few institutions in history have endured so long or shaped so many lives through discipline, sacrifice, and purpose.

The Corps has forged my leadership, identity, and unshakable sense of duty. The heritage of Marines is not nostalgia, but the foundation of character.

The Uniform

The Marine Dress Blues are both iconic and unmistakable. You can spot a Marine a mile away, standing proud in their dress uniform, displaying our colors of the American Flag. The intricate design of the Marine Corps Blue offers a glimpse into their rich history and recounts tales from the past.

There are several distinguishing uniform traits. The blood stripe on the trousers of Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers commemorates the lives lost during the Battle of Chapultepec. The high-standing collar honors the style worn by the Continental Marines which gave birth to the nickname “Leathernecks.” The Mameluke Sword, carried by Officers, echoes the story of how one was first given to Lt. O’Bannon by Prince Hamet during the First Barbary War.

These are just a few of the uniform components which carry deep meaning and symbolism. The Eagle, Globe, and Anchor emblem epitomizes the Marine with global reach and commitment, its core purpose. 

Back to Basic

The symbolism of the Marine Corps is beaten into recruits at Parris Island. Our history along with customs and courtesies is an essential element of training. Drill Instructors spend hours with recruits in a classroom that is purposefully suited for sleep instead of learning. The lights are dimmed and the air-conditioned cranked to an almost uncomfortable level.

Recruits are taught to slap themselves on the back of their head or to stand in the rear of the class if they feel sleepy. The sound of faces hitting the deck and pit bull drill instructors screaming is proof that neither works very well.

Death by PowerPoint is excruciating as slide after slide turns into hour after hour as recruits try desperately not to fall asleep from the sheer exhaustion of training. There is a reason for all this madness, and that reason is knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt where we came from and our storied culture.

We were born in the legendary Tun Tavern, Marines were made during the amphibious landing at Tripoli, storming of the Halls of Montezuma, island hopping in the Pacific, fierce fighting during the Tet Offensive and the adaptability during the Battles of Fallujah. The names of Archibald Henderson, Chesty Puller, and two-time Medal of Honor recipients Smedley Butler and Daniel Daly are etched in our brains forever.

This legacy was drilled into on our brains at boot camp. Every Marine’s knowledge is tested in a classroom prior to graduation, and the history and customs will stay with us and shape us as Marines and Leaders throughout our time in the Corps and extend through all aspects of life. We are “Once a Marine; always a Marine!”

Customs and courtesies are building blocks and set the framework for leadership. They teach us respect for authority, discipline, and self-respect. Traditions and history teach us lessons from the past. In the case of the United States Marines, we are value-programmed to deal with adversity, rise to the challenge, and never give up.

There is a tongue-in-cheek saying in the Corps “That every good Marine has at least two NJPs (Non-Judicial Punishments).”  This narrative is falsely associated with Chesty who once said, “Take me to the brig. I want to see the real Marines.” His quote was directed at resiliency, calling out the toughness of Marines regardless of their rank or billet, and implying that any Marine, even the best ones, are fallible.

This commentary on making mistakes and getting back up is true for any individual whether they are proudly serving our Nation, working at McDonald’s, or the Chief of Staff at Boston General Hospital. This narrative served me well. I figured if two makes you good then having four must make you the best.

The Birthday Celebration

The Corps celebrates its birthday like no other branch of service. The Marine Corps birthday is celebrated by units, veteran organizations, and Marine Corps Leagues across the globe. Marines are expected to attend the Ball every year to celebrate their birthright. It’s a time for camaraderie, remembrance, and traditions.

Legacy is remembered through cake cutting ceremonies, the recognition of the youngest and oldest Marine, a reading of General Lejeune’s birthday message, and the fallen comrade table. This poignant ceremony of an empty chair is a solemn remembrance of all Marines, Sailors, Soldiers, and Airmen that never made it home.

After the ceremony and dinner, a more lighthearted tradition takes effect. The smoking of cigars and drinking of rum signifies the rum rations once given to Marines and Sailors.

Some will call remembering our history brainwashing because I can still recite the three purposes of the interior guard: preserve order, enforce regulations, protect property. I will never forget the four cities that saw heavy fighting during the Tet Offensive were Hue, Saigon, Da Nang, Khe Sanh. And Semper Fidelis is etched in my head as adopted by the Marines in 1883 meaning “Always faithful,” reflecting our commitment to the country, fellow warfighters, and the mission at hand.

My indoctrination came at the hands of four exceptional leaders known as Drill Instructors who cared enough to instill in Platoon 2037 the importance of understanding who we are and where we come from, and why we exist with a purpose.

This message resonates across the five to six million Marines who wore the dress blues since we started two and a half centuries ago. Legacy is important.

In every generation, Marines remind us that leadership begins with knowing where we come from, what we stand for, and who we serve. That’s not just a military truth. It’s a human one. Nothing embodies that like the United States Marine Corps.

Happy 250^th Devil Dogs!

Sean Elwin is a Massachusetts native and father of two with over 20 years of active-duty experience and deployments to Kosovo, Horn of Africa, and Iraq. He is a Marine through and through.

November 4, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

Communication is only effective when we truly understand our audience. From ancient philosophy to modern crises, the most skilled communicators succeed by tailoring their messaging to who is listening, the emotional context, and the purpose behind their words. When this alignment fails, even well-intentioned messages can backfire dramatically. A powerful illustration of this principle comes from one of the most infamous corporate communication failures in recent history: the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

Deepwater Horizon

In April 2010, the Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded, killing 11 workers and releasing millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico over 87 days. The disaster devastated marine life, coastal economies, and public trust.

Tony Hayward, CEO of British Petroleum, was the face of the company during this crisis. He was charged with communicating humility, empathy, and accountability, showing that BP understood the gravity of the situation and was taking responsibility.

However, at one point, he let slip a statement that would become infamous: “I’d like my life back.” The public perceived this as tone-deaf and self-centered. Rather than showing concern for the victims and the environment, he highlighted his personal inconvenience.

This created emotional dissonance. The public, grieving and angry, could not connect with his words, and the fallout was immediate. The impacts through global media coverage were condemnation by national leaders, a plummeting BP stock price, and, ultimately, Hayward’s removal as CEO. This example demonstrates the consequences of failing to understand the audience, context, and emotional tone in communication.

The two methods of understanding rhetorical analysis and Aristotelian Appeals can help us avoid these same mistakes.

Rhetorical Analysis

Before we write or speak in public, it’s important to understand how the message will resonate with our audience. Rhetorical analysis is a fancy term from High School English on the study of how communication strategies affect the audience. It allows us to understand why some messages resonate while others fail catastrophically.

Rhetorical analysis has three key components.

Audience. If we don’t consider who we’re speaking to, we’ll probably miss the mark. Hayward failed to accurately gauge his audience. The public was grieving and angered by the disaster. By focusing on his own fatigue instead of the victims’ suffering, he completely misread the emotional state and expectations of those listening.

Purpose: We have to know why we’re being asked to write or speak, then think about whether we should inform, persuade, entertain, motivate, or something else. The purpose of Hayward’s repetitive communications was to reflect apology, reassurance, and accountability. His actual statement was the opposite, undermining his purpose entirely.

Context: We need to understand what’s going on in the background historically, socially, and culturally. The BP situation was a national and global crisis, with intense media scrutiny and public outrage. Understanding this heightened context was critical, and Hayward’s casual, self-centered comment ignored it.

Aristotelian Appeals

Our Greek philosopher friend talked about the principles of persuasion. He believed there were three main ways a speaker or writer could influence an audience.

Ethos is in establishing credibility and trustworthiness. When we engage any audience, we must first get them to trust us. Hayward’s credibility collapsed. The public could no longer trust him to lead BP responsibly because he was perceived to be unconcerned about the human and environmental toll.

Pathos is the emotional appeal to an audience. It’s how we pull at the heartstrings or connect with them to the story in an intimate way. Hayward’s statement completely failed to align with the audience’s emotions. The public wanted empathy and acknowledgment of loss; instead, they received self-pity. This emotional disconnect amplified outrage and made the message ineffective.

Logos is the logical reasoning or evidence that we use to persuade others of our message. When we pontificate with opinions, we lose our audience by not making a rational, sound argument of our point. While Hayward’s statement was not inherently illogical, it was irrelevant to the rational concerns of the audience, such as accountability measures, cleanup efforts, and corporate responsibility. Logic alone cannot salvage a message when emotional and ethical alignment is unbalanced.

Hayward’s words demonstrated how ignoring the situation, failing to establish credibility, misreading audience emotion, and neglecting logical appeals can create public communication failures. When we think through these items beforehand, we can avoid the pitfalls.

The Street Fair Pivot

I’ve faced my own lessons in understanding audience and context, though on a much smaller scale. I was once asked to speak at a local street fair to what I thought was a small group of city officials. I had planned a structured talk about the military, economic impacts, and our community links.

When I arrived, I realized my perception did not match reality. The audience was thousands of people, ranging from families, party-goers, and children who expected entertainment, not a formal briefing. Looking at the crowd, I knew my original message had no chance of landing, and I had to pivot quickly, injecting humor and energy into the event.

Much like Hayward, my initial mistake was failing to read the situation and audience. The lesson was clear: knowing your audience, understanding context, and choosing the right appeals are critical, even when the stakes are far smaller than an international crisis.

Know Thine Audience

Many leaders have thrived in this space. Winston Churchill, in his 1940 “We Shall Fight on the Beaches” speech, motivated the nation to resist Nazi oppression through emotional appeal. Martin Luther King, Jr. inspired change through his 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech using pathos, ethos, and logos. And public speaker Tony Robbins is an expert at using personal credibility, emotional stories, and logic to inspire others.

From BP’s Deepwater Horizon disaster to small-scale public speaking, the principles remain the same. Effective communication requires a clear understanding of who our audience is and what they feel. It forces us to think about the purpose of our message. Quality communication requires knowing the context of our environment. Finally, it helps us use ethos, pathos, and logos to engage, persuade, and connect.

Failing in any of these areas can transform a message from effective to disastrous. The key to successful communication is not just what we say, but how, when, and to whom we say it. By aligning messaging, audiences, and context, we achieve maximum impact.

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October 28, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

Many of us deal with challenging environments where things change rapidly and it’s difficult to understand what’s happening. Another way of saying this: “It’s like the Wild West out there!”

One popular military and business planning acronym tries to capture this narrative: VUCA which stands for volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity. It’s often heard echoing throughout the halls of planning teams, throwing out the term when things get tough. But if you listen closely, you’ll see that VUCA is talked about by many and understood by few.

Countless people use these four terms interchangeably to infer that chaos is reigning. However, each letter has a distinct connotation that we should be able to understand and leverage the difference when we plan in complex systems.

Graphing VUCA

These four environmental challenges should be thought about as four unique situations we’ll encounter during planning. They can be graphed on a chart with the x-axis being how much we know about a situation and the y-axis being how well we can predict the results of our actions.

We’ll talk about each frame below along with two examples: one military and one raising kids, a complex challenge to the most battle-hardened of us.

The Four Chaotic Horsemen

Volatility

In the top right, volatility is where we know a lot about the situation and can relatively predict what will happen. It’s when the operational environment changes rapidly and unpredictably, demanding immediate adaptation. This is when we need to build in extra resources and manning to respond rapidly to emergent situations. Keeping a reserve on hand is key.

In the military realm, a clear example of volatility was the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. When we announced our withdrawal, we knew there would be violence, anger, and panic, but we didn’t predict the rapid change in the environment, immediate escalation, and sudden decision pressure laid upon U.S. military forces. The situation escalated with insufficient support to handle the crisis, quickly leading an uncontrollable situation.

At home, volatility feels much the same, smaller in scale but no less intense. An infant creates a volatile environment. We know about babies, we can read books about them, and there are over 100 million born each year. We can also predict what will happen when we feed, care for, or neglect them. However, they are rapid change agents acting with volatility, crying randomly, waking up at all hours, and often unpredictable.

Uncertainty

In the bottom right, uncertainty is having high knowledge but low predictive capability. It’s the ability to know a lot about a situation but possessing the difficulty of​ predicting how our actions will generate desired change. Here, we know that change is likely, but it’s hard to predict. In this situation, we need to continue to collect information to mitigate surprises. This will reduce uncertainty through understanding intelligence and using communication.

Militarily, the United States knows a lot about China. We study their goals, capabilities, and vision for achieving their objectives specifically through their 100-year anniversary in 2049. But what we don’t know is when or what actions they will take regarding Taiwan, building an alternate world order, and militarizing regional areas. There’s deep uncertainty about what they will do next, and we can’t predict their timing or choices.

Likewise as parents, uncertainty defines the toddler years. We know our kids well. We raised them and shape their environment. But as they explore, they become unpredictable. This is especially true with boys who find danger at every corner,  thinking they can fly, creating bike ramps, and sticking things in electrical sockets. We have knowledge, but little foresight.

Complexity

In the top left, Complexity denotes low knowledge but high predictive capability. It demonstrates the difficulty to understand the interactions of multiple parts or factors. Here, we have some predictive capability of the primary and subsequent effects of changing one or more factors in a highly​ interdependent system or even system of systems, but each action creates more problems. To counter, we should find specialists to address each part of the system.

In military operations, the counterinsurgency in Iraq exemplified complexity. We faced sectarian dynamics, tribal politics, insurgent networks, Iranian influence, and regional spillover, all acting in unpredictable ways. We struggled to understand this unknown environment, and kept trying things to make the situation better, all while affecting other parts of the system that had different consequences.

In parenting, complexity takes shape during the teenage years. We have less visibility into our children’s academic and social life outside the home, but know there are educational, social, physical, and mental pressures, each acting in unpredictable ways. When we engage our teens, we know our actions will trigger other reactions in their world.​

Ambiguity

Finally, ambiguity is low knowledge and low predictive capability. It’s a special kind of uncertainty, one born not of chaos, but of interpretation. Different people see the same situation differently because contextual clues are missing or unclear. In these cases, we must experiment, test ideas, and learn through adaptation.

Militarily, ambiguity defines the debate over AI and autonomous weapons. Countries now use drones and AI to target enemy combatants. There is ambiguity about their ethical use, legal accountability, and impact on deterrence. When does too much technology in war become morale overreach? Perspectives vary widely.

In parenting, ambiguity thrives when kids leave home. Once they’re in college or working, we have limited knowledge about their lives and can’t predict their futures or outcomes. They are on their own. We can only provide injects with caution, try to help them in ways they are appreciative, and continue to love them even when we see “unknown unknowns” in their lives

VUCA: Not Just a Buzz Word

Too often, we throw around the word VUCA as a tagline inferring: “It’s bananas out there!” But each letter points to a distinct environmental challenge. Recognizing the difference matters because how we respond to volatility is not how we should handle ambiguity.

Next time we find ourselves in a fast-changing or uncertain environment, whether planning military operations or parenting children of all ages, pause and ask how much we know about the situation and how well we can predict what results will come from our actions.

Then we’ll know we’re not just VUCA, but we’re understanding the environment and thinking about how to best lead through it.

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October 21, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

Change is hard. Most people resist leaving the comfort of the status quo. Yet, leading change is a job that every leader must do, and few do well. When we try to shift behaviors across our organization, success requires deliberate, inclusive steps instead of imposing new behaviors on our people without their commitment.

John Kotter is the leading expert in change management. He outlines an eight-step process to walk change agents through how to bring others along. If we miss or struggle at even one of these steps, the potential to fail increases. I know, because I’ve done it.

The Failed Attempt

We’ve all been on the wrong end of change initiatives before. They feel worthless, inefficient, and unnecessary. We walk away with a lack of trust in those attempting to make changes and wonder why they were even leading us in the first place. Even worse, I’ve been the one to attempt organizational change and stumbled through the process.

When I was leading a recruiting and retention division, the primary metric when I arrived was the number of people we brought in or retained in the company. It made sense at first, but digging in, a more effective metric would be to track behaviors instead of numbers.

If every week, the recruiters made so many calls, emails, contacts, and meetings, the results were bound to go up. I imposed my change initiative on the group and rapidly tried to create a better future. The problem was, no one bought into my idea that behaviors would drive success. I failed to get the major players on board, and many had been doing this for so long, they didn’t want to change.

My initiative was over before it began. That experience taught me that good intentions are not enough. Change demands a deliberate process.

There’s a Better Way

John Kotter in his book Leading Change, outlines a deliberate process to help leaders drive results while gaining commitment from our people. If you’re looking to make change, you need to read this book first.

1. Establish a Sense of Urgency. The first step is to get others to believe we are facing a significant problem. People must feel pressure that if we don’t change, we will face significant problems or never find amazing opportunities. My failure was not dealing with the complacency in the organization. Few people saw the need to change, and I never drove the “why” narrative. The best change agents convince those around them that change is needed.

2. Create a Guiding Coalition. Next, we have to get the most influential people on board. Change cannot happen alone. We must find others to come alongside and push the initiatives leveraging their spheres of influence. I garnered the commitment of one or two people, but not enough with the position, expertise, credibility, and leadership to tip the scales. Find those with clout and have them help drive change.

3. Develop a Vision. A vision is the North Star that shows everyone where we’re heading and why it matters. It points in the right direction, motivates people to move, and coordinates action across the force. I struggled to provide a clear and compelling vision for the future, resulting in few people wanting to follow. Quality visions and strategies provide waypoints, motivation, and hope to our people.  

4. Communicate the Change Vision. Whatever amount we think we’re communicating our vision, multiply that by 100. Really. Use every medium possible to move our narrative across the organization. I never really permeated the message to every level and didn’t have the guiding coalition to do so. Developing a communication strategy to continuously message our people is critical to success.

5. Empower Employees for Broad Based Action. Once people catch the idea, we need to move barriers out of their way to let them make it happen. Too often, structures, skills, systems, and mid-level managers are blocking people from supporting the vision. I had a few junior leaders who weren’t bought in and let everyone else know it. Remove the obstacles to allow great people to make great gains in support of the vision.

6. Generate Short Term Wins. Once things are moving forward, it’s important everyone sees the change is working. Set periodic benchmarks, meet objectives, and celebrate the wins! The victories have to be visible, unambiguous, and related to the change effort. Everyone can see that the change is starting to work. I actually did well at this, but because I struggled with the first five steps, others never made the connection between our wins and adjustments. Find the good stuff and recognize those enacting change.

7. Consolidate Gains and Produce More Wins. The Army likes to talk about exploiting victories. When we penetrate the enemy’s lines, keep pressing! The same is true for change. When we see change working, continue to follow up with more urgency, initiatives, and success. I’m not sure I ever got to this point in my changes. But those who do need to continue pushing to realize the full potential of the organization.

8. Anchor New Approaches in the Culture. Finally, once we’re seeing those wins, it’s so important to develop long-term success. Often this is a direct product of changing culture. This step is often the hardest because cultural change takes time, energy, and commitment across the organization. Once people’s outward and inward beliefs and actions begin to change, we know we have the opportunity to make a lasting difference.

People Actually Like Change

In a conversation Kotter had with a manager, the manager stated that human nature likes to reject change. Kotter pushes back by asking whether they would appreciate change if they won the lottery. This causes the manager to admit that people are open to change if it’s in their best interests.

This is the key. Are the changes we’re making going to make things better for people and the organization?

When change aligns with people’s best interests, leaders don’t have to push, they can guide. That’s when transformation truly happens.

If you want to know more, grab the book Leading Change. It will be instrumental to your change journey.

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October 14, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

In the moment, a major failure seems catastrophic, like everything we’ve build just fell apart in an instant. But hidden inside that collapse is the foundation for something stronger, if we choose to rebuild it.

It’s natural and appropriate to process our failures and dealing with failure is very similar to the Kübler-Ross five grief stages of denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. But I argue there’s a sixth phase to processing failure and that is improvement. Our goal is to move from failure to improvement as fast as possible.

The Eleventh Inning Error

Last week, the Philadelphia Phillies lost their playoff series to the Los Angeles Dodgers on a walk-off error. The pitcher, 24-year-old Orion Kerkering, entered the game to end the inning with the bases loaded, two outs, and tied in the bottom of the eleventh inning.

Kerkering got the batter to softly tap the ball back to the pitcher’s mound, a play he has successfully made hundreds of times in his career. But in a panic, he bobbled the ball and then threw it wildly to home plate instead of an easy out at first base, allowing the Dodgers to win and take the series.

This was a hard-to-watch human moment. Kerkering, feeling the full weight of the loss, bent over, dropping his hands to his knees and lowered his head to the ground as the Dodgers flooded the field in celebration, running past the crestfallen Kerkering. Every one of us has had that moment, watching a mistake echo louder than it should.

Orion slowly walked to the dugout and sat down on the bench as the realization of what happened settled in. For the national audience watching, everyone knew this was a moment he would remember the rest of his life. To him, that inning probably felt like the end of the world. But it wasn’t, and it never is. Our lowest moments often feel final, but they never are.

In order to move from our failure feeling final to recovering and thriving in the next phase of life, we must go through the five stages of grief.

From Worst to First

Dr. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, known for her work On Death and Dying, outlined five stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance. Though her model centered on loss, the same emotions surface after failure. Understanding them helps us move through each one and toward growth.

Denial. This is where the mind hits pause. It protects us from the shock of what just happened. We tell ourselves, “That didn’t just happen,” or “There’s no way this is real.” You could see it in Orion Kerkering’s frozen stare after the error as his body tried to process what the mind could not yet accept.

Anger. Once reality hits, emotion follows fast. We get frustrated at others, the situation, or ourselves. Orion never lashed out, but you could see the tension in his face as he walked off the field. We have all felt that same inner fire when the mistake is ours alone.

Bargaining. Next comes the replay. We go over every detail in our minds, saying, “If only I had done this differently.” You can imagine Orion replaying that throw a thousand times, seeing all the ways it could have gone right. We all do it. It is how we try to make sense of what is already done.

Depression. Then comes the weight. The noise fades, and the heaviness settles in. For Orion, it was the quiet walk to the dugout, head down and alone with his thoughts. That low moment is part of the process. It is where we start to rebuild.

Acceptance. Finally, the fog lifts. We stop replaying the error and begin to see what is next. Orion will reach this stage just as we all do. Acceptance is not the end; it is the opening to the next phase: improvement.

If we do it right, no one event defines any of us. We only define ourselves when we choose to become better through adversity.

An Additional Stage: Improvement

Acceptance isn’t the end. It’s the doorway. The real power comes in what we do next: improve. Acceptance says, “I failed.” Improvement says, “Now I know how to win.” I wish I could remember who wrote this book quote, but the author states that “You can’t win history.”

Basically, no matter if we win or lose today, there will always be more to win or lose tomorrow, and we will never be on top forever. Even if the Phillies won the World Series, they will still feel the pressure in five short months when the next season starts.

So after we fail, it’s up to us to sift through the events of what happened and do everything possible to learn from our mistakes. We should look at processes, people, relationships, and lessons to improve our position and decision-making skills going into the next round.

Only by deep reflection and openness to continuous improvement can we posture ourselves for future success. This is all about “failing up” and making sure our last failure helps us achieve our next success.

From the Valley (Dugout) to the Mountain (Pitcher’s Mound)

Yes, failing is embarrassing, terrible, and mentally exhausting. But it can also be a learning tool to move us forward on our journey that isn’t grounded in wins and losses but in sustained improvement. When we use our failure to inform our future, we are creating tomorrow’s momentum and opportunity.

Our job is to go through the phases of grief as fast as possible and get to the improvement phase. Once there, we clearly see how to get better.

Orion Kerkering is in a tough place this week, but I have no doubt that he will continue to improve and be a great player and human being, hopefully back on the mound for the Phillies.

Failure only feels final. But it’s not. What defines us isn’t the moment we fall. It’s the strength we find when we rise again.

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October 7, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

We all have a superpower. It’s something we’re uniquely great at and do naturally. Others notice our skill and understand it’s a benefit to our leadership.

Once we identify it, it is our responsibility to leverage that superpower to obtain mission accomplishment and organizational improvement.

Think about your unique superpower. It’s often something that happens innately and without much training. It’s something you’re talented and passionate about. This skill is one that has served you well and you use it often.

None of us will excel at every key leadership attribute. This is about having one great trait that amplifies others. When we identify and leverage our superpower, we can use our signature strength for overall success.

The Brotherly Shove

If you follow football, you understand the Philadelphia Eagles’ superpower play. If it is third or fourth down and they have two yards or less to go, they pull out the Tush Push. In this play, the entire team stacks on the line for a quarterback sneak that isn’t very sneaky at all.

Two running backs stand behind the quarterback, and on the snap, the offensive line surges forward with the running backs pushing the quarterback across the line. They have run this play to near perfection, with a 91.3% success rate since 2022 and a 96.6% success rate on fourth and one in the same time period.

Oh yeah, it helps to have a quarterback like Jalen Hurts who can squat 600 pounds and drives the ball forward. The other team knows this is coming and can do nothing to stop it. They’ve tried different formations, jumping the line, yelling to get the offense to jump, calling on the league to stop it, and pleading with the refs to call offsides penalties. Yet the Eagles keep rolling along (minus their loss to the Broncos last week).

They know their strengths and uniquely use them to help win. Howie Roseman, General Manager for the Eagles, says: “Everything we’re doing is legal and it works, and just because people do something that’s really good, doesn’t mean it should be outlawed.”

He’s right. In fact, when we find something that we’re really good at, we should be doing it as much as possible.

Tush Pushes Throughout History

Just as the Eagles execute their play with precision and self-awareness, history’s greatest leaders succeeded by leaning into their defining strength.

George Washington’s superpower was moral authority. He had an unshakable integrity to do the right thing which led a fractured army to believe in the legitimacy of a new nation.

Theodore Roosevelt led with courageous energy. He demonstrated relentless drive from his background as an adventurer and used it to reform government and project national strength.

In business, Henry Ford leveraged his superpower of process innovation. He revolutionized industry through assembly lines and focused on efficiency to drive economic progress.

In the last example, Mother Teresa’s skill was compassionate service. She loved people and had a heart to sit with the poorest of the poor and model humble leadership to help others.

All four of these historical figures grew their superpowers from a young age. They didn’t consciously practice them but leveraged their natural talents and passions to inspire others. Whether it was morality, adventure, improvements, or care, these four leaders knew what their skill was and leveraged it appropriately.

Our Personal Brotherly Shove?  

It’s often uncomfortable to name our own superpower. It can easily feel like we’re boasting or self-promoting. Moreover, once we tell others, there will be times when we’re not demonstrating it, and others will see. It can be scary to name it and claim it, but once we identify and use this skill, we can use it to benefit the team and have others hold us accountable.

The first step is to solicit others to help identify our gifts. A good way to do this is to ask those closest to us what positive adjectives describe us. When we put these words together, it starts to paint a picture of our strengths and talents as others see them. Next, find the words in that list that we appreciate about ourselves to understand our passions. These words that intersect between passion and talent are a good indicator of our superpowers.

Next, ask yourself a few simple questions. What activities and traits do you default to? When you were young, what activities did you do or attributes did you recognize that stood out? What have others in the past told you that you made look easy? Finally, what do personality tests or the DiSC tell you? If you haven’t taken these, consider looking into these tests.

Finally, reflect on what you excel at during work.  Do you thrive in planning, interpersonal skills, teaching, administration, inventing new ideas, getting things done, or bringing others together, to name a few?

When you put these three things together—what others tell you, what you like to do personally, and where you thrive at work—you’ll get a pretty good idea of where your strengths are. Come up with a few superpower proposals and test this with people around you.

You’ll know you’ve found it when it feels like it fits you perfectly.

Make Our Tush Push Unstoppable

When we learn to drive our superpower forward, like the Eagles’ unstoppable push, there truly is no limit to how far we can move our teams. More importantly, we can leverage this skill to become the best version of ourselves.

By using our best qualities to augment our other attributes, we make everyone around us better. After all, that’s where we become the most valuable when we are using all our assets for the good of the team.

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September 30, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

The corporate identity of an organization is critically important. If we can’t describe what our culture is, that’s a problem. One job of leaders is to establish a short, distinct organizational narrative for our group to learn, know, and love. This identity must be an ironclad message to everyone, so they have a common language to rally around and achieve by their actions.

The Iron Brigade

In the Civil War, one culture stood out in the Union Army above the rest, but this brigade had an auspicious start. Five mid-West regiments assembled to create the brigade with the nicknames the Calico (6th Wisconsin), the Huckleberries (7th Wisconsin), the Babies (19th Indiana), the Feather-beds (24th Michigan), and the purported Ragged Asstetical (2nd Wisconsin). They didn’t have the most intimidating monikers. In fact, the “Asstetical,” what I perceive to be an intentional, humorous misspelling of pleasing to the eyes, received its name based on a lack of pantaloons.

However, this group of men took pride in being tough, and at South Mountain, they earned a new nickname, the Iron Brigade. General George McClellan saw them bravely stand in the face of the enemy and stare down death. He remarked, “They must be made of iron,” and hence it became their identity.

At Gettysburg, they saved the Union’s position on the first day by delaying Confederate forces from taking the high ground. Without their tenacious effort, the battle would have been much different. It came at a cost of losing over half their men, to include the commander, General John Gibbon.

The next two days of Gettysburg found them front and center fighting all over the battlefield in hallowed places such as Cemetery Hill, Brenner’s Hill, Pickett’s Charge, and Culp’s Hill. The Iron Brigade knew their job was to stand like iron no matter what was thrown at them. This was their identity.

Establishing an Identity

Culture is the sum of beliefs, values, and attitudes that a group of people collectively agree upon. Identity is the shared perspective of that messaging. I would argue that the best identities are short and pithy, easy to remember. It’s something that inspires people to achieve and live up to that vision.

One way to establish an identity is to speak it into existence, like McClellan did with the Iron Brigade. Once the Brigade latched onto that narrative, the old Feather-beds were gone, and the new steel was forged. Just as military leaders have crafted identities that inspire action, this can also be done on the national level.

Winston Churchill called his people into greatness in 1940 when Britain was standing seemingly alone against Nazi Germany after France fell. In his speech to Parliament and the nation:

“Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will still say, ‘This was their finest hour.’”

He essentially called his people from a tired, attacked, and outmatched nation to a destiny of greatness. They had to weather constant bombardment in the Blitz, extreme rationing, a global war, Allies hesitantly joining, and British soldiers dying in combat. But they did, and history declared them living up to “Britain’s Finest Hour,” spoken by Churchill himself. He established their identity.

A culture comes from the leader understanding the group’s narrative. It’s shaped by what we constantly pay attention to, measure, and act upon. It comes from constant role modelling, teaching, coaching, and mentoring what is important. And it’s where we reward people when we see culture building.

A culture is formed through stories, legends, and myths from the past. Leaders constantly remind others of their identity and call them out, so eventually, the group calls it out in themselves. This forms a shared principle that is simple enough for the most junior person to grasp and pride themselves in, yet deep enough to call forth action, culture, and drive.

The Iron Brigade and “Our finest hour” are two great examples of a collective identity that drove a group to do great things.

I formerly was a member of the 82d Airborne Division whose moniker was to deploy anywhere in the world with wheels up in 18 hours, jump, fight, and win. This short statement shaped our identity to stay in warfighting shape, always be ready, and know that tomorrow we could be in battle. It was a constant reminder of the importance of our job and the need to stay focused.

This happens at the corporate level, as well. Amazon has “customer obsession,” Patagonia is in business to “save our home planet,” and Starbucks is “creating a third place.” We all need to establish a corporate identity in our organizations. To do so, we must first answer three simple questions.

Forming Identity

Dr. Victoria Wilson of Duke University says that building identity requires three questions. Who are we? What are we doing? What do we want to be in the future?

We need to know what makes our organization unique and what types of personalities do we need to thrive. The Iron Brigade needed soldiers that would stand and fight, never bending or breaking.

Second, we need to know what our mission is. All members must be clear on why the organization exists. For example, the 82d Airborne paratroopers stand ready, 24/7, to respond to any global emergency and live for that purpose.

Finally, we need to know where we’re going. This question shapes the mentality, vision, and people that we want to be tomorrow. For the British in World War II, it meant holding off at all costs, in all hardships, to stand up against Nazi Germany.

By answering these three questions and putting into words a short, concise identity statement, we can shape the culture of our organization.

Shaping Iron

The culture of an organization is going to happen whether we shape it or not. There’s a danger of letting it form organically. The Iron Brigade could have retained their “huckleberry” and “baby” monikers and fought like their namesakes in battle; however, McClellan reshaped their identity by intentionally developing a narrative of success. Just as he formed the Iron Brigade, so too must we deliberately shape our organization’s identity, otherwise, it will form without purpose.

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September 23, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

There truly is only one finite resource we have and that’s time. There are ways to gain more money, knowledge, relationships, information, and more, but we can’t gain or lose time. It simply marches on.

That’s why we need to harness the power of the clock to our advantage. I see so many people struggle with time management. They say they don’t have enough time, as they spend hours literally wasting it on non-productive activity or items that aren’t the priority.

Instead of frittering away our time, we need to master it. The Pomodoro Technique is one of many ways to supercharge our time management skills, and it’s one I use a lot. This method breaks work into 25-minute intervals with short breaks in between. The goal is to focus energy into that time and take a short break to recharge immediately after, allowing our minds to prepare for the next segment. The result is intense, concentrated effort that gets things done.

There Are Only So Many Hours in a Day

I’m currently grading essays for a college class. Depending on the length and quality, it takes time to provide accurate and helpful feedback to students. When I ask my peers grading papers how long it takes them, their answers are all over the map from 30 minutes to two hours.

By that math, it could take up to 40 hours to grade 20 essays, leaving zero hours for anything else in a normal workweek. Of course, we all have tens of hours of other work, so that simply can’t happen.

Therefore, I use the Pomodoro Technique to allocate one hour to grade a paper. I eliminate all distractions—no other computer windows are open (ahem, email), the door is shut, the phones are on silent. From the time I open an essay to the time the final feedback is in place, I have to be done in 60 minutes.

I take a short break and move on to the next one. Using this method, I provide the same amount of feedback to each student, know exactly how long it will take to grade the number of essays I have, and hyper-focus my effort without distraction. The result is standardized feedback for students and quality time management to do everything else I have to do.

The Pomodoro Technique  

This time management theory was invented by Francesco Cirillo in the 1980s. The name “Pomodoro” is Italian for tomato, as Cirillo used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer when he was a university student. His theory was to maximize productivity by intensely focusing on a task for 25 straight minutes, then come up for air for a five-minute break.

These intervals called “Pomodoros” work to intensely focus our attention on the task at hand, but while still providing enough mental breaks to reset our brain and quickly get back in the game. This prevents exhaustion, minimizes stress, and mitigates burnout.

Using Our Tomatoes

There is nothing fancy about this method. First, we list all our tasks we need to tackle in a day and divide them into interval chunks. Next, we set the timer for one Pomodoro, or 25 minutes, and have our first task-chunk prepped and laid out in front of us.

Next, and what I believe is the most important part, we eliminate all distractions that could interrupt our work during this time. We find an isolated spot, turn off email, phone, notifications, and social media, shut the door with a sign on it that we’re working and not to be bothered, and have some water handy.

Now we start the timer and relentlessly focus on that task and nothing else. After the 25-minute tomato goes off, we take a five-minute break to relax, reset, and clear our minds. We then repeat the process over four Pomodoros and then take a longer break of 30 minutes.

Three Tomato Rules to Maximize Productivity

This technique has three rules we must follow if we’re going to make the most of our time.

1. Take big projects and break them down. Estimate how many Pomodoros we need for the total project and break it down into 25-minute blocks of actionable steps. We plan out our sections and then tackle them in sequence.

2. Group small tasks together. Those tasks that take less than 25 minutes should be combined with other less time-consuming items. For example, find five things that take about five minutes each and knock them all out in one Pomodoro.

3. Stay on task. Once the timer starts, it cannot stop nor can we get sidetracked. This block of time must be dedicated to our task at hand and nothing else – no email, phone, chats, nor drop-ins. Any stray voltage ideas should be captured and returned to later. Focus. Focus. Focus.  

Now, there will be times when we get distracted by something unavoidable. No problem. Take a five-minute break and start again. Each interruption should be a learning point on how to prevent the same stoppage in the future.

On the flip side, if we finish our task early, find something else to be productive. Start the next task, overlearn, or take time to reflect.

The Benefits of Tomato Time Management

Increased Productivity. Short, focused energy with non-negotiable deadlines makes things happen. Without distractions, we maximize concentration and hence results. This method forces me to crank through papers and meet self-imposed deadlines.

Reduced Procrastination. When we clearly understand what tasks need to be accomplished and when, it forces us to get to work. Moreover, the schedule creates a sense of urgency. When I know I have a certain number of assignments to grade and only so much time, I feel forced to get to it.

Improved Focus. When we take routine breaks, it prevents our mind from getting tired and allows us to build mental endurance. We need this to stay productive all day long. When I’m on this system, I can routinely knock out one essay an hour, every hour.

It’s Flexible. We can make our intervals as long or short as we want. I use 50-minute blocks and 10-minute breaks. Consider making them longer or shorter than 25 minutes as it fits your personality and task.

Tomato It Up

The Pomodoro Technique helps us stay productive and efficient in managing our day. It’s a simple way of ensuring that we maximize our time through a mix of hyper-productivity and recharge breaks. This can be used for large projects, studying for a test, or routine tasks. If you’re looking to outwork everyone around you, this is a way to do it.

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September 16, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

In the bloodiest battle of the Civil War at Gettysburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee had to make a decision that would change the course of the war. It was a paralyzing choice, one where there was no right answer, and a decision which would have a significant impact on the future.

We will face high-stakes decisions in life, and when we do, it’s not enough to trust instinct alone. We must actively seek counsel, embrace uncomfortable perspectives of others, and rigorously test our assumptions to prevent blind spots from driving us toward disaster.

The Third Day at Gettysburg

On July 3, 1863, General Lee ordered what would become known as Pickett’s Charge, a massed assault of nearly 12,500 Confederate soldiers advancing across open fields toward entrenched Union forces on Cemetery Ridge. The charge was meant to break the Union line in one decisive blow, but instead it became one of the most infamous failures of the war.

Nearly half of the attacking force became casualties in less than an hour, with entire brigades shattered by Union artillery and rifle fire. The failed assault forced Lee to retreat from Gettysburg, ending his invasion of the North and marking a decisive turning point in the war.

General Lee could have walked away from this fight, but he didn’t. In hindsight, the decision to attack appears reckless, but it reflected several critical failures in his decision-making approach at that moment.

First, Lee relied heavily on his own instincts and past battlefield successes rather than seeking full counsel from his subordinates, many of whom had serious reservations about the attack. His reluctance to fully invite dissenting perspectives narrowed his options and reinforced his own belief that the Union center was vulnerable.

Compounding this was an incomplete intelligence picture. Lee underestimated the strength and readiness of Union defenses and overestimated the exhaustion of his opponent. The fog of war is always present, but Lee’s decision illustrates the danger of acting on assumptions without validating them through reliable reconnaissance and multiple perspectives.

Finally, he underestimated the toll his own forces had endured over two days of brutal combat, pushing exhausted soldiers into an assault with little chance of success.

These combined factors led to catastrophic losses and marked the high-water mark of the Confederacy.

Dealing with Hard Decisions

Last week, I visited the Gettysburg battlefield and saw the ground of Pickett’s Charge. It was roughly three-quarters of a mile across uncovered, open terrain. Our day was a little cooler and less humid, we were well fed and hydrated, and zero cannons were pointing at our position. It was still intimidating. So, what was Robert E. Lee thinking?

General Lee prior to Gettysburg had a 4-0-1 winning record in the Civil War, and he was running circles around the Union forces. But on this battlefield, he had no shortage of challenges. He never had a complete picture of the field, faced coordination problems among some subordinate commanders, and struggled with army-wide communication.

These factors contributed significantly to his defeat at Gettysburg, a turning point that weakened Confederate prospects. Just as Pickett’s men marched into the teeth of Union fire, leaders today can march their teams into disaster if we act on unchecked assumptions.

Trap #1. Trust Only Our Instincts. We should surround ourselves with wise counselors and solicit their advice. None of us are as smart as all of us. Even if we don’t agree, having conflicting opinions help us shape better decisions.

General Lee was calling the shots himself. It worked for him before, but the scale and complexity of Civil War battles were increasing. Meanwhile on the other side of the lines, his opposing General, George Meade, was seeking advice from all his senior leaders… and won.

Trap #2. Assume We See the Whole Picture. We’ll never know everything, but it pays to gather as much info as we can and use it to make our decision. By putting out feelers, asking questions, challenging assumptions, and collecting intelligence, we have the ability to make better choices.

When Lee ordered Pickett’s Charge, he made several assumptions that the Union Army would fold under a 12,500-man assault. But his assumptions were wrong. His opponent Meade also lacked a full picture, but he learned more by waiting for the attack than attacking into the unknown.

Trap #3. Let Confidence Be Overconfidence. Especially with a track record of success, we tend to trust ourselves more than we should, more so when we’re tired. Yet every day is an opportunity to start fresh and reassess where we’re at. Confidence is great! Overconfidence is dangerous.

On Day Three, the last day of Gettysburg fighting, General Lee thought his troops were strong enough for this three-quarters mile-long assault over open ground into withering fire… and win. They were exhausted, dehydrated, and overextended. It was a valiant attack but ended with a devastating loss.

It’s Our Decision to Make

When we have tough decisions to make, it’s worth thinking about the traps. First, include wise counsel and don’t rely solely on intuition, even if it’s great. Second, gather as much information as possible. Finally, be confident, but realize we have blind spots.

Tough decisions will always come, but if we slow down, seek counsel, and challenge our assumptions, we’ll stand a better chance of avoiding our own Pickett’s Charge.

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September 9, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

There are few impulses that are more powerful than the urge to criticize someone else’s work. I say that tongue-in-cheek, but leaders who are continuously seeking to complete the mission and make the organization better want to provide advice to help us. When we’re on the receiving end, however, we frequently struggle to view feedback through the right lens and process it effectively.

When someone gives us feedback, it’s a gift. In this present, there’s an art to receiving and using it to advance our personal and professional growth. But first, we must understand two common responses to feedback.

The Good Feedback We Reject

Often we receive helpful feedback from a caring colleague and struggle to process it. For whatever reason, we’re not receptive to someone else criticizing our work. We hear it, are offended, and push back.

I remember receiving feedback when I was a young captain producing staff products for the Brigade Commander. In the review process, the Executive Office (XO) came down and told me that my product didn’t answer the question. I immediately raised my shields and began justifying how it helped the Commander make decisions. After my unwarranted defensive counterpunches, he agreed to send it to the boss for review with the warning that it wasn’t a complete product.

The next day I was called up to the Commander’s office to explain my work. It didn’t go well. The boss had more questions than I had answers, and I found myself redoing the entire project.

There are people out there with experience and wisdom and have our best interests at heart. These are the ones to befriend, to ask for feedback, and use their high-quality comments to improve.

The Bad Feedback We Embrace

Another type of feedback comes from those who offer unhelpful input that we mistakenly accept as valid, which can take us down the wrong path. We hear it, are appalled at our blind spot, and quickly shift to appease the person who gave it to us, whether they’re right or wrong.

One of my favorite things to do when in a leadership position is to know people’s birthdays and celebrate them. I have a list of names and make it a point to call them, wish them a great day, and thank them for their work. At one new assignment, there were almost 600 people, and it was a seemingly overwhelming task.

Several senior leaders with great intentions in the unit advised me not to start the practice arguing it could undermine their relationships and set my successor up for failure. I hesitated and delayed this effort as I tried to understand their point of view.

But after a month, I had a strong internal pull to do it. So, I obtained the list and started making birthday calls, averaging two per day. It proved to be one of the best decisions I made, forming meaningful connections I otherwise would have missed.

Even when people have organizational interests in mind, it doesn’t mean their feedback is accurate. We must think hard about advice we receive and evaluate it critically.

How to Receive and Process Feedback

We must first recognize that feedback may not always be helpful. We won’t know until we evaluate it. To do so, we can use a simple three-step process to discern quality: thank, dig, reflect. Below are micro-scripts and a short evaluation checklist we can use in the moment.

1. Thank you. The first words out of our mouths when someone gives us feedback should be “thank you.” Expressing gratitude signals we welcome correction and reduces defensive escalation.

Micro-script: “I really appreciate you telling me that. Thank you.”

(At this point we’re not committing to change; we’re acknowledging the effort)

2. Tell me more. Ask for specifics so we understand the behavior and context. Asking for detail moves the exchange from emotion to data.

Microscript: “Can you give a specific example?” / “What exactly did you see me do?” / “What would you do differently?”

If a comment is vague (e.g., “Do that better”) ask for the example and the desired outcome.

3. Reflect. Decide whether the feedback is valuable and what to do with it: change completely, adjust slightly, or discard. Reflection should consider motive, credibility, and alignment with mission and values.

Reflection checklist:

• Specificity: Is the feedback concrete or vague?
• Evidence: Are examples provided?
• Source: Does the giver have relevant experience or perspective?
• Motive: Is there a helpful intent or self-interest?
• Frequency: Have others made similar observations?
• Actionability: Can I do something about it that will improve outcomes?

Beware of red flags that lower the feedback’s value: no examples, personal attacks, inconsistent recommendations, unrealistic demands, or advice that primarily benefits the giver.

Finally, run this feedback through a trusted advisor who we know has our best interest at the forefront. By triangulating data with others who we trust and know us best, we can validate a lot of feedback that may seem off.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of Feedback

Feedback varies in quality and delivery. It can be presented professionally or delivered messy. How we respond through thanking, understanding , and reflecting determines whether feedback becomes fuel for growth or a distraction. Try this simple experiment: for one month, solicit three candid observations, implement one small change, and record what happens. The habit of seeking and testing feedback is a reliable path to improvement.

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September 2, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

Most of us aren’t taught to say no, yet it may be the most powerful skill we have. Last month, we talked about saying no to things. There was such a positive response, I wanted to dig a little deeper.

There are only a limited number of hours in the day, and it’s important to know where each one is going. At the same time, there will be a constant demand from other people to use those hours. None of this is bad but just know that every time we say yes to something, we’re saying no to something else.

My current job at the Army War College is amazing! I’m an instructor, and there are countless opportunities to lead battlefield staff rides, run a research project, enroll in continuing education, earn coaching certifications, write for publications, speak on panels and more. These opportunities are incredible, yet it is impossible to participate in them all.

Lately, I’ve become very sensitive in that accepting one of these events comes with a time cost or forces me to do multiple things at half-effort. This is a great lesson in our personal and professional lives: sometimes saying no to someone is really saying yes to ourselves.

Why We Say Yes

We’re value programmed to be compliant and kind. When someone needs help with something or wants us to join in a cool activity, we’re wired to default to agreement. Moreover, we don’t want to disappoint others by saying no.

Dr. Sunita Sah, author of Defy: The Power of No in a World that Demands Yes talks about the three reasons we struggle with no.

First, we don’t want others to think we lack confidence in them by shooting down their idea. When we say no, we subconsciously feel like we’re telling the other person they have bad ideas and can’t be trusted.

Second, we confuse compliance with consent. Compliance is agreeing with something even when we don’t want to do it. Consent is permission or agreement. Compliance is being or feeling forced while consent is having permission to choose what’s best for us in the moment.

Third, we have no idea how to say no without feeling like a jerk.

These three reasons turn our “no” into a “maybe” or “yes” without us even realizing it. But there’s an easy solution.

Knowing Our Values

When we’re faced with a decision to add more to our plate and remove something else, the first thing we need to understand is our values. This simple act will help prioritize what is truly important in our lives. For example, some values are faith, family, education, adventure, wealth, career, and joy to name a few.

When we know and prioritize our values, we can then weigh what we’re being asked to do against what we will give up. For instance, I was once asked to volunteer at my kid’s school, but I realized my values were more in line with spending time with my kids at home.

Once we have our values aligned, we can say no to things to say yes to others.

1. Saying no to protect our passions. I really enjoy writing a weekly article for The Maximum Standard. On a lazy Saturday, instead of napping, cleaning out my inbox, or watching a ballgame, I chose to write this article.

2. Saying no to see our families. It’s so easy to work late. I’ve done it for years in the Army and missed way too many dinners. Now, with a flexible schedule, I have no excuse to miss dinner. I say no to projects or inbox work so I can say yes to my family.

3. Saying no to relax. We all need to recharge. When we say yes to everything, our body battery constantly gets depleted. What will we say no to so that we have energy for what matters most?

4. Saying no to guard ourselves. There are things out there that just aren’t worth our time. We’re asked to attend alcohol-fueled parties, tempted doomscroll social media, lured into casinos, or pulled into gossip. It’s better to guard our time than get sucked into negative influence.

Saying No Isn’t Easy, but It’s Imperative

Just because saying no isn’t easy, doesn’t mean it can’t be done well. First, thank the person for thinking of us: “That’s kind of you to offer. Thank you!” Second, be brief and clear with our no: “That’s not something I can commit to.” There’s no need to overexplain. As we’ve heard many times, no is a complete sentence. Third, offer encouragement for them: “…but I hope it goes well.” Other ways are:

Sorry, I can’t take that on right now. But I know you’ll find the right solution.

I need to pass this time, but I’ll be thinking of you.

I appreciate the opportunity, but I need to focus on some other things.

While saying no may seem hard, it’s actually harder to say yes and have to do something you don’t want to do. Next time we’re asked to commit to something, see if it aligns with our values, know if it will trump something else we’d rather do, and say no politely and firmly.

Saying no is saying yes to something else. The more we honor that truth, the more control we regain over our lives.

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August 26, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

This week, we dropped our college daughter off at school. She’s officially a senior and into her last two semesters. My wife and I are incredibly proud of the young woman she’s growing up to be. Upon initial drop-off in 2023, we threw our best advice at her, and my daughter gave us one piece back in return.  

After reviewing them, they certainly stood the test of time, and I’m doubling down on the wisdom this year. Not only is this advice great for sending our kids off to new adventures, but it’s also helpful for our personal leadership journey during any new endeavor.

1. Understand Our Big Rocks and Focus on Them.

My advice came from a probably familiar story by author Stephen Covey about understanding what’s most important in life. He calls these our big rocks. Big rocks are the things that we simply can’t fail at. Some people call them “glass balls” that we can’t drop while we’re juggling our life.

He argues there are other things besides the big rocks such as smaller rocks, pebbles, or sand. While these other things may be good, they’re often a waste of time that prevents us from achieving our true goals.

For my daughter, I believe her four big rocks were most likely these in order: God, grades, exercise, and work.

It’s critical to maintain our comprehensive fitness. This includes spiritual resiliency (God), mental acuity (grades), health (exercise, eating right, and sleep), and financial stability with an eye to the future (work). College offers a lot of great activities that support holistic fitness to include the emotional and social components.

The environment also offers a lot of other activities (the smaller rocks, pebbles, and sand) that distract students from achieving their goals: parties, alcohol, social media, unnecessary drama, the ability to sleep in, and a host of other ways to push aside what’s really important. Whether in school or not, we all have these distractors in our lives. Yet none of them really take us closer to our ultimate end state.

Focus on the big rocks above all else and don’t get distracted from our end goals.

2. When We Make a Mistake, Don’t Compound It with Another

My wife offered better advice than me (as usual); it was about messing up. She said you’re going to make a bad decision—it’s going to happen. The key is to not compound that decision with another bad one.

First, we have to acknowledge that we’re all going to make bad decisions. There’s even a popularized phrase by English poet, Alexander Pope: “To err is human…” We’re fallible people who often choose poorly. That’s okay. What’s not okay is being oblivious to a bad situation.

I think about this like my Spidey-sense. It’s when I find myself in a place that just doesn’t feel right. I shouldn’t be in that part of town, making a decision with no options, overcome by peer pressure, or in a bad conversation that I knowingly walked into. Something in my gut knows it’s wrong, and I was the one who put myself there.

It’s not good to be there, but great when we’re aware enough to see the lurking danger. Now’s our time to make a better decision to improve our situation. Ask for help. Phone a friend. Call your parents (hint… hint…).  Do something to accept the consequences of our mistakes and prevent anything worse from happening.

We all mess up. It’s what we do after which proves our character and demonstrates our leadership ability.

3. Take Charge of Our Life—Don’t Let It Take Charge of Us

My daughter’s parting shot of wisdom two years ago was that we have to run our life, or it’ll run us. This was encouragingly profound coming from my 18-year-old daughter which still rings true today, and she certainly understands that life is going to pass us by if we don’t take control of it.

She’s done this well in the last two years. She’s on track to graduate in six semesters, has some money in the bank, is participating in some manageable small rocks to go with her big ones, and is focused on life after graduation.

None of us can wait until life knocks on the door one day and asks us if we want to be successful. We have to go out and get it. It ties into the big rocks—go hunt what’s important and don’t get distracted.

“Be true to the game, because the game will be true to you. If you try to shortcut the game, then the game will shortcut you. If you put forth the effort, good things will be bestowed upon you. That’s truly about the game, and in some ways that’s about life too.” -Michael Jordan

The Beauty of Advice

My one piece of advice turned into three with some great help from my wife and daughter. Only, they’re a lot better at it.

As I read this wisdom two years later and reflected, the theme is that we have ultimate ownership of our lives. We choose where to spend our precious time and energy along with who we spend that time with. Then, we naturally make life decisions that will have both positive and negative results. Our job is not to be perfect, but to reframe and make a better choice. That’s how we control our lives instead of our lives controlling us.

What’s the best college or life wisdom you’ve gotten from parents or given to your kids?

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August 19, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

Last week, I found myself in a challenging situation. At my parents’ house, a swarm of yellow jackets nested in the chimney. Hundreds were outside, and a few dozen started finding their way inside. We tried everything from plugging holes, setting up bug zappers, spraying Raid, and swatting with fly swatters to name a few, but they kept coming. It felt like an immovable rock standing in our way.

Then I remembered Archimedes. Sometimes we face problems that are brutal to solve. No matter how hard we push or try, the rock doesn’t budge. Archimedes solved his seemingly immovable object conundrum through leverage. The key to many of our problems is not to push harder, but to find the right lever to solve our issue.

Have We Tried a Fulcrum?

Archimedes was a Greek mathematician who lived in Syracuse, Sicily from 287-212 B.C. His work set the stage for geometry and physics, and he is known for discovering the sphere, cylinder, the foundations of pi, and the principles of buoyancy.

He established the law of the lever, a fundamental principle of physics, where a small force can move a large object by using a lever with the proper spacing of a fulcrum. Known as the Archimedes Lever, he famously said, “Give me a lever long enough and a fulcrum on which to place it, and I shall move the world.”

In this principle of leverage, a person can use a lever by wedging one end under the object to be moved. They then place a fulcrum, or balancing point underneath, and provide force. The key is to know the right size and placement of both the lever and the fulcrum. In doing so, we have the ability to maximize our force against an object by using the right tools that are the right size (lever) and positioning them accordingly (fulcrum).

He’s right. We can harness immense power through strategic positioning and proper equipment. There are many problems that seem immovable, but when we leverage the right tools in the right positions, problems become more solvable.

Four Types of Levers

When we reach the point where our problem becomes more than we can handle, it’s time to lengthen the lever and move the fulcrum to a more favorable position. We can do that through people, technology, money, and expertise.

People. An ancient Chinese proverb says, “When everyone adds fuel, the flames rise high.” The English version is, “Many hands make light work,” a phrase used in the Civil War to raise support for the military, but I learned it from Nicolas Cage in Con Air. Or the Bible puts it as, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor.”

However, we say it, getting assistance from others should be our default position when in need. Honestly, people love being asked to help and feel useful. To counter the yellow jackets, we equipped some family members with fly swatters and went after it. More people often equal more leverage.

Technology. In today’s technology advancing society, there continues to be more and better tools that can help us. If we need to move something heavy, why not use a truck instead of our brute strength. If we need to brainstorm a solution, why not let ChatGPT take a quick stab at it. And as we were fighting swarming yellow jackets, we set up the electric bug zapper up to do some of the dirty work for us.

Archimedes used the lever and fulcrum. Our levers today are things like: YouTube solutions instead of experimenting, WebMD instead of wondering, and data analytics instead of guessing. Our organizations probably have tools available to help solve whatever we’re facing. We don’t always need to rely on them, but sometimes we should.

Money. Money can fix some things but not everything. For example, it can’t fix relationships, marriages, health, exercising, education, or happiness. But it can help solve many problems when we buy the right things. Often we’re grasping at straws to solve a problem with what we have on hand. If we bought the right equipment, we’d have a much better shot. Our wasp spray ran out, the electric zapper broke, and we were plugging access holes in the brick with painter’s tape.

Thirty dollars and a trip to the store could have solved these issues. Instead, we fought with what we had and lost. Or we could have used that money to hire a professional.

Expertise. When our skills and knowledge are simply not enough, we should leverage experts to fight our battles. At work, there are specialized departments to eliminate our frustrations in IT, finance, help desks, payroll, human resources, supply, and many others. Use the subject matter expert as a fulcrum instead of figuring it out on our own. Call them. The company pays them for a reason.

Ultimately, my dad hired an exterminator who did in 30 minutes what we spent hours on. In this case, they did what more people, technology, and money couldn’t. Put the right levers and fulcrums in place and solve the problem.

Gain an Asymmetric Advantage

So often I think I can make progress by brute force or relentless willpower. Perhaps that’s true. But it’s so much easier to use the tools and expertise around us to create an asymmetric advantage.

Archimedes had it right. A small force can move a large weight when using the proper tools correctly and strategically aligned in the right place. When we have that in position, a tiny force can move mountains.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

August 12, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

Time is the most valuable commodity we have, yet it’s constantly under attack. The real challenge isn’t just managing our time, it’s defending it. And the best defense is simple: say “no” more often.

There are so many things competing for our time. Worse yet, there are so many people asking for hours from our day, hours we’ll never get back, for something that may not move our agenda forward. To take this back, we must say “no” to more things.

One of my most quoted lines from that old sitcom Friends is when Phoebe is asked to help assemble some furniture. Her response, with barely a pause: “Oh, I wish I could, but I don’t want to.” Maybe more interesting are her friends’ reactions. They both nod in agreement and affirmatively respond with, “Yep” and “Makes sense.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NOZ33vHNqFg

In this ten-second clip, she gives us the model answer when someone asks for our time and it doesn’t fit our agenda. She’s polite, honest, and crystal clear on her intentions. Moreover, she never gives a reason. While she used more words, “No” is a complete sentence. We don’t always have to justify our response.

Saying no allows us to protect the precious time we have to complete our priorities. If we say yes to everything, we’ll eventually fill our time with other people’s agendas, leaving little room for our own. The most damaging example that affects just about every one of us is our dreaded inbox.

The Inbox Is a Thief

Like many of you, every day at work I open my computer ready to tackle big, important projects that demand my attention and have due dates. Simultaneously, I have my email open in the background so something important doesn’t get missed.

I start working on my project, but invariably, emails start to roll in, all pulling me into other people’s priorities. Most of what lands there I never asked for, yet every “To” or “Cc” is a request to stop what I’m doing and focus on someone else’s priority.

What they’re really asking is for me to stop what I’m doing and put them first. And time and time again, I do, trying to be a good teammate and keep my inbox clean. This tension occurs every day from texts, phone calls, notifications, emails, drop-ins, emergency meetings, and hundreds of other distractions that we struggle to say no to.

Whether it’s email, calls, or unexpected drop-ins, the requests never stop. That’s why some of the most accomplished people in the world have mastered the art of saying no.

The Difference between Successful and Really Successful People
If you don’t take Phoebe’s word for it, Warren Buffett said, “The difference between successful people and really successful people is that really successful people say no to almost everything.” Three easy ways to do this are to invest in ourselves first, focus on what matters, and eliminate distractions.

Invest in Ourselves First. Speaking of twenty-year-old television, The Biggest Loser was a weight loss reality show where contestants not only worked to win the game, but to reclaim their lives. I remember many a mom on the show stating they were overweight because they poured everything they had into their family, leaving nothing left for themselves.

While investing in others is good, in excess, it can destroy our lives. Much like the airplane announcement states to put the oxygen mask on yourself first before helping others, we have to invest in ourselves first so we can help others.

It’s not selfish to take classes, grow personally and professionally, network, eat right, work out, and do things to make us better. It not only helps us, but everyone around us. Our personal growth bleeds into our work, family, and interests, and raising the bar. A rising tide lifts all ships, and we have to be the ones to raise it.

Focus on What Matters. There’s a popular concept by Stephen Covey about big rocks. It’s where we take a cylinder and put large rocks into it, signifying the most important stuff in our lives. Next, we put pebbles in, representing less important things, and they filter into the cracks. Then we put sand in as the least important things, and it fills the remaining gaps. Everything fits.

If we added these things in reverse order, the big rocks wouldn’t fit in the cylinder. The sand and pebbles at the bottom would push them out, demonstrating we wouldn’t complete our most important tasks because we’re taking care of the inconsequential. We must know what those big rocks are and relentlessly protect them.

There are things we do each day that truly matter. There are many things we do because we want to or we’re asked to. It’s so important to understand what tasks in our life we have to complete and what we can let go. Focus on what matters, not merely on what’s in front of us.

Eliminate Distractions. Finally, we have to ruthlessly eliminate the distractions in our lives. Imagine if we took out all the fluff and had the time and space to complete the big rocks. No one wants to hear this, but there are many things in our lives that prevent us from using our time productively.

Time vampires drain hours from our lives without producing a return on investment. They include doom-scrolling social media and YouTube, compulsively checking email, meetings with no purpose, long conversations that go nowhere, extended commutes where we don’t utilize time effectively, and constant news cycles justifying it by thinking we’re “staying informed.”

These distractions easily take hours a day. By purging the nonsense and saying no to these time thieves, we can reclaim our lives and replace the hours with productive work.

Just Say No

Nancy Reagan launched the “Just Say No” campaign in the War Against Drugs in the early 1980’s. It was the rallying cry for kids and parents everywhere to stop the madness at its source. In the same way, we have to just say no to distractions that prevent us from focusing on our priorities.

Everyone is going to want portions of our time. Many deserve it, and we should say yes to important events for our family and friends. But many other people are going to attempt to steal time from us, either purposefully or innocently, by asking for our time, talent, and energy.

Next time this happens, think about the cost and benefits, and whether we truly have more important things to do. Let them down politely, professionally, and clearly. Our time is our life. Protect it. Say no more often. And if we need a script, just channel Phoebe: “Oh, I wish I could, but I don’t want to.”

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

August 5, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

We all have a voice in our heads that keeps a running commentary of our lives. Like a sports commentator, although far less objective or professional, it quickly interprets events around us and makes judgments that feed our story. The problem is, the inner narrator is not always reliable, therefore we need to control the story, so it doesn’t control us.

Judgment Based on Weak Context

I was speaking during a meeting the other week with forty-plus colleagues. My inner narrator noted my points were clear, succinct, and valuable, forwarding an important conversation. My narrator then, without asking as it usually does, took stock of the room while I was speaking.

It noticed one person yawning. Unhelpfully redirecting me, my inner narrator immediately informed me that my comments were boring and unhelpful. Soon after, it took stock of another colleague sipping coffee while paying close attention and nodding, reinforcing the idea that my comments were landing well.

The thing is, the inner narrator often guesses based on weak context, with no guarantee of accuracy. In all three unsolicited opinions, it made judgment calls that could have been right or wrong. It’s completely plausible that my comments were terrible and a disruption to the group, that the yawn was because the person slept poorly last night, and that the coffee drinker was smiling and nodding at his choice of latte.

Instead of trusting the snap judgements of the inner narrator, it’s best to use these commentaries to inform us, help us improve, and not dictate our emotions.

Why the Inner Narrator Matters

The inner narrator is the voice inside us that tells us the story of our lives. Much like in sports, it has a play-by-play announcer and color commentary. The play-by-play observes and states the facts around us while the color commentary makes value judgments based on our experiences, beliefs, memories, and emotions.

The judgment is based on our history, culture, upbringing, and value system. It then tells us the story of our lives, trying to make sense of what we see around us. It often interprets other people’s actions and explains what they may be thinking and why they may be acting a certain way.

All of this is good, except when it isn’t. We need an internal voice to make sense of what’s happening around us, but it’s important to note the inner narrator affects our self-esteem and confidence. A positive one can build us up while a negative one can break us down and at the extreme end cripple our desire to take action.

It’s our job to listen to the inner narrator but not let it control us.

The Greatest Quarterback

Tom Brady was drafted 199^th in the 2000 NFL Draft. The play-by-play in his head stated the clear facts that six other quarterbacks were chosen ahead of him and 198 players, and that he clearly was not valued highly by NFL teams. His color commentary announcer then could have easily piled on: you’re not good enough to start, and hopefully you’ll keep a job as a backup.

Instead of wallowing in language of the negative narrator telling Brady he’s undervalued and overrated, he rejected the “you’re not good enough narrative.” Instead, Brady listened to a positive color commentary telling him that he just needed another shot to prove himself.

He threw himself into practicing harder and studying longer than his peers, and Brady waited for his chance. In 2001, the starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe was injured, and Brady never gave the starting job back. He now holds the record for most Super Bowl wins at seven.

Controlling the Voices Within

Like Brady, there are three things we must do to leverage our inner narrator.

Become Aware. First, we have to know that the play-by-play announcer and color commentator are not going anywhere, and they’re actually helpful. They allow us to make sense of the world around us and interpret our surroundings. Now, they’re not always right, but much like today’s generative AI and large language models, they provide some pretty good insight even though they occasionally push wrong narratives. We need to know that they are fallible and learn to leverage them effectively.

The more wisdom, knowledge, and experience we gain, along with practice we have assessing and critiquing our inner narrator, the more accurate it will become. Many people are great at reading others. It’s not luck. They’ve harnessed the power of the inner narrator.

Challenge Unhelpful Narratives. Second, when we hear that inner negative voice trying to drag us down, we need to challenge it. My wife uses a phrase with our kids about a three-part test to see if we should have said something: Was it kind, true, and helpful? Our words should be all three if we’re going to say them out loud. This is also a great test for our inner narrator. If it is saying things that aren’t kind, true, or helpful, we need to challenge it.

Just like addressing hurtful words from our kids or inappropriate phrases at work, we should be stopping our inner narrator dead in its tracks when we hear something unhelpful. Push back when it sounds like a burden rather than encouragement.  

Strengthen a Healthier Internal Voice. Finally, we should be working to improve our inner narrator to both speak the truth and help us improve in our situations. Often, we speak to ourselves worse than we would speak to others. It’s almost easier to forgive someone else for messing up the same thing we did. A healthy inner voice encourages us much like we try to lift others up in times of struggle.

The best inner narrators are like home team sports announcers. While they’re objective in their play-by-play, they also root for their team. There is a positive bias that wants to see a win. Our inner narrator should be biased in the same way.

Take Control of that Voice

Tom Brady learned to control his inner narrator. While he was drafted well beyond where he wanted to be, he was aware of the voice inside his head and understood it needed to state objective truth. He quickly challenged unhelpful narratives that he was less than and worked hard to prove his worth. Finally, he learned to strengthen his voice to raise him to the level he wanted to achieve.

Our inner narrator does not have to have a negative influence on our lives. We can use it to help us understand our surroundings and speak life instead of strife. The best of us control the inner narrator and use it to advance our agenda and inspire us to improve.  

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

July 29, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

We all experience failure. What matters is not that we failed, but how we recover and learn from our experiences. We must learn to treat failure not as a defining moment, but as one step in a long arc of growth.

I recall being a young infantry platoon leader at the tip of the spear for a battalion attack on a small town. In this exercise in the dark forest of Fort Bragg, a few key leaders and I conducted a recon at 0200 to scout out possible avenues of approach.

Seeing the buildings ahead in the shadows, we slowly snuck forward doing our utmost to avoid detection. That’s when it happened. My foot snagged a tripwire, launching a flare straight up and illuminating our position. It was bright as day, and I was the reason we gave away our location.

My heart sank. I felt terrible. I knew I was the reason we’d all be killed in this exercise. But, in this failure, I experienced one of my most powerful lessons as an infantry officer about stealth and used it in the future to become a much better leader.

No One Is Immune

My story is just one example, but even history’s greatest leaders have faced moments of failure. As told by Mike Posey a few weeks ago in The Maximum Standard article, Forged in Failure, American legends from George Washington to Michael Jordan struggled and learned from their shortcoming. History is full of examples of our greatest heroes, from presidents to athletes to experts, facing failure before finding success.

John Maxwell, a renowned leadership expert, tells of when he launched a church in the early 1970s. He was forced to step down after seeing no growth, yet this experience shaped his future success.

Another highly admired leadership author Stephen Covey, best known for writing The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, published a similar book 19 years before Habits was published. Although Spiritual Roots of Human Behavior had many of the same concepts, it never took off and was considered a failure. But it did help him launch his future writing career.

Disappointment is part of life, but often we can only see it from our current lens of struggle. A better way of looking at our shortcomings is to use a longer view of time.

Plan, Absorb, Recover, Adapt

Igor Linkov, an expert in risk prevention, talks about resilience from an organizational perspective that can also be used in our own lives. He states that resilience is the four-step process of making and following a plan, absorbing inevitable disruption, recovering from that challenge, and adapting to the new knowledge base.

Plan

First, we should all be on a plan. When I asked my dad once if I was on the right track for something, he told me, “It doesn’t matter, as long as you have a plan.” Short-term and long-term planning is essential to achieve goals, stay on track, and advance our agendas with an eye on progress. As the Cheshire Cat said, “If you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there.”

Before I hit my tripwire in the middle of the night, I was on a great short- and long-term plan. In the moment, it was a recon of the enemy position, and a follow-on attack the next day. Over time, it was becoming a better leader and officer beginning a decades-long military career. I was on a good path and tracking towards my goals.

We all need direction, and a plan that helps us achieve our goals. During this plan, disruption is inevitable, and we should use that as motivation to learn from mistakes and get better over time.

Absorb

Disruption is going to happen. Period. No one has gone through life without failing. Linkov argues that when we encounter disruption, our individual performance is going to drop. We’re going to feel terrible and want to curl up in the fetal position. But no matter how catastrophic the failure was, we have to internalize the situation, take some deep breaths, and stabilize the failure.

For my tripwire, in that moment I was devastated. I potentially gave away our position for a large-scale morning assault. We hit the ground hard and lay there for what seemed like an hour, absorbing the incident. We took stock of our new situation, regulated our emotions, and regained control.

Bad stuff is going to happen to us. Like a prize fighter in boxing, we must absorb the blows of life. Yes, we’re going to feel terrible. We must quickly put that behind us. There are things to do.

Recover

Now that we’re past the initial shock, we must regroup and adjust to the surrounding environment. Conditions have changed. Our job is to adapt to them. We apologize for any incident, conduct damage control, and adjust our plans if needed. Life continues in the face of disaster. So, we have to quickly get our minds right, not just for our sake, but for those around us.

After retreating from the tripwire event, we realized the simulated enemy was expecting us on this route but was sleeping during the flare. We quickly adjusted our plan and conducted a recon along an alternate entry, carefully looking for other early-warning devices. This new route was a better option and the one we used to successfully attack the next morning.

Failure generates behavioral change, and not in a bad way. We often learn the most from our least enjoyable experiences. Embrace the event and learn from what happened.

Adapt

Now that our failure is behind us, it’s time to deeply reflect on what we’ve learned. These incidents should help us become better in the future and be an ever-present reminder in the back of our heads to not make the same mistake. A lesson learned is only learned if we don’t repeat it. Our job is not to have the same incident twice.

As for me, this shaped my thought process across decades of leadership. Tactically, I became far more deliberate with every step, a habit that served me well in a later combat deployment to Afghanistan. But in everyday life, it’s a constant reminder of the tripwires out there that can catch us off guard if we’re not paying attention, and to remain constantly vigilant.

Everyone makes mistakes and that’s okay. But making the same mistake twice when we know better is unacceptable.

Recovering from Disruption

Failure seems devastating in the moment. The world seems like it’s going to end, and there’s no silver lining. However, history has shown that just about every one of our leadership heroes has experienced significant failure, absorbed that blow, recovered from the incident, and went on to be successful.

Failure must be looked at through the lens of history and not in the moment. If we handle it right, those lessons we learn will serve us well throughout a successful lifetime, and we’ll avoid the same tripwires in the future. Our mistakes don’t define us, but when we take the long view, they shape us into the leaders we are meant to become.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

July 22, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

We have a four-part saying in our house when someone leaves for school or work: “Go gettem’ Tiger! You’re a winner! Do your best! Make the Messenger’s proud!” The third statement is the one that always gets me. We’re called to try our hardest in the task at hand. If something is worth doing, we should do it well.

It’s really one of the main questions in life. Did we do our best? Jimmy Carter learned this lesson early in a Navy interview to work hard, be honest, and prioritize our life properly.

The Nuclear Question

Upon graduation from the United States Naval Academy, Midshipman Jimmy Carter was looking to join the nuclear submarine community. To get in, he had to pass a challenging interview with Admiral Hyman G. Rickover, known as the “Father of the Nuclear Navy.”  

Rickover possessed incredibly high standards and relentless drive in his 63 total years in the military, more than anyone else. He was instrumental in developing the modern-day Navy’s nuclear propulsion and established his legacy through zero nuclear reactor incidents that remains to this day. Rickover was the definition of high standards and excellence, and one he expected from his team.

Jimmy Carter sat for the interview which lasted over two hours. They discussed a variety of subjects with Rickover allowing Carter to guide the conversation. Carter chose his most familiar topics such as seamanship, music, tactics, and gunnery, and the Admiral asked him questions that challenged his knowledge. Each time, Carter realized that his depth of knowledge in each subject was shallow.

Rickover then asked where Carter placed in the Naval Academy. He proudly responded that he was #59 out of 820 midshipmen. After what must have seemed like an eternal pause, Rickover asked, “But did you do your best?”

As told by Carter in his autobiography, Why Not the Best?, “I started to say, ‘Yes sir,’ but I remembered who this was and recalled several times I could have learned more about our allies, our enemies, weapons, strategy, and so forth. I was just human. I finally gulped and said, ‘No sir, I didn’t always do my best.’ He looked at me for a long time and then turned his chair around to end the interview. He asked one final question, which I have never been able to forget—or to answer. He said, ‘Why not?’ I sat there for a while, shaken, and then slowly left the room.”

For Carter, this was a turning point in his life. He understood from the interview that in order to be the best, we have to do our best. Carter understood this to mean that whatever the task, small or large, his charge was to carry it out to the best of his ability. The three lessons to take away from this story, although only one of them has to do with giving our all-out effort, are to work hard, be honest, and know what’s important in life.

Work Hard

One of the hardest working presidents we’ve had was Teddy Roosevelt. He overcame numerous obstacles in life to include a childhood disease, the death of his wife and mom on the same day, multiple political races, austere hunting trips, the assault on San Juan Hill, and governing New York. Each event required hard work and perseverance to get things done.

Roosevelt knew that life would be a challenge and one that required us to rise to the occasion. In his autobiography, he wrote, “We need the positive virtues of resolution, of courage, of indomitable will, of power to do without shrinking the rough work that must always be done.” Life will not hand us success. We have to earn it. Carter realized this same epiphany through the interview that he carried with him his whole life. Hard work outworks talent when talent isn’t working hard enough.

Be Honest

Teddy Roosevelt was riding near his ranch when his cowhand found a neighbor’s steer and prepared to brand it. Roosevelt stopped him, alerting the rancher that it was someone else’s animal. The cowboy insisted it was fine, because they were branding it with the Roosevelt symbol. Indignant, Roosevelt responded for the man to “…get back to the ranch and get out. I don’t need you anymore. A man who will steal for me will steal from me.”

He knew the power of integrity, and whether operating at the highest levels of government or running a peanut farm like Jimmy Carter, we have to be without a hint of impropriety. Carter could have lied in the interview and said he did his best. Most of us probably would have done the same. But as a man of integrity, he took time to assess his effort and honestly stated that he could have given more. This could have cost him the interview, but he preserved his reputation.

Know What’s Important

Finally, we must know what’s important in life. As a 23-year-old New York State Assemblyman, Roosevelt left politics after the death of his wife and mother. He moved to North Dakota on a ranch for two years, knowing that he needed mental separation from the crisis in his life. Roosevelt, who was no stranger to going all out, knew that “Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”

We sometimes need to say no. Often we’re convinced to try hard in a certain area of our life, but perhaps that’s not what’s best for us. A promotion is great, but not when it creates unhealthy stress. Or making money is good, but not at the expense of 80 hours per week of sales calls. Success for Carter may have been #1 in his class, but at what cost? Perhaps he wouldn’t have made such incredible relationships with his peers.

What is Our Best?

The story of Jimmy Carter is a compelling tale about the value of giving our best in every endeavor. This is an important quality, but Carter is also teaching us to value honesty and know what’s important. After his presidency, Carter was an activist in diplomatic peace negotiations, writer of 30 novels to include children’s books, advocate for Habitat for Humanity, and active Sunday school teacher. He put his efforts in the right places which required honesty and service.

Carter ended up getting that job. He joined the nuclear Navy and did his best, led a life of honesty, and focused on that was important. Much like the Carters, “Do your best” is more than a line we say in our house. It’s a way of life worth choosing every day. Jimmy Carter showed us that effort, honesty, and clarity of purpose are more powerful than any resume line or award.

The world doesn’t need more perfect people. It needs more people doing their best for the right reasons.

So go gettem’ Tiger! You’re a winner! Do your best! And make your tribe proud!

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

July 15, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

There is a constant pull in life for us to take the easy path. All of us are susceptible to dangerous and attractive shortcuts that pull us down into the muck and mire of forgoing hard work and choosing comfort over distress. Yet, it’s often the ones who constantly fight to ignore the vices of life who find the joy of living lies through everyday struggles.

Ultimately, this choice is between easy and hard and often determines our level of growth.

The Cheating Scandal(s)

America sends our best and brightest high school graduates to military service academies every year to elevate our already amazing young men and women into our greatest officers. Yet even our top candidates are not without temptation.

This year, nearly 100 Air Force Academy cadets were investigated for cheating on a weekly knowledge test, with dozens admitting guilt and punished for this brazen act. Somewhere in the school year, our virtuous cadets were tempted somehow to take the easy road… and cheat.

Sadly, this is not shocking in military academies even though cadets are taught not to “lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.” In March of 2020, 72 first-year West Point cadets cheated on a calculus exam. The following year, up to 105 midshipmen at the Naval Academy cheated on a physics exam with 18 of them expelled by the institution.

It’s so easy to accept answers when they are placed in front of us, shortcut a seldom used one-way road to save time, or use ChatGPT when we should be using our own brains. But it doesn’t have to be.  

The Choice of Hercules

Xenophon, a student of Socrates, recounts one of these difficult choices we all face in his book Memorabilia. In it, he describes Socrates telling the story of Hercules and his difficult choice.

It begins with Hercules standing at a fork in the road, trying to determine which path to take. Suddenly, two goddesses appear. One is a seductive and attractive woman named Kakia or happiness. This term to the Greek was considered eudaimonia or flourishing and living well. She represents vice and all the bad qualities we don’t want in ourselves.

Kakai butts in front of the other woman and promises Hercules a path of luxury, easy living, and a flourishing life off the backs of others. It was the shortcut to happiness, and all Hercules had to do was accept her offer and proceed to paradise.

The other woman patiently listened and spoke when it was her turn. She was plain-dressed and quiet, although naturally beautiful. Called Areté, meaning excellence, virtue, or the fulfillment of potential, her message was completely different. If Hercules followed her, he would live a life of hardship, challenge, and effort.

Not only that, his path would be more dangerous than he could imagine. He would be tested time after time, encounter loss, and suffer greatly. She states, “Nothing that is really good and admirable is granted by the gods without some effort and application.”

However, Hercules was offered the opportunity to encounter each challenge with the four stoic virtues of courage, self-discipline, wisdom, and justice. Instead of being handed happiness by Kakai, he would earn it through honor and effort.   

Of course, our hero chooses virtue over vice. He looks at Areté and proclaims, “I will take thee as my guide. The road of Labour and honest effort shall be mine.” And as promised, his road became hard.

Amidst his journey, he faced the 12 Labors of Hercules among other trials. These included tasks such as slaying the Lernaean Hydra, capturing the Erymanthian Boar, and stealing the Girdle of Hippolyta. One of his labors was in conquering the mundane, in this case, cleaning the Augean Stables. He was charged with getting rid of the dung of 3,000 oxen that had not been cleaned for 30 years. Think about that next time we don’t want to clean the toilet.

In each task, these labors challenged Hercules to use his brains, brawn, perseverance, and stoic virtues to overcome seemingly impossible challenges. After completing them, he tragically dies at the hands of his unwitting bride who mistakenly gave him a tunic dipped in the blood of the centaur Nessus, thinking it was a love potion. It was actually the blood of the Hydra killing Hercules.

However, Zeus halted Hercules’ death by sending a lightning bolt and bringing Hercules to live in Olympus with the Gods. Through Hercules’ struggles and sufferings, Zeus rewarded him with fame and immortality, more than he could have received through Kakai and vice.

We Learn through the Journey

There are no good shortcuts to life that help us improve as a person, yet we will constantly be tempted to take the easy road. The students who cheated on military academy exams may have passed the test if they weren’t caught, but they wouldn’t have gotten any smarter. ChatGPT could write this article for me, but then I wouldn’t be able to easily talk about it and remember it later. And Hercules could have listened to Kakai, but he would have been lost in mythology with no one wanting to write a story about him.

We all have a choice to take the easy or hard path. There are many tools to make our lives easier such as large language models, YouTube book summaries instead of reading, and weight loss drug supplements as opposed to working out and eating right. All three of these things will get us where we need to go, but it won’t improve our abilities to get there on our own.

Like Hercules, we need to write that paper, read that book, and hit the gym. When we choose virtue over vice and tackle the hard things in life, we will reap the reward of doing those hard things. It may not always be easy, but it is necessary to take the path less traveled.   

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

July 10, 2025

by Michael M. Posey

“I’ve missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I’ve been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.”

—Michael Jordan, six-time NBA champion

There is something uniquely American about the concept of failure. While our nation has seen unparalleled greatness and influence on the world’s stage throughout its history, upon closer examination, we can see that this success is forged in failure.

Nevertheless, America does not choose to wallow in self-pity after a setback. Instead, like Rocky Balboa, we absorb hit after hit, knowing that a temporary failure is not the end of the story. We can see from our foremost founding father, Westward expanders, and space-bound explorers that we possess the ability to write our story even after catastrophe. By using the three steps of reframing, reflecting, and re-engaging, our nation and ourselves can recover from failure and snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Muddy Meadow: Washington’s First Defeat

On July 3, 1754, a 22-year-old George Washington stood in the rain at Fort Necessity in what is now southwest Pennsylvania. Surrounded by French and Native forces, he surrendered after a poorly constructed fort and tactical missteps left his men vulnerable. Washington not only surrendered in battle but also unwittingly signed a document written in French, admitting to the assassination of a French officer.

However, Washington did not let this failure define him. Instead, he reframed it as a formative experience. He studied British military practices, learned the importance of logistics and terrain, and trained his troops through discipline and preparation. These lessons would shape his leadership during the Revolutionary War, where, despite enduring defeats, Washington adapted, learned, and ultimately led the Continental Army to victory and an independent United States of America.

Misguided Mission: Lewis and Clark 

When Meriwether Lewis and William Clark embarked across uncharted territory in 1804, they sought a water route to the Pacific Ocean—a non-existent Northwest Passage. They realized they would not accomplish their original mission when they arrived at the Continental Divide. Yet, the tenacious Lewis and Clark did not give up; they adapted and continued west.

The duo, along with 33 volunteer members of their corps and Indigenous guides, endured harsh winters, illness, and near starvation, which plagued their journey across the Bitterroot Mountains. They shifted their focus from finding a waterway to improving the natural sciences and cartography. The explorers documented over 300 new species of plants and animals and mapped vast regions of the American West. Though they failed in their original goal, their expedition became a celebrated landmark in American exploration—an example of how Americans can turn missteps into momentum.

Mishap Before the Moon: NASA’s Tragedy and Triumph

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy charged NASA to put a man on the moon and safely return to Earth by the end of the Century. NASA launched ahead, but in 1967, a cabin fire during the pre-launch test for NASA’s Apollo 1 killed three American astronauts, exposing serious flaws in spacecraft design, materials, and safety protocols. This could have been a massive setback for NASA, the United States space race, and the Cold War.

However, NASA studied the tragedy and re-engaged the mission to the moon with sweeping reforms. Engineers redesigned the command module, implemented rigorous safety standards, and fostered a culture of accountability. Two years later, Apollo 11 landed the first humans on the Moon, fulfilling President Kennedy’s vision and fostering national unity. It was a quintessentially American moment: rising from failure with innovation, grit, and a relentless drive to improve.

The Science of Learning from Failure: Reframe, Reflect, Re-engage

We all face setbacks—whether in leadership, learning, or life. I feel embarrassed to admit the times I have come up short. Nevertheless, our egos can be our enemies. We cannot let failure bring us down; instead, we must leverage it to improve. Sylvester Stallone, playing the fictitious boxer Rocky Balboa, sums it up nicely:

“But it ain’t about how hard ya hit. It’s about how hard you can get hit and keep moving forward. How much you can take and keep moving forward. That’s how winning is done!”

Washington, Lewis and Clark, NASA, Rocky, and even NBA legend Michael Jordan faced moments when they got hit and could have let failure overwhelm them. Instead, they treated failure not as a verdict, but as feedback.

This mindset aligns with Ryan Carlson and Ayelet Fishbach’s 2024 research which identifies two psychological barriers to learning from failure: emotional discomfort (e.g., shame, frustration) and cognitive disengagement (e.g., seeing failure as uninformative). We can overcome those barriers when we reframe, reflect, and re-engage:

Reframe: Change our perspective to view failure as adjusting feedback rather than a threat. View failure as a source of information, not identity. Change the meaning of failure to combat emotional discomfort.

Reflect: Focus on improving our process rather than the bad outcome. Ask what the failure reveals about our strategy or assumptions. Use failure as an opportunity to engage cognitively and learn from the experience.

Re-engage: Make progress toward the goal, despite our setbacks. Stay committed to our goal with a revised approach.

When George Washington stood in that muddy meadow, he did not know that moment of defeat would shape the leader he would become. He was not born with the tools to lead a revolution—he developed them by reframing failure, reflecting on his missteps, and re-engaging with renewed purpose. In that way, he embodied something deeply American: the belief that our failures do not define us. Instead, we are defined by how we rise when life knocks us down.

Mike Posey is an active-duty Naval Flight Officer in the E-2C Hawkeye and the F/A-18F Super Hornet. He is a father of two phenomenal children and the husband of a fantastic woman. He holds business degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Florida and is pursuing a doctorate in education from Penn State University.

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

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July 8, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

We’ve all gotten vague directions from a boss. With the good ones, it’s easy. We ask, clarify, and move out. But with others, we hesitate. Let’s be honest. Sometimes, we’re scared to ask.

Leaders need to cultivate an environment of approachability with their people. Those who are personable, open to questions, and team players create an environment where others feel free to question their boss’s intent without fear of repercussion. Those who aren’t can cripple an organization.

I once delivered news about a senior leader’s surprise visit to a person of significance and how we would support them. They responded with gruff, direct guidance that was contrary to much of what I knew about the visit. They said it with such confidence, and when I asked a follow-up question, they were dismissive and curt, immediately killing the conversation.

The input sent me down a completely different path, wasting time and energy trying to verify the false information they told me. But because of their confidence in saying it, I checked, double-checked, and triple-checked before I went back to tell them we were sticking to the original plan. What a waste of time!

Bosses who can’t be approached to clarify their intent can create dangerous environments. This next story about the FBI is a perfect metaphor for what happens when fear replaces clarity in an organization.

Watching the Borders

When J. Edgar Hoover was the Director of the FBI, he ruled with an iron fist. His subordinates rarely questioned even his most suspect orders, and he saw the Bureau as an extension of himself. Often, he would ask employees to run his personal errands.

At one point, he ordered that all memorandums have specific width margins. He wanted to write his comments on the side in response to the authors.

Once, handed a memo for review, he scribbled on the side, “Watch the borders.” His staff, not understanding what this meant, furiously polled the departments asking if there was something happening on the Mexican or Canadian borders that they should know about. In a popularized version of this story, and likely apocryphal, his staff took this as a directive to mobilize the U.S. Army to the Mexican border and began preparations for troop movement.

It turns out, Hoover wasn’t looking for border protection. He was upset that the memo margin spacing was violating his order, yet his people were afraid to ask. This cautionary tale demonstrates the danger in an unapproachable boss and a staff’s reluctance to seek clarification from confusing directions.

The Counterproductive Leader Deters Questions

People can be unapproachable for a number of reasons. The Army defines many of these reasons in its Army Leadership and the Profession. There are five counterproductive leadership behaviors below looked at with a lens on preventing subordinates from approaching their boss.

1. Abusive behaviors. When leaders are mean, cruel, and degrading to others, they deter people from approaching them. They use words to belittle people, look down upon them, or mock them for asking what they consider stupid questions. Ironically, it is often their fault for not issuing clear guidance.
2. Self-serving behaviors. This is seen when leaders put their own needs above the collective mission. They use arrogance and directive leadership to get things done right and fast, without care for others. They want to look good and feel threatened if questioned.
3. Erratic behaviors. We all need predictability in bosses. We should know how they will react to good news and bad news while being able to reliably guess their emotional response. When leaders lose tempers, shut down, or are insecure, it lessens our desire to want to approach them.
4. Leadership incompetence. When the boss demonstrates a history of poor decision-making skills, it’s often dangerous to ask for clarification because we don’t want to know what they’ll direct next. Some know they have shortfalls and some don’t, but either scenario deters approachability.
5. Corrupt behaviors. These actions are in violation of standards and regulations where leaders are out there doing their own thing. They make it difficult to approach them when their actions are illegal, unethical, or immoral, and it’s less risk to determine their guidance without them.

When leaders exhibit these behaviors, it makes us wary of asking follow-up questions. We perceive the least likely response as receiving enhanced understanding of their intent, but the most likely response will be getting our head chewed off. This causes us to think twice before asking.

From this warning, we must prevent ourselves from being a boss that deters people asking for clarification.

The Keys to Approachability

The three simple things we can do to encourage other people to approach us are to be personable, open to questions and feedback, and team-focused.

Personable. First and foremost, we need to like the people around us. Simply by engaging others, asking about their day, knowing their families, and striking up conversations, we develop relationships.

Leader-member Exchange Theory is all about this. It’s where we don’t treat everyone equally, but form multiple, unique relationships with each person to improve how we interact with others. Getting to know our people is the cornerstone to being approachable.

Open to Questions and Feedback. Second and as discussed last week, small questions lead to big opportunities to grow trust. When someone asks for clarification, it’s because they want to understand how they can help more.

No matter how big and complex, or small and simple the question, answer it quickly, completely, and with a smile. And when someone wants to give feedback, always accept it and reflect on it, following up if needed.

Team Player. Finally, everyone around us knows if we’re a team player or not. They know by the things we say, what we do, and where we focus our time. If we exude that we’re here for others and the mission, and not ourselves, people will follow us anywhere.

There are many ways to be a team player, but my humble recommendation is to lift others up as much as possible. Recognize their successes. Applaud their work. Thank them continuously. Team players focus on other people and the mission, and not themselves.

Are People Knocking at Our Door?

Here’s the litmus test of being approachable: people line up at our door, not out of fear but out of trust. We need to be the kind of leader people seek out, not avoid.

Don’t get caught in the counterproductive leadership trap. Instead, encourage people to come and find help through an approachable leader who is personable, willing to accept feedback and questions, and is a team player.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

July 1, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

We are in positions of leadership to plan appropriately and solve problems. This charge is often easy to forget when the volume of small questions becomes overwhelming and all land in our lap. Multiple people asking the same questions can get frustrating, but it’s important to welcome those questions instead of expecting others to know every detail of what we’re thinking.

By listening to and answering these questions as they arise, we can both build confidence in our leadership and show people they’re valued. That lesson hit home for me just last week when I found myself navigating this very issue on two fronts: one leading an event at work and one volunteering at church.

I was in oversight of a large project at the Army War College. We, and especially the fantastic planners of the event, worked tirelessly for ten months to ensure smooth execution—and it was. But like every complicated project, there were countless questions from people that we’ve already answered through many emails, planning events, shared drive documents, and conversations.

Yet, the questions kept coming and were often asked while interrupting important events. It was easy to get frustrated by these distractions, and honestly, I was a little bit.

At the same time, I was volunteering at a Church Vacation Bible School each night. On the second day, I found myself doing the same thing that frustrated me with my people. I asked the leader, Elizabeth, a question that she already put out in an email I hadn’t read. After she cheerily answered it, I mentioned I’m running a project at work where people ask me little questions all the time, and I know her frustration.

Without missing a beat, she said: “Oh no, it’s great! That’s what I’m here for.” What a gracious response to someone in the organization. This simple, cheerful example of leadership helped me reframe my attitude towards questions at work the rest of the week.

Welcome the Problems

As Colin Powell famously said, “The day the soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you stopped leading them. They have either lost confidence that you can help them or concluded that you do not care. Either case is a failure of leadership.”

His words ring true across every stage of life. I saw this as a child and again as a teenager. At the first sign of blood, I remember running to my parents for help, knowing they would stop everything to assist. I knew they could help, they wanted to help, and they would help in the future.

As a teenager, I remember asking a baseball coach to help with a small scrape. He dismissed it immediately and told me to get back on the field. I didn’t come back to him for help the next time.

There’s a quote often attributed to Gandhi: “Your beliefs become your thoughts, Your thoughts become your words, Your words become your actions, Your actions become your habits, Your habits become your values, Your values become your destiny.” Every time we help someone in thoughts, words, and deeds, it becomes habit to them, and they know we’re on their side. Each question matters. Each answer matters more.

Building Confidence

The more patience we have in answering questions and fixing small things, the more confidence our people have in us. Four ways to do this are to show appreciation, follow through, eliminate judgment, and be decisive.

First, we should always default to gratitude. People show up to work every day looking to do a good job. People asking us questions is usually about them trying to understand and be better. Our church director did such a great job smiling and thanking people when they asked, including me.

Second, follow through on any commitments. A trusted leader is a credible leader. If we say we’re going to send an email, fix something, or figure out the answer, that should be the first thing on our to-do list.

Third, it’s our job to remove all judgement from the question. Sure, they may have all the information buried in their email, and we told them four times already, but it’s okay to tell them again and get them moving.

Finally, make a decision. When asked, it’s important to tell them the answer and have them execute. If we don’t know, quickly find out. We must quickly solve problems and launch people out to do great things, while we move to the next event.

Building Care

Once we’ve built confidence, the next layer is care. The second part of Colin Powell’s quote is to ensure they know how valued they are. We do that by showing empathy, being approachable, and recognizing contributions.

First, people ask questions because they’re confused. This is natural in big events—there’s a lot going on! We need to acknowledge that we may not have communicated clearly or put the information out. A little empathy goes a long way.

Second, as we’re moving around the event to check progress, it’s important to reach out to people, ask how things are going, and ask if they have any questions. We need leadership that wants to help and is looking to decrease ambiguity.

Lastly, appreciation is a superpower. The more we use those two coveted words, “thank you,” the more people feel valued and recognized. We’re not the only person working hard out there. It takes all of us rowing in the same direction. Our job is to appreciate the effort.

Accountability Matters

As a side note, we also need people to be prepared, study their profession, and come ready to execute. Little things will always slip, and that’s okay. But it’s also important that we hold people accountable when they’re simply not prepared.

We can create a shared sense of accountability by laying out clear expectations from the beginning, obtaining commitment in those tasks, and holding people to the standard. This creates an environment of shared goals and team dedication.

Bring Us Your Problems

When confidence, care, and accountability are in balance, problems become progress. When people are asking questions, it shows they care. We shouldn’t be frustrated like I was but instead emulate the Vacation Bible School Director who welcomed questions and happily solved problems.

Next time we get asked a question, let’s not consider it an interruption, but an opportunity to make things better.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

June 24, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

I asked myself, “How many times in my 25-year career have I not felt psychologically safe?” The answer was uncomfortably high.

Last week, we discussed the question: “Boss, what do you want me to do?” I posted this on LinkedIn, and the discussion was amazing! There were over 150 comments with some proponents and some opponents but all great feedback.

What I got out of the comments section was that people are more willing to take initiative when they feel supported by their boss. This caused me to revisit an article I wrote here in 2023 and ask, “Am I creating a culture where people feel safe to make things happen on their own?”

In other words, we need to create an environment of psychological safety with our people. Full stop.

Psychological Safety

Psychological safety is the shared belief that anyone can speak up without a risk of public humiliation or punishment. It’s when an employee feels they can take action without fearing a boss is going to crush them on the backside. It’s the confidence that a leader will act in a way that is favorable to both individuals and the group.

But it’s more than just the leader-member exchange. Psychological safety is a feeling where every participant trusts each other to the point where they’re comfortable bringing forth ideas and dialogue to the group. It’s not enough to build trust with the leader but to have it with everyone in the room.

This is sometimes challenging because two factors that must both be true:

1. Our leaders, peers, and subordinates in an organization must be accepting of any type of dialogue or idea.
2. We must feel safe enough to express those ideas.

Psychological Safety Relates to Performance Standards

I ran across the above sketchnote from Professor Amy Edmondson, Novartis Professor of Leadership and Management at the Harvard Business School. Bottom line: leaders set the tone.

I’ve thought about this often in my occupation but never conceptualized it. In my last assignment influencing thousands of people, I loved it so much I pulled this diagram out with all the senior leaders and discussed it.

The x-axis is a scale of performance standards ranging from low to high. I argue that leaders must always set the bar high and push the organization to do more than they can think or imagine. In fact, it’s the mantra of this website – The Maximum Standard.

The y-axis represents the psychological safety our team may feel, high or low, in the organization. It’s something we control.

Putting these two factors together, the matrix becomes compelling.

Low Standards and Low Psychological Safety = Apathy. In most cases, our people come in to work every day wanting to do a good job. Yet, if we set low standards and they simultaneously believe we’ll rip their head off if they do or say something they don’t like, they’re not motivated to perform. They remain silent to protect themselves from the boss.

High Standards and Low Psychological Safety – Anxiety. High standards are great. But an unsafe environment just stresses everyone out. If we’re driving our people to do more while creating an environment where they’re fearful of bringing new ideas to the table, we’re creating anxiety in our team. This may result in paralysis or at the very least frustrated employees.

Low Performance Standards and High Psychological Safety = Comfort. In this scenario, the standards are again low, but trust and safety are high. This is good and bad. Good because people like working there. Bad because there are no major gains happening. We’ll get by but not move the ball forward.

High Performance Standards and High Psychological Safety = Learning. This is where we must aim to be. Our people are held to the highest standards while being comfortable speaking up, talking about new ideas, and making progress by trying and failing.

The Learning Zone

Personally, I want to live in the Learning Zone. I want to be challenged every day by others and myself but have my mistakes overwritten by the boss. As a leader, I want to create an environment where my people are trying new things and learning everyday—not afraid to fail but willing to fail for the sake of seeking breakthroughs.

Here, people feel empowered to speak up, share concerns, and ask questions knowing they’ll be heard. They’re comfortable saying, “I don’t know,” and then go seek out the answers. They admit mistakes and learn from them, sharing lessons with the group. Finally, they live in a state where they’re not hindered by interpersonal fear and a cooperative culture thrives.

It’s About the Discussion

So how do we get there?  We have to talk about it. I recommend taking this sketchnote and having a dialogue with your leadership team. Ask where everyone is on the chart. Share thoughts about it. Talk about where you have been, where you are, and where you want to go. And let them frame the conversation while you listen.

Then let them have the same conversation with their leadership team.

This is often about cultural shift, and it won’t happen by itself. Groups typically take on the personalities of their leadership. We have to start a strategy to assess psychological safety and then cultivate it to filter down to all levels in our organization. Create safe spaces and challenge our team!

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

June 17, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

Too many professionals make the same mistake: they wait to be told what to do. If we ever find ourselves asking, “What do you need me to do, boss?” Stop. That question signals hesitation, not leadership.

I once had an incredibly competent, smart, and reliable person working for me. They would receive tasks, knock them out quickly, and fade into the background for a while. Once they became a little bored or had a face-to-face with me, they would default to their go-to phrase of asking what to do next, thinking they were being helpful and supportive.

But they weren’t. This person did not think for themselves and tackle problems until being asked. After realizing the pattern of being unable to identify and solve problems on their own, I counseled them with, “What I really need you to do is: know what to do without asking, and go do it.”

It’s our job to anticipate organizational needs and solve them before the boss even knows. If we want to be indispensable, do four things: read the terrain, understand intent, act early, and accept risk. General John Buford did it at Gettysburg. We can do it at work.

Take the High Ground

In June 1863, Confederate General Robert E. Lee led the Army of Northern Virginia into southern Pennsylvania, searching for a decisive battle on Union soil. As Union forces scrambled to respond, Brigadier General John Buford arrived in Gettysburg on June 30th with his cavalry. He had no specific orders telling him what to do.

But Buford didn’t wait for instructions. He surveyed the landscape and immediately saw what mattered most: the high ground. The ridges west and south of Gettysburg offered the perfect defensive positions, essential for holding back Lee’s advancing army. He also knew that Union reinforcements would be coming from the south, while the Confederate forces would approach from the west.

Without asking for guidance or permission, Buford acted. He pushed his cavalry forward to delay the Confederates, buying time for Union infantry to arrive and prepare defensive positions on the high ground.

His judgment proved decisive. On July 1st, Confederate troops ran into Buford’s screen and were delayed for hours by disciplined Union cavalry. That precious time allowed the main Union force to occupy Cemetery Hill and Culp’s Hill, terrain critical to the Union’s success over the next three days of battle.

Because Buford acted early, read the situation, and accepted the risk of committing his forces without orders, the Union army gained a crucial advantage that shaped the outcome of the entire battle.

Four Ways to Be Proactive

Buford didn’t seek input from his boss or wait for directions. He read the terrain, understood the boss’s intent, acted early, and accepted risk. 

Read the Terrain. We need to be the ones who understand what’s happening in more than just our own little world. We must be able to read a room, know what is working and what isn’t, and see where we can help.

We do that by being engaged. If there’s a meeting that may not apply to us, ask to attend. Learn about other departments. Shadow our buddy in another section. Find out how our role affects everything else.

Buford knew how to read the terrain. He assessed where the bad guys were, and good guys were along with how long it would take them to arrive. He saw the high ground as decisive and started thinking about how it would help achieve organizational outcomes.

By being knowledgeable about the big picture, we are an enabler to the boss.

Understand the Boss’s Intent. The military talks about knowing commander’s intent two levels up. It’s important to know what our boss and boss’s boss are trying to achieve. This intent can be thought of as the “why” behind what we’re doing.

If we know “why” the organization needs something to happen, then we can more easily determine “what” to do and “how” to do it in the absence of orders. When we know what the bosses are trying to accomplish, then we can adjust as the situation changes.

Buford did not know Gettysburg was going to be the decisive battle of the Civil War. However, he did know that George Meade’s goals as the Commander of the Army of the Potomac were to stop the Confederate advance above the Mason-Dixon Line and destroy its forces. Buford made decisions from knowing commander’s intent.

We must know organizational goals which allow us to act accordingly in the absence of orders.

Act Early. At the 2025 Army War College graduation, keynote speaker General James Rainey said that colonels always operate from the offense. This charge applies far beyond colonels to proactive employees. They need to know their limits of authority, and act aggressively within those limits.

We all want subordinates who take the initiative, therefore we should be subordinates who take the initiative. Solve problems, execute decisively, and make things happen. The best ones are solving conflict long before the boss even knows about them.

When Buford arrived at Gettysburg, he didn’t wait to receive guidance. He acted early to shape the battlefield by delaying the Confederates and choosing the defensive positions that would last most of the battle. When his boss finally arrived, conditions were already set for success.

It’s our job to make decisions in the absence of guidance, solving problems on the spot.

Accept Risk. It’s easy to ask for permission for everything. That keeps us out of trouble. But it’s not productive to ask every time, and frankly, it’s annoying for the boss. We all have levels of delegated authority and risk that we’re allowed to take. Use every ounce of that!

Remember, it’s only prudent to accept risk on the boss’ behalf when we understand the conditions and know their intent. These two benchmarks are a guide for placing a decisional risk onto our shoulders. We can take risks as long as we’re acting in good faith and understand our limits, while keeping the boss informed.

Buford assumed all the risk by setting conditions for a massive battle on the field of his choosing. Upon arrival, he immediately sent word to his boss over 10 miles away of his actions. When Major General John Reynolds arrived, he reportedly said, “Good ground… the Devil’s to pay.” In other words, “Great call!”

It is our job to understand the situation, read the terrain, understand the boss’s intent, act early, and accept risk while keeping the boss informed.

Here’s What I’ve Already Done

Instead of asking, “What do you want me to do?,” a better way is to tell the boss what we know, how that’s a problem, and the steps we’ve already taken. Most times, the boss is thankful that we took the initiative and worked towards a solution, so they don’t have to.

Don’t ask what needs doing. See it. Do it. Solve problems before our boss even notices they exist. That’s how we become essential.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

June 12, 2025

by Michael M. Posey

In Coach Wooden and Me, basketball great Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shares how he and his mentor navigated life’s triumphs and struggles over five decades. John Wooden provided Abdul-Jabbar with lessons that transcended basketball, exemplifying the power of mentorship. This powerful act of experts mentoring protégés distributes wisdom, experience, and a passion for excellence across generations.

Sports fans judge coaches by the number of wins and losses their team accumulates. However, many overlook the impact of a coach’s ability to mentor others, sometimes depicted in a coaching tree, a lineage of coaches who have been mentored by the same person. Coaching trees illustrate “coaching families,” head coaches who develop assistant coaches who, in turn, become head coaches themselves.

On the court, in combat, or in the classroom, a coaching tree can transform a profession, as seasoned experts share their best insights with those they identify as future talent. A mentor’s legacy can ripple outward, nurturing future leaders with the right skills and values who then influence more individuals, eventually reshaping entire organizations. Basketball coach Larry Brown, military strategist George C. Marshall, and U.S. Army War College professors Charles “Chuck” Allen and Al Lord exemplify the art of cultivating a coaching tree.

Brown: Growing Leaders One Coach at a Time

Like Wooden, Larry Brown once coached at UCLA. Unlike Wooden, Brown coached both collegiate and professional basketball, leading multiple teams over his career.  The only coach to win an NCAA championship and an NBA title, Brown repeatedly rebuilt teams and instilled discipline into his players. Most notably, Brown mentored assistants who later became coaching trailblazers.

Famed coaches, such as Gregg Popovich and Alvin Gentry, grew under his coaching tree. Popovich, in turn, built one of basketball’s largest trees, producing six future NBA coaches. Popovich and his protégés absorbed Brown’s emphasis on fundamentals, accountability, and adaptability.

Brown’s example reminds us that leadership constitutes more than just winning games. It involves teaching and reinforcing core values, synchronizing individual efforts for a collective purpose. Brown’s legacy demonstrates how a mentor’s influence extends far beyond that of a single team or season.

The Other Marshall Plan: Developing Army Talent

Military circles immortalize George C. Marshall, a soldier and statesman who served our nation at the highest levels distinguished by both his leadership and mentorship. Marshall instilled in his protégés integrity, strategic foresight, and the courage to speak truth to power.

His storied career—from serving as the Army Chief of Staff to later occupying roles as Secretary of State and Secretary of Defense—showcased his character and ethical decision-making. Marshall raised a generation of military leaders who would steer the course of history during and after World War II. Marshall instinctively identified talent and lifted Dwight D. Eisenhower, Omar Bradley, and Walter Bedell Smith into principled leaders.

Marshall’s approach illustrated that an organization’s character thrives through the virtue of its members. Marshall built his mentorship style on open communication and an unwavering commitment to integrity, providing a blueprint for raising the next generation of experts in any field. Marshall showed that leaders who invest in others ultimately build legacies that endure.

Allen and Al: Creating Warrior-Scholars

The power of mentorship extends beyond sports arenas and the battlefield. At the U.S. Army War College, Professors Chuck Allen and Al Lord have spent decades shaping future military and civilian leaders through education.

Professor Allen inspires his students to think critically about ethical decision-making, cultural awareness, and the complexities of modern military operations. A pillar of the Carlisle community, he demonstrates that leadership goes beyond theory and analysis; leaders must apply lessons to real-world challenges. I am inspired by his example.  Like him, I wish to write about meaningful topics to better our profession.

Similarly, Professor Al Lord cultivates academic excellence. Lord served as the director of the Joint Warfighting Advanced Studies Program, where he mentored me. In this capacity, he spearheaded much of the Army War College’s educational wargaming, designing and executing experiential learning for the next generation of strategic leaders.

Your Legacy: Changed Lives

Larry Brown nurtured coaching prodigies who transformed basketball. George C. Marshall mentored some of the Army’s most significant generals in our nation’s history. Though you may not find them in history books, Professors Allen and Lord mentored hundreds of U.S. Army War College students and faculty. These warrior-scholars bridged the gap between the theoretical and practical aspects of leadership, and now, those they taught and mentored are better equipped. Though they will retire soon, I will carry their wisdom forward at the War College and beyond. How could I not? They trusted me with their legacy, and I am a branch on their coaching trees, one of their many protégés. 

Growing coaching trees—in sports, the military, or academics—requires generosity and commitment to sharing wisdom. By encouraging and developing others, we become mentors to future mentors. We can steward our professions, ensuring knowledge, values, and excellence flourish for future generations. So, share your expertise and values, allowing the best in you to ripple out into the world. Leaders are mentors, so invest today by developing others. Grow your coaching tree and leave a lasting legacy.

——

Mike Posey is an active-duty Naval Flight Officer in the E-2C Hawkeye and the F/A-18F Super Hornet. He is a father of two phenomenal children and the husband of a fantastic woman. He holds business degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Florida and is pursuing a doctorate in education from Penn State University. He currently teaches at the U.S. Army War College.

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Department of the Army, Department of Defense, or the U.S. Government.

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June 10, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

I remember being a young, little league baseball shortstop hoping the ball wouldn’t get hit to me. I lacked confidence in throwing over to first and was afraid of messing up the game for my team. I didn’t have the experience or the mindset to welcome the challenge.

This type of thinking is exactly the opposite of elite athlete mindsets. They always want the ball. Legendary New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter said, “You want to be in a situation where the game is on the line. That’s what you prepare for. That’s why you play the game.”  

Our thinking needs to be more aligned with wanting to face the challenge at hand rather than avoiding pressure situations. We need leaders who are excited to tackle the hardest problems we face with grit, determination, and optimism.

True Leadership Welcomes Obstacles

I had a boss that used to say the easy problems had been solved before they got to us. We’re here to tackle the hardest ones and welcome them when they come.

What separates the best leaders from all the others is not the absence of problems but the desire to tackle them. Looking back at our presidents, the ones we celebrate on Mount Rushmore faced the most pivotal challenges of the nation. George Washington led the revolution, Thomas Jefferson authored the Declaration of Independence, Abraham Lincoln reconnected the North and South, and Theodore Roosevelt was president during rapid industrial change connecting America to the world.

Other presidents are not as well-known and fade into the background. James Monroe was president during the era of good feelings, and Calvin Coolidge was referred to as “Silent Cal” during the roaring 20s. Monroe and Coolidge presided over stable times which is good, but it was the crucible of crisis that allowed Washington, Lincoln, and others to demonstrate uncommon leadership.

Major challenges are what bring out the best in leaders, and while we don’t want to manufacture crises, we don’t want to run away from them either. Instead, when there’s an uncomfortable situation in front of us, we should run towards the sound of the guns. Three stoic characteristics can help us tackle problems with a better mindset.

Grit. This quality is about perseverance during trials and focusing on long term objectives.

Epictetus was born a slave in the Roman empire. He lived in extreme poverty under his master, Epaphroditus, who abused and tortured him. But Epictetus was mentally free, and that was what differentiated him from others facing challenges.

After being released, he used his experience of slavery and abuse to teach others how to live rationally, even in the worst conditions. To use his words, “It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.”

Grit is about passion and persistence in the face of obstacles. This quality recognizes that sustained effort achieves results even during setbacks. We must always be leaning forward into problems instead of running from them.

Determination. This characteristic is about a steadfast commitment to do what is right, no matter the cost.

Marcus Aurelius ruled during one of the most challenging and chaotic times of Roman history. He faced a deadly pandemic, continuous wars, internal betrayals, and personal loss of multiple children. Yet he was determined to govern justly and beyond reproach.

His journal of private thoughts, while not meant to be published, became the book Meditations, demonstrating how he strengthened himself daily, even when surrounded by plague, instability, and chaos. From his pen, “You have power over your mind—not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.”

Determination is about wanting something so badly that nothing will stop us from accomplishing it. It’s knowing our goals and ruthlessly pursuing them at all costs.

Optimism. Finally, this quality is about having a mindset that no matter how bad it gets, we will see the positive results on the other side.

Musonius Rufus lived in the 1^st century and was exiled by Roman emperors for teaching Stoicism. After being banished to the island of Gyaros, a desolate place lacking in food and water, he embraced the exile, saying it was a chance to live more simply. He used this to teach on the island and changed the isle of banishment into a productive classroom.

Even in the dark places, he found a way to be optimistic. Epictetus, his student, wrote: “Wherever you find yourself, build a life there. It is not circumstances, but our view of them, that makes them good or bad.”

In the same way, optimism is a key component that we must demonstrate in the face of problems. We need leaders who not only understand that not everything may go our way but also respond with the understanding that we have the collective skills to thrive in any situation.

Life Is a Series of Challenges

It’s easy to hope that the ball isn’t going to be hit to us, but leadership is about embracing the challenges and thriving in the worst situations.

President John F. Kennedy said, “We stand today on the edge of a new frontier… but the new frontier of which I speak is not a set of promises – it is a set of challenges. It sums up not what I intend to offer the American people, but what I intend to ask of them.”

The stoics knew that fate wasn’t always going to be kind, but that we can be resilient, determined, and positive in our response. It is not the situation that shapes our lives, but how we respond to them.

Every person needs a leader that wants the responsibility during crises and is confident to solve problems as they arise with grit, determination, and optimism. It’s up to us to be that leader.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

June 3, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

I don’t have a green thumb, but last month, I tried something new on the lawn: weed and feed.

After moving into a new house last August, we had to grow a yard from scratch, literally from bare dirt. The problem was that we ended up with as many weeds as blades of grass.

This year, I was determined to get it under control. I carefully read the weed and feed instructions and applied the recommended amount, but the whole time, I was doubtful. This can’t possibly work, I thought. It’s not enough. The pellets aren’t sticking to the weeds. There’s no way this is going to make a difference.

But then a quiet voice inside me said, “Trust the process.”

It’s funny how often success comes from simple, consistent actions, yet we still doubt and look for shortcuts. Real growth takes time. In leadership, it’s not about grand gestures or instant results. It’s about following clear steps, making steady progress, and having the patience to let growth take root.

The Process Works

Trusting the process means having faith in our actions, especially when things seem like they’re not working. It’s the belief that each step is bringing us closer to our goal, even if it feels fruitless or part of a setback. There’s simply no way that we can know the outcome for sure, but through patience and perseverance we make steady progress.

When I read the instructions on the weed and feed, they made no sense to me. The label said to use a spreader setting of 4.5 out of 10, distributing what I thought was way too small an amount. Every fiber in my being wanted to crank up the setting to pour more weed killer and nutrients onto the ground, doubting all the scientists and biologists who wrote the book.

But trusting the process is having faith that our actions will lead to the greater good. Often, it’s about doing less than doing more. I love to work out but know that rest and recovery are just as important as the exercise itself. Yet my human brain struggles to trust the passive process of resting, rather than actively hitting the gym.

Holding the Line

In late 1950 Korea, U.S. and UN forces were in full retreat from the Chinese intervention. There was real talk of abandoning the peninsula in its entirety. That’s when General Matthew Ridgway took command of 8^th Army.

Best known as the WWII commanding general of the 82d Airborne Division, Ridgway understood how to trust the process, much like trusting  his parachute equipment while jumping out of airplanes. Instead of trying anything flashy, he focused on the blocking and tackling of soldiers: boots on the ground, logistics, small unit leadership, and aggressive patrolling.

He trusted the slow, methodical process of rebuilding morale, cohesion, leadership in commanders, and achieving realistic small wins instead of seeking game-changing, quick victories.

This didn’t produce instant success, but over the following months, U.S. and UN forces pushed back, retook Seoul, and stabilized the front. The war settled into a more favorable stalemate rather than a catastrophic defeat.

Ridgway believed in the fundamentals. He trusted in a process rather than a quick win. It isn’t easy to be patient in times of war, but Ridgway knew that if the basics were executed relentlessly, the situation would turn. And it did.

Three ways to trust the process are to follow the directions, continue to make progress, and have patience. Much like growing a lawn, there is nothing secret, complicated, or hard to do. It’s simply about trusting the process.

1. Follow Clear Steps. Let’s be honest, the directions to success are out there. Floss every day, an apple a day keeps the doctor away, make our beds, drink water, work hard, smile, and get enough sleep. Much like weed and feed, there are very clear steps to being successful. Go outside and start putting one foot in front of the other.
2. Make Steady Progress. Often the key to life is just continuing to move forward. There will always be obstacles in our way, but consistency routinely beats challenges. There is nothing hard about growing a lawn; it is all about planting seeds, watering daily, and seeing small seedlings pop up.
3. Have Patience. This is often the hardest of the three steps, because we want to see results today! Our fast-paced culture doesn’t want to wait. Yet just like growing grass, we start with dirt and it will look like dirt for a while. When the grass comes up, it will look sparse. We can’t expect it to happen overnight.

There are a few key aspects to trusting the process. First, accept what we can’t control. Life will present us with situations beyond our influence. We can’t change time, make decisions for other people, or determine weather patterns. Fighting against forces we have no say in only leads to frustration.

Second, practice grace. When things aren’t going our way, it’s easy to feel guilty, pessimistic, or doubtful. It’s easier to let negative self-talk get to us, which is why we need to talk to ourselves as we would a close friend. We wouldn’t tell someone who is struggling that they’re going to fail. Instead, we need to build ourselves up with encouragement, kindness, and patience.

Finally, trust in timing. It’s normal to experience frustration when we don’t get our way. The instructions on my weed and feed said it would take seven days to see results, yet on day two I was looking out the window for success. Progress takes time, weeds don’t die in one day, and Korea wasn’t recovered overnight. We know things take a while. Don’t fight time, but let it work for us.

The Process Works

Looking at my lawn today, I wish I could say it’s a lush greenery with zero weeds. It’s not. Weed and feed is only one step in many to cultivate a prize-winning lawn. But each blade of new grass is proof that the process is working quietly, steadily, and faithfully beneath the surface.

When we take small steps towards improvement, accept what we cannot control, and leverage time as a force multiplier, we see results.

Trust the process.    

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

May 29, 2025

By Tom Console

There are many avenues to success. We may be naturally talented, spend countless hours practicing our craft, or just get lucky. These will generate wins on a decent level. But eventually, ability and practice can only get us so far, and our luck will run out. To get to the highest level of success, we must see ourselves at that level. No matter the field or industry, super high achievers reach the pinnacle of success through the practice of visualization and envisioning their performance before any big event.

Sports psychologists view visualization as a powerful tool for athletes to improve in both their physical performance and mental readiness on game day. Athletes who envision their success prior to competing see enhanced performance, reduced anxiety, and increased confidence. The U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration squad is a prime example of how envisioning success can lead us and our teams to new heights.

The Blue Angels are a group of fighter jet pilots who specialize in advanced acrobatic aerial maneuvers in tight formations. They fly impossibly close to one another, wingtips mere feet from touching. They execute complex rolls, turns, and other movements as one cohesive unit in six different jets. The consequences of a mishap are deadly and catastrophic; there is no margin for error.

Before every flight, the team of pilots and support staff meets in a conference room to rehearse for their upcoming mission. In the video below, you can see just how intense this preparation is and how these professionals embody the principles of Engaged Preparation, Attention to Minute Details, and Ready-to-Go Backups to envision their success.

Engaged Preparation

As attributed to General Dwight D. Eisenhower, plans are worthless; planning is everything. In the video clip you can see the level of planning the Blue Angels go through before they fly. They make note of the most likely weather patterns, wind speed, and visibility. They have a scheduled route and contingency for every emergency.

You will also notice the full engagement of every team member during this phase. Everyone is a fully involved, active listener. You see people taking notes and tracing the exact route on their maps as it correlates to how their Commander intends the flight to take place. There isn’t a single distracted member in that room, and I highly doubt any sort of disturbance would be tolerated. They are totally locked in.

If we want our team to achieve greatness, we cannot rely on just one single member to be ready. Everyone must know the plan and actively engage in the preparation phase so that they can see the vision of what the team’s overall objective is and what they are doing to play their part in achieving that objective.

Attention to Detail

One of the most amazing things in this clip is the level of detail the pilots show during the actual flight rehearsal. They sit in their office chairs as if they were in the cockpits of their jets, eyes closed, imagining what the view will be like given the projected weather and visibility.

They go through foot and hand movements, pulling imaginary levers, pushing pedals and buttons, and moving the throttle as if it were all right there with them. They perform these actions with precise timing, responding exactly to each command. They practice the tiniest details; moving their heads to exactly where they will need to look and positioning their bodies correctly to account for how turns, climbs, and dives will affect them. And most importantly, they move as one single entity.

In this moment, they are literally seeing how they will perform their tasks. They are not just practicing, they are perfecting. The attention to every detail is perhaps the most important part of envisioning success, and if we want ourselves and our teams to reach the highest level, then no detail is too small to be overlooked.

Role-Players at the Ready

You might have also noticed the individuals sitting on the periphery of the room. The primary pilots were rehearsing and practicing at the table, but who were these people behind them, and why were they there?

These individuals were the backup pilots, safety officers, and intel gatherers. If you watch them closely, they are just as prepared and locked in as the pilots who will be flying. They are essential to the team’s success. What happens if weather conditions change right before take-off? Someone is monitoring that and can relay information to the team. Did you consider fuel levels and the nearest landing site at a specific point along the route in case of an emergency? No, but your safety officer sure did. What if one of the primary pilots is too sick to fly? Back-up to the rescue!

It is not enough to rely on just a few star individuals within our organization to carry the team’s success. We are a team of teams, and as leaders it is our job to make sure every single person is trained up, knows the plan, and is ready to go should their number be called.

Envision the Future

We can all agree that to score some wins in life, it helps to be good at what we do, practice pertinent skills, and sometimes have something land in our laps. But if we want our team to achieve results at the highest level, we first must visualize that success.

Leaders accomplish this by guiding their teams through engaged preparation, attention to detail, and ensuring that role-players and backups are fully prepared to perform. If we can clearly see ourselves at the top of the mountain, we’ll reach it one day.

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors. 

May 20, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

Pacesetting leadership is when the person in charge sets an extremely high tempo and standard to their team and expects them to follow. To earn the respect of the pacesetter, team members are expected to meet or exceed the leader’s example no matter what. If we fall behind, they keep going without us.

There are times to use pacesetting leadership, times to avoid it, and things smart leaders should keep in mind before running hard with our teams.

Keep Up or Fall Out

The sun was peeking out behind the horizon on my first morning as a member of the Army ROTC program. We just finished warm-up calisthenics which I didn’t find too challenging and were ready to run. The cadet in charge bellowed out to choose which group-level to run with: slow, medium, or fast.

I didn’t want to embarrass myself in the fast group, so I confidently stepped in behind all the medium runners. Ninety seconds in, it hit me, I was going to fall out.

The guy setting the pace was perfectly steady, but he far exceeded my ability. I hung in as long as I could, but the group slowly started to distance themselves from me. I watched them fade into the sunrise with them barely realizing that I was no longer with them. I had been left behind.

The Pacesetter Defined

Pacesetting leadership is a lot like a military run where the person in charge is a high energy, fast tempo driver with relentless motivation to get things done. Their mantra is “Keep up. Now.” The pacesetter expects everyone to produce the same amount of energy, effort, and quality as them. Results are what counts.

Their actions are often more visible than their words, and they lead through doing and not by encouraging others. They are often driven and competitive, with no tolerance for those that aren’t running hard with them. Their message is that if you can’t keep up with me, then you shouldn’t be here.

Some examples are Elon Musk who works long hours and demands innovation, Tom Brady who said, “You want to know which ring is my favorite? The next one,” and George Patton who demanded tempo, aggression, and excellence on his relentless march to Berlin.

The Upside of Pacesetting Leadership

When done right, pacesetting can be transformative. This method creates speed and efficiency in a team, provides a role model to emulate, and attracts people who are seeking excellence themselves.

First, pacesetters move fast and expect results. They are great for high-tempo activities like sports and military tactical units. They get results for jobs that demand high competencies such as firefighters, SWAT teams, and start-up companies. If you want to move fast, follow them.

Second, pacesetters show others how it should be done by example. They command respect and demonstrate drive. They are competent, confident, and tactically and technically proficient. Others want to be like them. If there are functional tasks like assembly line operations, they can go all day and produce more than anyone else.

Finally, they draw in others who want to run fast and win. Those that aren’t interested in going all-out, all-the-time naturally quit. This develops teams that want to be there and thrive in pressure situations to generate results.

The Downside of Pacesetting Leadership

While pacesetters are building winning teams, they also develop a hidden cost that sometimes doesn’t appear until it’s too late. They run the risk of creating teams that are tired, have low morale, lack teamwork, and can’t keep up forever.

Teams trying to maintain pace may face burnout and fatigue. Not everyone can go all out, all the time. Many feel overworked and unable to keep up with the boss. They may fall behind, disengage, or even collapse.

Morale may suffer at the expense of hard-charging bosses. This environment could feel like a sink or swim culture where results are valued over people. If team members fall out, it may appear that people are expendable.

There can be a lack of trust in this culture where performance is king. The side effect is fear or resentment towards the leader. They may feel the boss isn’t looking out for them as a person. Moreover, pacesetting leaders often micromanage which leads to decreased trust.

Lastly, this high pace could be unsustainable over time. Even the hardest charging leaders can burn out themselves. We saw this happen to Simone Biles when she withdrew from the 2021 Olympics citing the “twisties” and mental health concerns.

When to Use (or Avoid) This Style

Pacesetting leadership has a time and place. It is best for short-term, high-stakes environments with a trained team. That’s when the leader issues a “follow me” command and takes off. An example is a shift supervisor at a busy restaurant. They lead by example jumping in to help and setting a strong work ethic.

Another situation is a parent getting kids ready for school when the bus is rounding the corner. They set a clear, fast pace to get everyone moving with a sense of urgency. Finally, a captain of a sports team would use pacesetting when the team is slacking off, and the leader must show intensity and focus to motivate others to raise their game.

Pacesetting leadership is not a great idea when we have a new or inexperienced team. If someone doesn’t know what they’re doing, they’ll just get lost in the frenetic pace. A new employee learning how to navigate the filing process needs coaching and instruction, not a boss outpacing them.

It’s also not preferred when a team has low morale or stress. If the boss is pushing people harder when they’re already at their limit, more frustration could happen. After a stressful quarter, employees may need encouragement rather than another huge task to tackle.

But there are ways to use pacesetting smartly. When we combine deliberate coaching with periods of surge, we can gain great results while incrementally learning tasks. It’s important to slow down the pace to assess, consolidate, and listen to our team. Finally, when we run hard, we should stop and celebrate our wins when they happen and applaud the hard work and effort.

Pacesetting at It’s Finest

Sometimes, you lead the run and sometimes, you have to circle back for the ones falling out. Great leaders know the difference.

Pacesetting leadership can achieve results, but without balance, it can leave damage behind. The key is knowing when to press forward, when to pause, and who might be worth waiting for.

When done right, this method can generate great results. When done poorly, we can leave a wake of chaos in our path.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

May 15, 2025

by Chad Maynard

It’s hard to believe I joined the U.S. Army almost 23 years ago. I originally told myself I’d do this “military thing” for four years before getting out and becoming a successful businessman. But what I found was a passion for supporting and defending our great Nation and taking care of soldiers.

Last year, the Army blessed the pursuit of that passion and sent me to Washington D.C. for a year to attend the National Defense University, Eisenhower School for National Security and Resource Strategy. It was here that I gained the time and space to reflect on my leadership philosophy over the past two decades.

As I sat on the banks of the Potomac River reflecting on the mentors and great leaders I’ve had throughout my career, I focused on the qualities I most admired in their leadership styles. Then I thought: Wait, this isn’t about them. Sure, I learned from them, and they helped shape me into the leader I am today, but this is about what drives me as a leader. What do I want to see in those I lead?

That’s when I began to write down the core attributes that define my leadership philosophy: presence, hard work, empowerment, and decision-making.

We all need to develop our own leadership philosophy. Everyone leads differently, and we need core beliefs to fall back on and communicate with others. Here are mine.

Presence

Leaders must be present and visible, not only to their superiors, but especially to their subordinates. The best of us lead from the front and lets the team know we’re always with them, and if not physically, then we’re with them mentally. We must do the things we ask of them and support them as they execute. Bottom line: we can’t be afraid to get our hands dirty.

In today’s technology-driven world, it’s easy to hide behind email, Teams, and phone calls. But there is no substitute for in-person engagement. Being present also means being accessible. An open-door policy means little if no one can actually use it. Presence builds trust and reinforces hard work. Sometimes, it means putting aside our own responsibilities to mentor or support someone else.

In the end, presence isn’t just about proximity. It’s about connection, trust, and the quiet power of being seen when it matters most.

Hard Work

Hard work is a virtue that resonates throughout an organization and sets the tone. There is no substitute for it. I’ve impressed upon those around me for many years that when everyone simply does their job as a baseline, no one else must cover for them. This is when organizations operate effectively and efficiently, firing on all cylinders. Of course, going above and beyond is even better.

I promise that no one, especially my superiors, will ever have to do the work that is expected of me. This isn’t always easy. It requires putting personal wants and needs aside and recognizing that what we do is bigger than ourselves. Hard work levels the playing field with those who might be more naturally gifted. When intellect and strong work ethic are combined across individuals and an organization, that’s where true greatness lies.

Hard work outworks talent when talent’s not working hard enough.

Empowerment

Good leaders empower their teams to operate in a decentralized manner. The Army calls that Mission Command. To simplify this concept, it means telling others what to do, not how to do it. As a leader, I want the freedom to make decisions without being micromanaged, and I believe my team should have that same freedom.

I’ll admit this was the hardest principle for me to adopt. I used to struggle with delegation, not because I didn’t trust others, but because I didn’t know how to clearly express what I wanted. That was my shortcoming, not theirs. That’s when I started focusing on communicating with intent by providing purpose, key tasks, and end state, just like Army doctrine teaches, and letting smart people take the lead.

If we expect our formations to operate with speed and precision, then we must train our leaders to think, decide, and act without waiting for orders.

Decision-Making

Empowering our team is not a substitute for making decisions. That remains the leader’s responsibility. They say in Army courses that commanders should make decisions only commanders can make. This holds true for all of us. We must educate ourselves enough to understand the situation around us and be prepared to solve problems with action, not just admire them.

When a decision needs to be made, either the data speaks for itself, or it’s time to act based on experience and judgment. Leaders owe it to their team to look at both science and the art of the decision. That includes using both available data and our personal wisdom. Our teams should never be left waiting for guidance or stuck in a holding pattern because their leader can’t make a call.

When it’s time to decide, leaders must act because indecision in command risks mission failure and erodes unit trust.

Leadership Philosophy as a Guide

Having my leadership style codified in writing has given me a philosophy that enables me to shape the future. It serves as a decision-making tool, one I refer to during every counseling session, whether I give it to a subordinate or receive it from a superior. While many leadership styles and attributes are effective, I had to reflect deeply to understand what truly drives me. Using this, I have a constant leadership drumbeat that is no surprise to anyone around me.

Others may share similar principles, but we need to identify and articulate the qualities that define us. We must write them down, share them with others, and commit to living that philosophy every day. It will help us naturally gravitate toward the attributes that resonate with our instincts. Though our lists may evolve over time, our core values will remain constant because they reflect who we are as leaders.

Always Move Forward!

Chad Maynard is a Professor of Military Science at the University of Akron and a Lieutenant Colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve. He has served in a variety of leadership roles over the course of his 23-year military career. He is married and has two children.

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The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Army or the Department of Defense.

May 13, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

In 165 A.D., the Roman Empire was struck by a devastating pandemic (likely smallpox) known today as the Antonine Plague. It would kill as many as five million people over 15 years, including soldiers, farmers, and entire communities. At the helm of the empire during this catastrophe stood Marcus Aurelius, a philosopher-emperor trained in the Stoic tradition.

Rather than retreating into comfort or passing responsibility to others, Marcus stayed fully engaged. He led military campaigns on the empire’s borders while managing the health crisis at its core. He made difficult fiscal decisions, including the sale of imperial treasures to fund relief efforts and military defense. When Rome’s elite panicked or looked to scapegoat others, Marcus responded with measured calm and fairness.

Even as death surrounded him, Marcus continued writing his Meditations, quietly affirming his commitment to the Stoic virtues. These virtues include temperance in resisting despair, courage in facing fear and loss, justice in putting the good of the people above his own, and wisdom in seeking the right course.

His actions were not driven by ego or desire for legacy, but by principle. He governed as a servant of duty, not ambition. In a time when many would have succumbed to fear or indulgence, Marcus Aurelius modeled disciplined, values-based leadership. His life reminds us that great leaders are revealed in both comfort and crisis, and by the virtues they embody in both peace and chaos.

The Four Virtues

Cicero, Rome’s greatest orator and stoic philosopher, sought to find Summum Bonum, or “the highest good” in his personal life. Another stoic term is “eudaimonia,” meaning a life worth living, or a flourishing life. This goal, Cicero believed, is what we should all strive towards. Many people disagree on what eudaimonia is, but the stoics believe it’s virtue.

Every moment in life we have the chance to exercise virtue. Socrates, another precursor to ancient Stoicism, believed that by doing good repeatedly, we become good. It is in living virtuously that we become better. Even when faced with despair, sadness, elation, joy, or turmoil, we should control our reactions. By doing good in the face of challenges, we become better people.

Stoicism rests on four virtues: wisdom, temperance, courage, and justice. According to Cisero, “Virtue is a habit of the mind, consistent with nature and moderation and reason.”

Temperance

This word has been mostly lost in the English language, but temperance closely resembles self-discipline and self-control. It’s the way we can manage our emotions when faced with challenging situations. This trait is commonly thought of when we’re being “stoic,” enduring hardships without reacting or showing emotion.

I talk about temperance as not letting the sine wave get too high or low. It is managing the extremes and controlling our attitude, rather than letting emotions dictate it. For Marcus Aurelius, it meant being unflappable even when Rome was ravished by plague.

Courage

The second virtue is courage, the ability to stand strong in the face of danger. This trait is not the absence of fear but the ability to press on in the face of it. This courage comes in many forms ranging from physical to mental to emotional. It could be providing an unpopular opinion, making a risky business decision, or walking out of a relationship.

For the Emperor, it was campaigning with his men during the peak of the plague or selling off portions of Rome to support his people. Courage is about perseverance and confidence that the actions we take will have positive effects.

Justice

Marcus Aurelius believed justice was the most important virtue and Ciscero agreed. In his work, On Moral Duties, he argued justice bonds human society together into community. It rests on principles that include: do no harm to others, treat possessions as either common or public, help those in need, and prioritize the good of society as much as oneself.

Marcus Aurelius illustrated this philosophy with this phrase: “What injures the hive injures the bee.” Justice is about thinking of others. Yes, stoics believe people should be held accountable for their actions, but the heart of justice is living in harmony with others.

Wisdom

For stoics, wisdom begins with the knowledge of what we can control and what we cannot. This characteristic helps us understand how to respond when we encounter both the positive and negative situations in life. Wisdom dictates our actions and helps us make decisions that will be helpful and beneficial.

Marcus Aurelius spent over a decade being mentored by his uncle, Antoninus Pius, the Emperor of Rome. Here, he studied everything he could to prepare himself for the throne. Near the end of Aurelius’ reign, a friend asked him where he was off to. He was headed to a lecture and told the man: “From Sextus the philosopher I shall learn what I do not yet know.”

The Interconnectedness of the Virtues

These four virtues help us think about how to achieve eudaimonia and live our best lives. They cannot act independently but must be used together. The virtues operate under three assumptions.

First, humans are concerned about themselves and will act accordingly. Second, we assume there are more people than just us out there and must interact with them. Finally, we understand there is a tension between the first two that will be exposed as we walk through life.

The first two virtues, temperance and courage, are an internal look to live a good life through patience and advancement. The third virtue of justice is an external understanding that we are part of a larger picture and must work in community. Finally, wisdom helps us deal with the highs and lows of life.

When we use them together, we are able to effectively act in a way that looks out for ourselves and our society, all while behaving in a way that produces our best life.

To Be the Best Version

Stoics believe that virtuous living will help us flourish in life. The four virtues of temperance, courage, justice, and wisdom are ways to help us interact with problems and people.  

We get there by practicing these virtues and becoming better at them, one act at a time. Stoicism is about putting our personal ambition aside and leading appropriately every day through calm and chaos for the good of our teams. Whether leading Rome through a pandemic or in ordinary life, being virtuous is a great way to help us live well.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

May 6, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

We all occasionally find ourselves at the precipice of big life decisions. When we stand in those moments, we ask ourselves which door we want to take and what will happen in the future. The problem is that we can’t see beyond any door we’re about to open. All we can do is make the best choice we can. In those moments, I believe the wisest course is to bet on ourselves.

Right now, I am wrestling with several significant life decisions. These are not small matters like choosing a fitness plan or deciding on a large purchase. These are life-altering decisions with the potential to affect my future, finances, family, and freedom.

There are countless branches that the future can hold, and I honestly do not know which path is best. What I do know is that action is better than inaction.

To Be or Not to Be

This iconic soliloquy comes from William Shakespeare’s Hamlet in Act 3, Scene 1. Here, the young prince is mourning the death of his father, the former king, when the ghost of his father appears. Hamlet is then confronted with a decision of enormous consequence. Should he avenge his father by killing his uncle, Claudius, who now sits on the throne?

Hamlet is plagued by indecision.  Was the ghost real? Did Claudius truly murder his father? If so, should Hamlet kill him? What would be the consequences? What if Claudius was allowed to live?

Caught in this emotional storm, Hamlet even considers ending his own life. In the words “to be or not to be,” he questions whether it is nobler to suffer life’s hardships or to escape them altogether. This is not just about vengeance. Shakespeare is urging all of us to consider whether to endure the slings and arrows of life or to metaphorically abandon the fight.

Hamlet, like many of us, did not have the answers. He stood paralyzed at the threshold of a monumental decision.

To Invade or Not to Invade

Centuries later, another leader would face a decision with a kingdom in the balance. General Dwight D. Eisenhower had to decide whether to launch the D-Day invasion in 1944 during World War II. As the Supreme Allied Commander, it was his decision alone whether to launch 166,000 troops across the English Channel onto the beaches of Normandy.

The weather was far from ideal. Poor conditions threatened to undermine the invasion before it began. A failed attempt would have led to catastrophic loss of life, crushed morale, and could have prolonged or lost the war.

Eisenhower could not predict the outcome and made the call to invade. In his struggle, he even penned a letter taking full responsibility, stating, “If any blame or fault attaches to the attempt, it is mine alone.”

History knows what followed. The invasion was successful and marked the beginning of the end of Nazi occupation. But at that moment, the weight of the decision rested solely on his shoulders. He chose to act and placed his trust in his people.

To Charge or Not to Charge

But it does not always work out. Robert E. Lee stood before a monumental decision after two days of intense fighting at Gettysburg. He was facing significant pressure to deliver a decisive victory as the Confederacy was running low on resources, and a win could have changed the war entirely.

Lee, like Eisenhower, fully trusted his army and decided to launch a massive attack against the center of the Union line on Cemetery Ridge. Pickett’s Charge then began, with General George Pickett leading 12,500 soldiers across open fields and into heavy artillery and rifle fire.

Unlike D-Day, this decision was a disaster, with nearly half of the Confederate forces were killed, wounded, or captured. Moreover, this day marked the beginning of the end for the Confederacy. Lee’s decision was equally weighty as Eisenhower’s, and he too chose to bet on his people, resulting in an outcome of irreversible consequence.

To Decide or Not to Decide

Choosing a life-altering decision is tough. I write about it not because I have all the answers but because I too am walking through those uncertain moments, and you will do the same. When it feels like there is no path forward, we need a structured approach to guide us.

1. Clarify Our Goals and Values. We need to understand where we want to be in five, ten, or twenty years and which option aligns with that vision. Moreover, we must know our value system and what is truly important, whether it be career, family, finances, freedom, security, or something else.
2. Identify the Consequences. Consider the short- and long-term benefits and impacts of the decision. Also, look at the risks and rewards of each choice on both yourself and others. Understanding both the worst- and best-case scenarios often helps us realize impacts of our choices.
3. Gather Information and Consult Others. Research and trusted advisors are critical, and someone has been in a similar situation. Talk to them, gather more information, and become more informed about the decision. Most importantly, seek diverse perspectives.
4. Use Decision-Making Frameworks. Some helpful tools include a pro and con list to assess tangible aspects of each choice, the 10-10-10 Rule that considers how we will feel about the decision in ten days, ten months, and ten years, and a decision matrix to weigh factors based on importance. Pay attention to both the logical and emotional reasoning and strive to balance them. Don’t rush the decision-making process if you don’t have to.
5. Accept Uncertainty. No matter which door we choose, we will not know the outcome until we walk through it. Even then, it may remain unclear. No perfect decision exists. Make a decision and then make the next choice when it comes time.

Bet on Ourselves

We all face difficult choices. Hopefully, they will not involve avenging a father’s death, launching a seaborne invasion, or leading an open field charge. But the stakes in our own lives can feel just as high.

The good news is that we are not without tools. We have a wealth of knowledge, experience, support systems, and intuition. No decision guarantees success, but we have what it takes to act with courage, clarity, and conviction.

In the end, it is not certainty we need to act, but courage. And the courage to bet on ourselves may be the wisest decision of all.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

May 1, 2025

by Aidan Sullivan

In a world of constant demands and distractions, being organized is often the key differentiator between success and failure. As a leader, the ability to juggle multiple responsibilities without losing focus is a skill that can make or break both us and our organization.

Reflecting on my own journey, from balancing college commitments to leading within my fraternity and ROTC, I’ve come to realize that the most impactful leaders are not necessarily the ones with the most talent, but those who can maintain order amidst the chaos. The three strategies of organizing our mind, space, and people can help any leader arrange their world and work with purpose.

We Need a System

Upon stepping into university life, I thought I’d have it all together. I was organized in high school and figured I’d stay that way on campus. But I quickly realized that the relentless pace of college was getting to me, and my performance started to spiral. In high school, every day was structured with the same five to seven classes; it was “rinse and repeat.” But college was a different beast. Every professor ran their course differently, classes were spread across campus, and I felt more disconnected from classmates and professors alike.

My mind became overrun trying to track assignments, figure out what to prioritize, keep up with fraternity events, meet ROTC requirements, and still squeeze in the kind of experiences I thought defined college. My space, both physical and digital, was the most cluttered it had ever been. My desk was a mess, my phone was constantly buzzing with reminders, and my room collected dust from weeks of neglect. The people around me were relying on me when I wasn’t sure I could even rely on myself.

I needed a system. What emerged was a clear approach: organizing my mind, my space, and my people. That’s what changed my life.

Organize Our Mind

Effective leadership begins with mental clarity. Many of us are balancing exams, work, training, and social responsibilities, and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. That’s where structured planning becomes our secret weapon. I use digital calendars, checklists, and time-blocking to break days into manageable pieces. These simple tools give our brains breathing room to focus on what matters most.

One theory that really helped me was the Eisenhower Matrix, which separates tasks into four categories: urgent and important, important but not urgent, urgent but not important, and neither. President Eisenhower once said, “What is important is seldom urgent and what is urgent is seldom important.” Applying this helped me stop reacting to everything and start working proactively.

But organizing our minds isn’t just about apps and frameworks, it’s about sanity. I found that short naps between classes, lo-fi background music while studying, and even taking a moment to clean my space helped reset my brain. Sometimes clarity comes from a checklist; other times, it comes from just stepping outside for a few minutes to breathe.

Organize Our Space

A cluttered space leads to a cluttered mind. I used to work in piles of textbooks, notebooks, cords, and snacks, all stacked on my desk and oozing out of drawers. It was chaotic, and honestly, it mirrored how I felt internally. That’s when I realized I couldn’t organize and hence lead effectively without a clean surface to work under my full control.

It wasn’t about having a Pinterest-perfect desk; it was about having a space where I could think clearly. Even something as small as making my bed in the morning gave me momentum. I found that when my environment was in order, I was a better communicator, teammate, problem-solver, and friend.

Inspired by minimalist principles, I created specific draws and binders, one for schoolwork, one for ROTC, and one for Phi Psi. I reorganized my folders on my laptop and finally cleaned out the random files in my Downloads. It wasn’t glamorous, but it gave me mental breathing room. Unfortunately, I may be organized with how and where everything goes, but as I do better and gain more responsibilities, it’s impossible to be perfectly organized and not cluttered in some manner. But the more organized the space, the more organized the mind.

Organize Our People

Even the most organized mind and space can’t carry the weight of leadership alone. I used to think being a leader meant doing everything myself and being the “face” of the organization. But that quickly led to burnout. What changed everything was learning to trust others and delegate.

I leaned into the Situational Leadership Theory, which taught me to adjust my leadership based on where team members were in their development. In ROTC, that meant delegating tasks to confident and competent people and trusting them to do it. In my fraternity, it meant coaching or supporting a younger member to organize an event based on their skills, even if I could’ve done it faster myself.

What surprised me was how much relief I felt. I moved from doing to mentoring. When I let people shine in their own way, not only did the team grow stronger, but we had more fun, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves more. We bonded over late-night planning sessions and laughed through our mistakes. Leadership wasn’t just about being efficient, it was about creating a group that actually wanted to show up and do the work together.

Organization is Foundational

By organizing our minds, our spaces, and our people, we build a strong foundation for leadership success. These strategies aren’t just theory, they’ve helped me stay focused and effective in the face of constant demands. Whether we’re leading a team or simply managing our own responsibilities, the war for organization is real, but victory is achievable. When we lead with mental clarity, physical intention, and collaborative structure, we grow, not just as individuals, but as a team.

Aidan Sullivan is a Reynoldsburg, Ohio native, son, and sibling to veterans. He is a third-year University of Akron student in Mechanical Engineering Technology. He holds leadership roles across the campus to include Army ROTC, Vice President of Judicial Affairs for the Interfraternity Council, an active member of the Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity and former executive board member and was the Lead Powertrain Designer for the Zips BAJA team. Aiden plans to commission as an active Army Engineering Officer serving in an Arctic unit.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Army or the Department of Defense.

April 29, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

Everyone needs someone in their corner. Whether a person is thriving or struggling, having someone ready to lift them up can make all the difference. Many people don’t have that kind of support, but we can choose to be it.

At the start of the year, I made a simple goal: “Lift others up.” Four months later, after an honest assessment, I realized I was doing… well, just okay. Looking around at my coworkers and kids, I saw plenty of missed opportunities and moments where a few simple words could have made a huge impact. There’s massive room for improvement, not just for me, but for all of us who want to be encouragers.

This challenge reminds me of a military pop-up target rifle range. On the range, green silhouettes rise behind berms at distances between 25 and 300 meters. The shooter’s task is straightforward: knock the target down in the few seconds before it retracts. Every day around us, good deeds pop up just like those targets. They’re moments waiting to be recognized, yet so many disappear before we fire a compliment.

The true encourager doesn’t let targets pass by. We lock onto the good actions we see, zero in, and take the shot with a sincere word of praise, delivered right on time. It’s our job to become compliment snipers.

Lifting others up doesn’t mean handing out endless praise without accountability. It means helping people achieve their full potential through positive feedback, clear recognition, and genuine encouragement.

The Science of Compliments

Research backs this up. A 2020 study by Erica Boothby and Vanessa Bohns showed that people consistently underestimate the impact of their compliments. Many feel awkward offering praise or fear it’ll come across as insincere. Yet a 2022 University of Pennsylvania study found that the person receiving a compliment feels significantly better than the giver expects, and even more, the giver often walks away feeling more connected, more confident as a leader, and more emotionally intelligent.

In short, a few words of praise offer a huge return for almost no investment.

The Key to Effective Encouragement

If we want to be known as great encouragers, we need to focus on quantity, quality, and timing. Like any good marksman, we have to fire often, aim carefully, and shoot the compliment without hesitation.

Quantity: Praise Often

Early in my Army career, I was taught the phrase accuracy by volume when engaging the real enemy. When it comes to encouragement, the same principle applies. Studies suggest we should strive for at least five positive comments for every correction. If someone is struggling emotionally or behaviorally, that ratio should be even higher. But the real lesson is simple. There’s no limit to positivity.

Bonds in marriage, family, teams, and leadership all strengthen when positive reinforcement is frequent and sincere. Look around throughout the day and we’ll see a hundred small targets pop up. Fire often.

Quality: Be Specific

As one of my marksmanship instructors used to say, “Aim center of mass and hit your target.” Once we’re firing more compliments, we need to make sure they hit home. Saying “good job” is fine, but it doesn’t tell the person what they did right or why it mattered.

The Army’s resiliency training has a module called effective praise, which encourages us to name the action and tie it to a real result. It shows that we see them, we recognize their effort, and we appreciate what they bring to the team. Specificity makes the compliment feel real, and it builds real momentum.

Timeliness: Fire Now

On a pop-up range, you have only a few seconds to fire before the target disappears. The same goes for encouragement. If you delay too long, the moment fades.

I once heard a pastor say that when it comes to marriage, if you see your spouse doing something good, say it right then. If you think of something you admire, express it. That advice applies to everyone. When we see someone doing something admirable, we should engage right away. Take the shot. Then look for the next target.

Keep It Real

Above all, compliments must be sincere. Empty flattery is easy to spot and leaves people feeling patronized. The best compliments start by noticing a real behavior or effort that aligns with our values. Then we reflect on why that action stood out to us.

When we deliver it, we keep it simple and specific. We don’t need flowery speeches; just a clear statement, given with authenticity and respect, can hit harder than any grand gesture.

Raising the Bar

If we want to become known as encouragers, it’s going to take effort and attention. The good news is, it’s the kind of work that’s enjoyable, fulfilling, and welcomed by everyone around us.

The world is full of small victories waiting to be recognized. Every day, targets are popping up. It’s up to us to stay alert, take aim, and lift people up with our words.

The range is live. The targets are waiting. Time to fire.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

April 24, 2025

by Benji Patton

Mogadishu, Somalia, October 1993

Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randall Shughart, operators with 1^st Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta, were providing aerial sniper support for a downed UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter. Armed irregular citizens in the Somalian capital just shot down a second Black Hawk leaving four crew members either critically wounded or perhaps killed on the ground with an angry mob approaching. Friendly ground forces were unable to maneuver and secure the crash—it was Gordan and Shughart or nothing. In similitude to Isaiah 6:8, where Isaiah heard the voice of the Lord say, ‘“Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” and I said, “Here am I. Send me,”’ they volunteered to be dropped on the objective to secure the crew in the face of countless approaching bloodthirsty insurrectionists. They fully understood this was a one-way mission.

Upon insertion, they fought wave after wave of enemy insurgents. Expending all their ammo during the firefight, the enemy was relentless even as they took countless casualties from the two Americans. As they continued to fight, Shughart was mortally wounded. When the enemy finally approached the downed helicopter, Gordon fought with just his pistol until he was overrun. But it wasn’t in vain. Because of their brave actions, Chief Warrant Officer Michael Durant, the lone survivor of the crash, would ultimately live. Their dedication to both the mission and the life of Durant displayed not only bravery at the highest levels, but resolute discipline. They understood what needed to be done and then acted upon it, regardless of how they felt.

Discipline Defined

Discipline is a term thrown around often but rarely well defined. It appears as a required leadership attribute on the first page of the Ranger Handbook with limited context. Army University Press explains it as “…the state of order and obedience among personnel…” Merriam Webster’s traditional definition refers to it as following orders and standards. The problem is none of these explanations fully capture what discipline truly entails.

The practitioner on the ground knows what it is, even if they can’t articulate it. Former Navy SEAL Jocko Willink, who used it as an unwavering principle in his profession, explained discipline as “doing the tasks that you don’t necessarily want to do, but that you know will help you.” This interpretation captures the essence of the immense challenge and importance of this concept. Discipline is doing what must be done, regardless of motivation, in a relentlessly consistent manner.

For example, military discipline covers a number of activities. It is daily fitness training, because stronger people are harder to kill. It means continued repetition of combat skills, whether that be practicing reload drills on the M4 until our hands blister or practicing life-saving battlefield casualty care to rescue our comrades on the battlefield. It means committing to being an expert in our profession, like meticulously studying Army doctrine. It’s laying down our lives for the mission and our fellow soldiers, just like Master Sergeant Gordon and Sergeant First Class Shughart did. They didn’t just know what needed to be done—they did it.

Discipline means completing necessary tasks—however mundane—every day, so we can be a better soldier for our team and a better person for the people who matter to us. It is getting better in whatever we do—even if it’s just 1% better. This kind of discipline is the most critical and fundamental characteristic. The beauty of discipline is that it is not innate: we must earn it. When we earn our discipline, every other leadership attribute begins to grow.

Discipline Differs from Motivation

We can’t mistake motivation as synonymous with discipline. Motivation often fades quickly and proves transient. It might inspire action in the short-term, but often fades when the path becomes difficult, much like New Year’s resolutions when most people quit on January 15th. Motivation resembles the person there in the calm but who disappears when adversity arises. Motivation is temporary; discipline is permanent.

Discipline is that friend who is steadfast and reliable but requires effort to sustain the relationship. During the first few weeks of starting a new training regimen, we begin motivated but wane over time. As we progress through the daily grind, there will be days of fatigue where we just don’t feel like training. Motivation has fled, but what remains is the true test of discipline. Those who fail push it off until tomorrow. Those who embody discipline complete the training today.

Discipline is not Innate, it is Developed

The path to how we develop discipline is simple: commit to something that will bring us closer to our goals and make it a non-negotiable daily task. While this sounds simple, it’s not necessarily easy. The route to discipline is rocky and uphill, adorned with trials and obstacles. Moreover, there’s no endpoint to this mission, only incremental progress. Discipline is forged through consistent effort, despite setbacks along the way. When we stray from our discipline, we compromise long-term development.

I practice three things every day to build discipline: I get up early, train, and have a good breakfast. Consistently waking up while everyone else is fast asleep in their warm beds is hard, but this is what builds a champion. Daily, regimented training with a deliberate plan to rotate muscle groups and push harder every day is a chore, but a chore of professional servicemembers and athletes. Finally, non-negotiable healthy nutrition habits in the face of terrible saturated choices feed our machine and make sure we gain and not lose.

These three disciplines are so ingrained in me, I’m unsettled if I fail to complete one of these tasks. Through simple daily practices, I’ve bolstered my physical and mental fortitude along with greater consistency in many other aspects of my life. Discipline makes us stronger, which in turn makes us better people. Discipline enhances our professionalism, competency, and resilience. We must choose daily to sacrifice our comfort for progression. Discipline does not underpin success, it decides it.

Master Sergeant Gordon and Sergeant First Class Shughart epitomize discipline. They knowingly entered an area of operations that was fraught with danger and swarming with enemy combatants. They displayed discipline in performing their duties, no matter the cost, so they might save their fellow soldier and friend. They knew ground insertion would most likely cost them their lives, and they did it anyway. We must be ready to do the same, whether it’s a life-saving decision or the constant pursuit of betterment. Discipline is not given but earned, one day—one task—at a time. It is critical we earn it so that on the day we hear the call, we can stand ready and confidently say, “Here am I. Send me!”

Benji Patton is in the Ohio Army National Guard and is a Cadet at the University of Akron. He enjoys lifting, studying, and spending time outdoors and with his family.

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April 22, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

I was invited to speak at an event in Philadelphia last week and excitedly began the over two-hour trek from farm country to urban sprawl. The event was at 5:00 pm, and I quickly realized I was competing with rush hour traffic, three major accidents, and an afternoon Phillies game. As the cows faded to busier highways and then gridlocked motorists, my 90-minute buffer quickly shrunk to ten.

Infuriatingly, the last three miles took 35 minutes. The last mile took 15.

Isn’t that the way with many projects. We start excited to tackle a new thing, pour our energy into getting to the 90% mark, and then realize getting across the finish line is the hardest and most frustrating. Like traffic, everything converges at once with the final details, nuances, and task completion sapping our energy.

Yet while the hardest part is often closing the mission out, it’s also what separates the good from the great. A leadership imperative is to finish the task at all costs. This is not a “nice-to-have” quality, it’s required.

The Closer

In Major League Baseball, the closer is the pitcher that enters the game in the last inning when their team is up by three runs or fewer. At this point, 24 outs (89%), have already been recorded, and the closer must get the final three. The other eight innings are now meaningless, and the win or loss falls on them. Their only job is to finish.

Completing a project is much like a closer. We have one task: get the job done. When we’re facing the final three outs of our project, we must have the same mentality. Close the game out and prepare for the next one.

The Last Ten Percent  

The 90/10 Rule for projects states that the last 10% of the project will take 90% of the time. One of the reasons is that most projects remain hidden from the public until completed, with the end being the first time anyone sees them. Hence, we want everything to be perfect during the great reveal which naturally induces stress into our system.

Second, we stave off the harder or less enjoyable parts of the project for the end, wanting to do the fun and comfortable tasks in the beginning. Third, last minute complications often throw a curve into our plans. Finally, the end often requires less group work and more individual detail, so the team disappears to focus on other things while we’re left holding the ball.

I’ve seen this many times in my own life. I’m currently working on an article with a coworker that took a short time to write, but the final review phase is seemingly taking forever. It has gone through three peer-review feedback rounds, each one requiring a rethink of our writing.

The stress of having it as concise as possible for the public is agonizingly painful. Moreover, editing is not my favorite part, the journal needs a different format than what we wrote, and much of my help moved on to work on the next project, along with some of my motivation. The last 10% is certainly the hardest… and most important.

Closing Out the Last Ten Percent

The four identified challenges above are real, but there are ways to prevent us from striking out in the ninth. Instead of being captured by these four pitfalls, we need to plan for them.

1. It Must Be Perfect. Going into any project, we have to accept that perfection is impossible to attain. There’s even a project management mantra that encourages us to get the project to 90% and call it good. While this satisfies our desire to close out the task, getting those last three outs are still a thing.

However, a better way of looking at this is by the value it provides. As we close it out, we should ensure the project, while perhaps not perfect, delivers the answer to the problem. For my car ride, that meant getting to the event on time, even if just barely. For a closer, it’s three outs with a walk or two. For an article, it’s a solid piece that might not be perfect but is pretty darn good. In the end, it’s about a value-driven result.

2. I Hate That Part of It. All of us have strengths and weaknesses, passions and dreads. There will be parts of the project we are naturally drawn to and parts we never want to do. It’s so important to understand where those areas are and plan for them ahead of time.

One technique is to knock out the frustrating tasks early. The beginning and middle are when we’re still motivated to be productive. For me and writing, I hate citations. A better technique is to complete full footnotes as I go instead of curse them at the end. By cranking the less desirable tasks out now, we don’t face them when we’re mentally done. 

3. Surprise Complications. Life will always throw us a curveball. Honestly, there’s not much good advice besides: expect delays, plan in extra time for the unknown, and be comfortable when things fall apart.

A closer entering to take down the final three batters knows which ones he’s going to face and reads the scouting reports. But when a pitch hitter comes in, their plans have to shift. The best thing to do is know multiple scouting reports, plan for ambiguity, and attack the problem in front of us.

4. Everybody Left but Me. If we’re leading the project, it all comes down to us. I picture that baseball closer in the ninth inning when the coach hands them the ball. They will literally win the game or blow the save – there is no other option. When we’re left holding the ball, it’s up to us to get the project across the line.   

A closer is what separates the leaders from the followers. If we have a bunch of 90% completed projects laying around, all we have is a pile of uncompleted work. We get paid to finish the job, and this takes heart, grit, tenacity, and an unwavering desire to finish. It’s a mindset.

Laser Focus on Closing

To complete a project, whether we’re a baseball closer, project manager, or driver of a vehicle, the best way is to have laser focus and relentless pursuit on completion at all costs. Project completion is a desired skill. Going the last mile is not nice to have, it’s a leadership imperative.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

April 17, 2025

by Jon Hodgin

We all want our teams to “get it.” They should relentlessly embrace organizational vision and live by our core values. They should be naturally “on board.” Unfortunately, employees often get lost in a company and miss the real reason the organization exists. Many not only fail to embody the vision and values, but some have never heard them uttered by leadership. It’s our job to ensure each person understands why an organization exists and continuously reinforce how their actions make a difference.   

Our company is led by a very charismatic man, Tim Stanley. Tim loves to share his vision with those who show interest. When I began working for him, we would often meet at the end of the day and discuss where he saw the company going. He passionately described his goals, underlying motivations, and what he wanted to see from our teams. It was a great experience for me and helped me develop as a leader. I “got it” and was “on board.”

As the company grew, he didn’t have time to have intimate discussions with every new team member. He and I talked about that. I felt if the rest of the team could see and hear the vision and values, we could have more people bought in. As the owner and leader of the company, he needed to articulate this for our growing teams.

The process of developing our values was a long journey. Our first attempt only amounted to a large pile of words. I made posters with our purpose, vision, and values, and the print was so small it barely fit on the printed paper. The team really didn’t “get it.” It was too much, confusing, and impersonal. We attempted a few iterations but never saw the engagement we were seeking.

In our second iteration, we discussed this issue with a leadership consultant, and it finally clicked. We needed short, succinct statements of our core values coupled with regular discussions about what they meant. Here are the results:

“Build Trust with Communication”

“Relentless Pursuit of Excellence”

“Our Client’s Problems are our Priority”

“Do the Right Thing”

“Innovate. Together”

These have been consistently repeated throughout the company. We now see significantly more impact from the shared values and more team members are truly on board. Our leaders live them out, recognize them in our staff, and repeat them as part of our company vocabulary.

The Philosophy of Repetition

Clarity emerges through repetition. For individuals to truly embrace values, they need to hear them repeatedly. One-time meetings, memos, or posters are not sufficient. Instead, values should be woven into the daily fabric of the team’s routine and personified in leadership.

Simon Sinek famously notes, “Repetition is the mother of all learning.” This statement is not just about memorizing information; it’s about making core values a natural part of the team culture.

When leaders regularly repeat the organization’s values and get employees to emulate those behaviors, they start to feel connected to those values. According to a study by the National Training Laboratory, retention rates can increase from 5% through hearing something to 75% by practicing it.

As we work with our team members, we are intentional to recognize times when they practice core values. Then, we celebrate that person displaying that value.

Why Repetition is Key

Our brains naturally remember information better when we encounter it multiple times, a principle known as spaced repetition. This technique is effective in educational settings and can yield similar results in professional environments.

1. Reinforcement of Values

When people hear company values regularly, they are more likely to remember and uphold them. For example, if a company’s core value revolves around relentless pursuit of excellence, reiterating this in different contexts—like meetings, emails, or team-building activities—can lead to an increase in customer satisfaction ratings. Personal and team pride are driven around the specific values.

2. Creating a Common Language

Repetition helps establish a shared vocabulary among team members. When everyone is frequently exposed to the same phrases that describe core values, communication becomes more effective. This shared language can reduce misunderstandings. For example, when we say we are, “Doing the right thing,” everyone knows the right thing is ethical propriety above all else and not helping a customer no matter what.

3. Built-in Accountability

Frequent promotion of values develops accountability. When expectations are defined clearly and revisited, team members hold each other accountable. A workplace culture built around shared values can lead to an increase in team trust as no one needs to guess what the company values are. When they see a violation of culture from a subordinate, peer, or supervisor, they can point at the wall or Tim’s latest speech to correct the issue.

Practical Ways to Implement Repetition

Understanding the importance of repetition is one thing; applying it is another. Here are some actionable strategies to seamlessly incorporate core values into our team’s everyday tasks.

1. Kick-off Meetings

Start each team meeting with a brief conversation about one of the core values and its relevance to current projects. This approach sets the tone and reinforces values by having everyone talk about it, helping team members identify them in their work. Don’t be a talking head but facilitate a dialogue.

2. Visual Reminders

Use visual reminders like posters, displays, or digital screens around the workplace that feature core values. Research shows that visual cues can improve recall and lead to a 50% higher recognition rate of company values among employees. We first used posters and now have monitors to display an image for each of the core values.

3. Storytelling

Regularly share stories that illustrate core values in action. Showcasing real-life examples helps to anchor these values in the minds of team members. For instance, every week, highlight a team member who provided exceptional customer service, linking this behavior back to the company’s commitment to excellence.

4. Feedback Loops

Encourage public discussions about how well the team embodies these values. Use feedback sessions to clarify expectations and emphasize the meaning of these values in day-to-day roles. This two-way communication fosters a culture where values are actively assessed and integrated.

5. Employee Recognition

Recognize and reward behaviors that exemplify core values. Whether it’s through shout-outs in meetings or a monthly rewards program, public acknowledgment boosts morale and encourages others to follow suit. This step can lead to a considerable increase in employee engagement and satisfaction.

Tailoring Repetition for Your Team

When we act out our values, we show our teams that we believe in those principles and “practice what we preach.” Without that, we will struggle to advance our company values.

Remember that everyone receives information in a slightly different manner. For instance, some individuals learn better through listening to discussions, while others prefer visual aids or reading materials. Tailoring approaches can enhance the impact of your repetition efforts significantly, helping team members internalize values more effectively.

Placing emphasis on ‘repetition, repetition, repetition’ serves as a crucial reminder about the power of consistent reinforcement in creating a unified team environment. By embedding core values into every interaction—be it through meetings, visual cues, storytelling, feedback, or recognition—you can instill a culture that not only understands what those values are but truly lives by them.

Jon Hodgin is Vice President of Information Technology for TDS IT in Northwest Arkansas. Jon thrives on helping others succeed. In 1998 he began his career in technology with a vendor for a global retailer. Since 2006 he’s been with TDS IT and is working to build the managed technology services division of the company. When he is not at work he might be found enjoying time with his family, wandering in the Ozarks, or out on his kayak looking for rapids or fish that might be biting.

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of any organization.

April 15, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

My first job was working at a fast food restaurant. I was given the important task of hamburger bun toasting. Every day, I would arrive, continuously feed hamburger buns into the conveyor belt, and gather the lightly toasted ones on the other side. It was monotonous work that, believe it or not, wasn’t very fulfilling, but was necessary.

The team leader, who was a nice guy, managed a shift of about eight high school kids, mostly looking for a little extra money and free soda in their bellies.

Well, during the lunch and dinner rushes, the line of cars piling up in the drive-thru was relentless. There were hangry people ready to consume their mouth-watering burgers on a perfectly toasted bun. During these times, the team leader became a hyper-focused, production-driven authoritarian and had little care for our well-being. If the bun production, or any of the less important parts of the assembly line, were slow, he would let us know in no uncertain terms. When the rush was over, he went back to his nice-guy persona who truly cared about everyone there. It then became more a country club environment where we could all laugh and joke.

Leaders often must exhibit different leadership styles based on personality, environment, and desire for results. Sometimes the boss has a locked-in style of leading, and for the better ones, it changes based on what’s happening around them.

But, when a leader understands the environment and the subsequent approach they should take, they are able to adjust their style to create a positive work environment and deliver results. The Managerial Grid is a theory to help understand five ways to lead others.

Production-Focused or People Focused

Robert Blake and Jane Mouton developed this theory in the 1960s as a model of situational leadership based on two factors: concern for people and concern for production. They used their research to graph leadership styles on what is known as the Managerial Grid.

They rated a leader’s concern for people on a scale of one to nine on the x-axis. Next, they rated a leader’s concern for production on a scale of one to nine on the y-axis. The result was a grid consisting of 81 squares that depicted how a boss would act based on their level of focus on the two dimensions. The result was five different leadership styles. It’s easy to think some are good and some are bad, but they’re just different ways based on the situation.

Country Club Management. In the top left, are bosses who have a high concern for people but a low concern for production. These leaders are looking to create the best experience for their people, help them enjoy work, and ensure a friendly and comfortable atmosphere. They are the ones who walk around every day, greet the team, and remove obstacles, rarely mentioning the work at hand.

This style is predicated on positive interactions with employees to encourage them to be successful without the pressure of production-based conversations. The risk is that a low focus on tasks may result in low production.

I used this style as a junior-ranking action officer leading a planning team full of people who outranked me. They were all competent, capable, and knew what needed to be done. My job was simply to facilitate dialogue and a positive atmosphere to allow them to work together.

Team Management. Moving to the top right quadrant, team managers are those with a high concern for both people and production. These leaders are committed to mission success while fostering a participatory environment and caring for others. This can create employees who feel valued, empowered, trusted, and clearly know their expectations.

This style, according to Blake and Mouton, is the most effective one. Leaders here are seen as engaged, committed, and seeking organizational wins. The risk is that the leader is all-in, all-the-time, on-everything, and can burn out or seem too much to others.

I used this style when placing military medical teams into civilian hospitals during COVID. I led a small team of committed professionals on no-fail missions, travelling across country for nearly seven months straight. It required clear performance standards while managing our mental well-being.

Impoverished Management. The bottom left depicts bosses who have a low concern for both people and performance. These leaders do not focus on employee satisfaction, instead just letting them work. At the same time, they don’t clearly outline requirements, planning, or deadlines, believing the job will get done without them.

This method is obviously not preferred based on the name. Most leaders here are seen as disconnected and uncaring. However, with a proficient team who cares, it could still work without leader engagement. There are many risks, the biggest being disorganization and apathy in the ranks.

I was once assigned as the team leader for an academic group project. The atmosphere was already tense based on personalities, and I just wanted to do well without any drama. I remained in the background, let smart people do smart people things, completed the project, and moved on.

Authority-Compliance Management. This is sometimes called task management or dictatorial. In the bottom right quadrant, leaders here are focused on production above all else, at the expense of their people. The employees are a means to an end and the mission is the priority above all else. Often using direct language and clear expectations, these leaders get the job done.

The benefits of this style include employees knowing both their clear organizational goals and what success looks like. The risk is that leaders are often seen as disconnected, uncaring, and controlling, resulting in high turnover and dissatisfaction.

I worked at a distribution center once where the name of the game was the number of boxes moved. The culture was focused on clear expectations for production, and if someone couldn’t meet it, they were on the termination block. It was a hard environment to be a caring leader in.

Middle of the Road Management. The final style rests right in the center as both moderate concern for people and production. The boss cares about being successful and that their people have good morale but isn’t discouraged if neither comes to fruition. They usually get the job done and everyone feels generally satisfied at the end of the day.

This is sometimes described as maintaining balance but, in reality, it’s more being “sorta” passionate. They’re neither all in, nor all out. This could lead to average performance and morale with the job just getting done.

Let’s be honest, there have been times when we’re all in the middle. For me, after the birth of our first child, my wife and I weren’t sleeping well and were overwhelmed with a newborn. My energy was depleted and, while I tried to care at work, I was admittedly only half-there many days.

Environment Dictates Style

The original concept assumes that bosses lead in a fixed style and cannot change. This is simply not true. As illustrated by my bun-toasting example earlier, the best leaders have the ability to adjust their style based on the environment and people around them.

For the environment, sometimes the mission has to be completed above all else. In the movie Saving Private Ryan, the D-Day invasion scene sees Tom Hanks sending solider after soldier to their death to assault a pillbox. He prioritized the mission over the men. Later on, he let a German go free instead of executing him. He placed his people’s, and his own, mental health over the mission.

In reality, we often must adjust our style based on individual personalities. We can assume everyone appreciates a people-focused approach, but there are employees out there who would rather be left alone and do their work. They don’t need a long discussion about weekend plans to serve as a break. Or some would love to see you more often, but don’t need you to constantly track their work progress and give advice.

If we asked each person what level of engagement they wanted, it would certainly help us interact with them better.

The Beauty of the Grid

Understanding Blake and Mouton’s Managerial grid can help us relate to our employees as individuals and increase the productivity of environments as a whole. We’re all motivated in different ways. Some enjoy being in a country club environment at work and some just want to get the job done.

When we recognize how our approach affects employee morale and satisfaction along with mission accomplishment, we can adjust our style to meet the needs of our people and organizations. After all, that’s how the drive-thru customers get a perfectly toasted bun from happy employees.

Click here to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning! 

We’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

April 10, 2025

by Michael M. Posey

We all feel stressed at times. Often, this comes from the pressure we impose on ourselves, wishing to conquer the world by taking on multiple tasks and showcasing our talents. Whether we work in industry, educate others, serve in the nonprofit sector or government, attend school, care for loved ones, or labor in any occupation, we probably have felt overwhelmed by events and our “to-do” list.

Like many, I often demand too much of myself and find life imbalanced. When I feel overwhelmed, I remember the straightforward advice given to me by Retired Vice Admiral Barry Costello, then the two-star commander of Cruiser-Destroyer Group One, as I prepared to fly into combat: “Take care of yourself first, then your family. Only after you have taken care of those first two priorities can you focus on the third: the mission.”

Before Flying Over Baghdad

The USS Constellation (CV-64) executed her final voyage as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003. Embarked on board, the flyers were summoned to the fo’c’sle to listen to the then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Richard Myers, give us a pep talk. Hosting our nation’s senior 4-star General on our aircraft carrier reminded us of the gravity of our mission. Lightly oscillating with the waves of the Northern Arabian Gulf, the aviators of Carrier Air Wing Two stood at attention, ever so slightly swaying with the motion. After the Chairman finished, the media reporters left the ship’s space with him. We continued to stand as our admiral spoke to us on this calm, warm March evening. This would be his final opportunity to address the aviators on board before we would fly into combat the next night. 

Admiral Costello paced through our ranks. “What is important to you?” he queried, turning to face a young pilot. 

The lieutenant responded, “Sir, flying well is important to me.” 

“What else? What else is important?” he asked, turning to face another aviator.

The lieutenant commander answered, “Admiral, my family is important to me.”

“Thank you. What else? What else do you prioritize?” he questioned. Pausing for effect, he paced the ranks some more, facing a pilot from a different squadron.

“Uh… my health, Sir,” the lieutenant junior grade replied. 

“Ah… okay, yes. We need to bin the big priorities in our lives. I’m going to summarize what you all have told me is important. Let’s say that we have to take care of the Navy mission. We also need to prioritize our families and take care of ourselves.

He continued to pace, now standing behind me, and his booming voice echoed through the ship. 

“How should we prioritize these three big priorities in our life?”

One aviator responded, “Sir, the Navy mission, then my family, and then myself.” 

His response sounded pretty good to me. Admiral Costello asked another, “Okay, how about you? How would you prioritize these three important aspects in our lives?”

He echoed his shipmate’s exact answer. The next aviator followed suit, and the one after him did the same.

The Admiral raised his voice slightly, “Is that what you all believe? Should we first prioritize the Navy mission, then our families, and then ourselves?” 

Most in the Air Wing were unsure if the admiral’s question was rhetorical or not, but a few replied, “Yes, Sir!”  The answers popped in the carrier’s fo’c’sle.

Life Advice

Admiral Costello retorted, “Well. You are all wrong.” He quietly walked back to the front of the formation. “Stand at ease, gentlemen.” His silence between phrases brought power to his voice.

“I want you to take care of yourself first. Now, I do not mean that you should ever act selfishly. I am talking about eating right, working out, getting enough sleep, reading, worshiping and being spiritually active – if that is important to you, and being emotionally balanced. You have to prioritize yourself first so that you can do the next most important thing: take care of your family. 

“Your family will be with you long after you leave the Navy. I know we’re away, but please write that letter, make a video of yourself reading to your kids, and complete your legal paperwork. In other words, do whatever you can to ensure your family is well taken care of. It is only when you’ve taken care of yourself and your family that you can focus on the Navy mission.”

“As you fly into harm’s way, I need you to succeed with your part of the Navy mission, so I ask you to prioritize your lives accordingly.”

Life Priorities: Clarity When Overwhelmed

I am back ashore now and far from a combat zone, yet the admiral’s words still move me. When I feel overwhelmed, I do my best to recall that on the eve of combat operations, speaking to a room full of young aviators who may not come back, this military leader reminded us to take care of ourselves first and families second, because it is only then that we can focus on our mission. So, I encourage us to live this way as well. Prioritize our lives in a manner that is healthy and brings clarity when this world becomes stressful, which for many of us, is a daily occurrence.

Mike Posey is an active-duty Naval Flight Officer in the E-2C Hawkeye and the F/A-18F Super Hornet. He is a father of two phenomenal children and the husband of a fantastic woman. He holds business degrees from Carnegie Mellon University and the University of Florida and is currently pursuing a doctorate in education from Penn State University.

The views expressed here are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the United States Navy or the Department of Defense.

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Photo Credits: Arabian Gulf (Mar. 21, 2003) — Rear Adm. Barry Costello, Commander Cruiser Destroyer Group One (CCDG-1), and pilots assigned to Carrier Air Wing Two (CVW-2) listen to a pre-flight brief in one of the squadron ready rooms. U.S. Navy photo by Photographer’s Mate 2nd Class Felix Garza Jr. (RELEASED)

April 8, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

The Shocking State of Employee Engagement

According to a 2024 Gallup poll, only 21% of employees feel passionate about their work. Perhaps more alarming, 63% of respondents across 160 countries described themselves as “not engaged.”

One of the main reasons for these low engagement numbers is management. Direct supervisors are a driving factor in whether an employee is doing their best work. Incompetent, micromanaging, or toxic bosses often hurt morale more than the job itself. Conversely, positive, engaging bosses help people achieve results and enjoy their jobs.

A passionate employee is going to do their best work. While the onus ultimately falls on the individual to choose their attitude, the role of the boss is critical in unlocking the full potential of their team.

The Intégro Leadership Institute developed the Passion Pyramid to help leaders understand the five core needs of employees and guide them from disengagement to passion. By recognizing where employees are on this pyramid and interacting with them accordingly, leaders can increase engagement across their teams.

Leaders Control Passion Levels

The intersection of talent, passion, and opportunity is what I call the “sweet spot” of life. People who are skilled, love what they do, and have a career aligned with their strengths are typically fulfilled at work. I’ve been fortunate to live in that sweet spot throughout my U.S. Army career, having held over twenty different positions and felt passionate about nearly all of them.

The few exceptions were due to unhealthy supervisors. Even someone as passionate about the military as I am struggled to stay engaged under poor leadership. That’s how much influence a boss has.

The Passion Pyramid: Five Essential Employee Needs

The Passion Pyramid argues there are five employee needs. Fulfillment can be obtained by an employee moving up the ladder, and the boss can help them do so. Leaders should be aware of these needs and help employees move up the pyramid both to benefit themselves and the organization.

1. To Be Respected. Using the most basic form of employee engagement, bosses must treat others with the utmost respect. It’s no longer acceptable for leaders to belittle, insult, or even ignore employees. People skills are required to make others feel trusted, valued, and heard. From the first day to the last, engagement starts with helping individuals feel needed and important. Leaders do this through their words, actions, and consistent interaction.

2. To Learn and Grow. Most employees show up wanting to succeed and improve. That becomes difficult when their job is the same mundane task years on end. Leaders should coach, counsel, and mentor their people, creating opportunities for them to expand their skills. Good bosses offer training to expand the knowledge base of employees and complete more tasks. Great bosses build defined roadmaps for professional development leading to future opportunities.

3. To Be an Insider. People want to be in the loop. When employees feel informed and included, they develop a deeper connection to the organization. Bosses who are inclusive, transparent, and push information to their people develop connections based on an open flow of information. Everyone wants to sit at the “cool kids’ table,” and it’s the leader’s job to make every employee feel like they’re already there.

4. To Do Meaningful Work. Employees want to know their work matters. Leaders must connect daily tactical tasks to the organization’s strategic mission and values. By aligning purpose, values, and vision with daily tasks, employees understand how they are contributing to a greater cause. The result is increased commitment and engagement. Just about every dinner table conversation in the country starts with, “How was work today?” Great bosses give their team a meaningful story to tell.

5. To Be on a Winning Team. At the top of the pyramid, passionate employees are part of high-performing teams. Just like in the Super Bowl, where players have their needs met but still feel deflated after a loss, employees need to experience wins. These don’t have to be massive achievements, just meaningful successes. It’s the leader’s job to remind our people that they were on a winning team today.

One Size Doesn’t Fit All

Every organization has employees scattered across different levels of the pyramid. Some are thriving and passionately contributing, while others are struggling to feel included or valued. Leadership is the art of recognizing where each person falls on the pyramid and help them climb higher.

Employees who are respected, learners, in the know, doing important work, and winning bring massive value to any team. Sadly, only one in five people are estimated to be at this level.

The Leader’s Challenge—and Opportunity

Imagine a team where every member is passionate, engaged, and going above and beyond daily. It would transform how we operate. The Passion Pyramid offers a practical roadmap to create that kind of team. By understanding and supporting each employee’s journey, leaders can unleash extraordinary performance, satisfaction, and purpose.

Want to build a passionate team? Start by assessing where each person is on the pyramid—and lead them upward with intention. Share this with fellow leaders who care about making work meaningful.

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This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright  

April 3, 2025

by Evan C. Corman

Leadership is a lifelong journey that transcends our profession’s environments and borders. No longer confined solely to work life, we need leadership skills in our families, communities, and relationships. It must be cultivated from the time we leave our childhood homes and passed on to the next generation as we practice it for decades. While this concept applies across many professions, the military has codified this practice through a military officer’s career. Here, leadership evolves and extends from one domain to another honed through ROTC, nurtured in family circles, tested in the Army, and ultimately extended to influence society and the world at large.

From the rigorous training of an ROTC program to the profound responsibility of military service in the Army and beyond, effective leadership involves a blend of discipline, self-awareness, and the capacity to inspire others. Leadership is not just a role or title; it’s a mindset that impacts our professional journey, family, personal circles, and even the broader community.

Leadership in the ROTC Program: Building the Foundation

For many aspiring young soldiers, the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) is the first significant exposure to leadership in a military context. The ROTC program is designed to develop the leadership skills of college-aged cadets across 273 host universities and over 1,100 affiliate institutions, preparing them to become officers in the U.S. Army. The program combines academic instruction with leadership training, instilling the core values of duty, respect, integrity, and honor.

In ROTC, leadership is shaped through both structured and unstructured experiences. Cadets learn how to lead teams, manage tasks, and navigate complex problems in high-pressure situations, all while managing a rigorous academic course load. This is the foundation of a leader’s skill set, taking responsibility for oneself and others, making decisions that can impact lives, and fostering an environment of respect and trust.

Leadership in ROTC is not simply about giving orders or holding a position of power, in fact roles change frequently. It is about serving as an example, exhibiting discipline, and learning how to support others in their growth. The bond created within the ROTC community is unique, and the shared experience fosters teamwork, loyalty, and an unwavering commitment to one another’s success.

Leadership at Home: The Influence of Family and Personal Circles

The leadership learned in ROTC does not stay confined to the military; it carries over to personal relationships, particularly with family and close friends. In the home, leadership is often about service, support, and prioritizing the well-being of loved ones.

A cadet or military officer who leads effectively within their family tends to model the same skills that they would use in the Army, such as communication, decision-making, responsibility, and empathy. It is within the family unit that a leader learns to balance personal and professional commitments, understanding that strong leadership includes providing emotional support, understanding others’ perspectives, and fostering an environment of care and encouragement.

Family and personal relationships also serve as a testing ground for leadership principles. Can a leader maintain patience and empathy when dealing with difficult family dynamics? Can they demonstrate strength during times of adversity while being attuned to the needs of others? These questions reveal the human side of leadership, proving that the best leaders are those who can navigate both the battlefield and the challenges of everyday life.

Leadership in the Army: Leading with Integrity

Once in the Army, leadership takes on a more formal and critical role. As an officer, the responsibility grows exponentially. Leaders are entrusted with the well-being of their soldiers, the effectiveness of their units, and the success of missions that can affect national security. Leadership within the Army requires more than just technical skills; it demands a moral compass, the ability to inspire, and the courage to make tough decisions that may affect people’s lives.

The Army places a significant emphasis on continuous leadership development. Officers are trained to be decision-makers who act with integrity, serve with humility, and empower others to excel. Leadership in the Army is also about trust. Soldiers must trust their leaders, and leaders must trust their soldiers. This reciprocal trust forms the bedrock of effective military operations.

In the Army, leaders are also tasked with ensuring that their soldiers understand their own roles within the broader mission and the importance of collective success. A great leader focuses not just on accomplishing the mission but on developing the individuals within the team. This includes mentoring others, facilitating their growth, and ensuring that every member feels valued and capable of contributing to the mission.

Leadership beyond the Army: Impacting Society and the World

As officers progress in their military careers, their influence extends beyond the Army to society at large. Leaders in the military are often called upon to represent their country, uphold national values, and work toward global peace and security. Leadership is no longer just about military strategies or operational excellence; it’s about serving as a role model, an ambassador, and an advocate for broader causes such as justice, freedom, and international cooperation.

Leaders who have been shaped by the discipline and ethics of the Army often carry these values into civilian life where they may transition into leadership roles in government, business, or nonprofit organizations. The leadership lessons learned in ROTC and the Army can be applied to many facets of life. They can inspire individuals to act on important social issues, lead efforts for change, and empower others to make a difference.

Many former military leaders go on to become advocates for their fellow veterans, ensuring that their service is honored, and their needs are met. In this way, the leadership ethos continues to extend far beyond the confines of the military, enriching society with lessons in resilience, service, and duty to others.

Leadership as a Lifelong Journey

Leadership is a process and must be fostered over time regardless of the path we take. For a U.S Army officer, leadership is a lifelong journey forged in the crucible of ROTC, tested in the context of family and personal relationships, honed through the challenges of the military, and ultimately extended to the wider world. It is not confined to one environment but is instead something that shapes and is shaped by every experience. The principles of leadership integrity, empathy, accountability, and service are universal, and their application is far-reaching.

A true leader understands that their role is not limited to commanding soldiers or fulfilling obligations within a particular organization. Leadership is about completing the mission, making a positive impact, fostering trust, and building a legacy that extends well beyond the military. Whether serving in the Army or engaging with the world beyond, the influence of effective leadership ripples through every circle it touches. Leadership extends beyond a profession and impacts family, community, and society creating a powerful legacy of service and dedication.

Effective leaders shape the world in profound ways: one person, one relationship, and one mission at a time.

Bio: Evan Corman is an assistant professor of military science at Rutgers University where he teaches the sophomore cadets. He is also serving as a captain in the United States Army Reserve serving as a team chief in the 404 Civil Affairs Airborne Company. He graduated from Shippensburg University where he was commissioned into the Field Artillery Corps as an active-duty officer. He served honorably in the 82nd airborne division where he completed his active-duty time. He recently graduated from Johns Hopkins University with a Master of Arts in Museum Studies.

You could be the next author on the Maximum Standard! we’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step by contacting us at themaximumstandard@gmail.com.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of any organization.

April 1, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

It’s one thing to read about something—it’s another thing to do it. How often do we study up on a topic but never actually experience it? In contrast, the concept of experiential learning uses studying and doing to develop increased understanding, knowledge, and skills. We learn best by performing an activity, reflecting on it, analyzing the results, and doing it again. This method can improve our skills in whatever area we choose.  

In 2004, I fell in love with the Appalachian Trail. We moved briefly near a State Park with an entrance to the white blazes, and I took a few mile out-and-back hikes. Over the last twenty years, I’ve read books and articles, watched documentaries, visited museums, browsed YouTube videos, and talked to thru hikers to learn more. Finally, last week after two decades of dreams, I threw a pack on and took a 13-mile, one-way trip through the mountains. While my experiential learning was admittedly drawn out, I needed all four components to learn more about the trail.

The Origins of Experiential Learning

Kurt Lewin, German-American psychologist in the early 1900s, argued that learning is a four-stage cycle. It begins with a concrete experience, is improved by observations and reflections, grows through forming abstract concepts and new ideas, and is cemented by performing the activity again. The cycle is then repeated to improve knowledge and understanding.

This theory is grounded in having tangible experiences combined with individual and social learning to create opportunities for immense growth. Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget added to this with his idea that experience, conceptualization, reflection, and action are the basis for adult learning. The work of these men along with others led to the four stages of the Experiential Learning Cycle of experiencing, reflecting, thinking, and acting.

Experiencing. The first step is having a concrete experience. It’s the act of going out and trying something new. This could be a new sport, hobby, or interest. The key is to have “an experience” in a small dosage that helps us understand it more. A more conventional way of saying this is, “Just do it.”

When I began my interest in the Appalachian Trail, I went out and took a thirty-minute hike. It was short, fun, and exciting enough to encourage me to learn more. I walked without a pack, in great weather, and on a challenging uphill climb. I learned a lot while wanting more.  

Reflecting. Once the concrete experience is complete, the second step is reflective observation where we think deeply about what we did and where we want to go next. This involves deliberate thought on our concrete experience, how we can improve, and what our next steps are. It derives new meaning from our feelings, thoughts, and actions.

After my short hike, I thought a lot about the trail. It was calling me. I dreamed about longer hikes and a 2,100-mile thru hike, equipment I would need, and ways to get back on the trail in both bulk and moderation. My reflection filled gaps from the concrete experience and helped me build on my journey.

Thinking. The third step is abstract conceptualization or thinking collaboratively about the event. This is where we bring in outside sources such as books, videos, experts, or other learners. In this, we share ideas and lessons which increase knowledge. The heart of adult learning is through interactions and conversations with others.

My thinking came in the form of books, websites, and videos along with chatting with the occasional long-distance hiker. It’s so important to add to our concrete experience and personal thoughts with outside ideas and conversations. It broadens our aperture and helps us see different viewpoints. 

Acting. Finally, active experimentation brings our experience, knowledge, and collaborative conversations together to try it again. We test our new theories by repeating the activity with increased intensity. The cycle then repeats.

My hike last weekend brought together a significant amount of self-actualized and comprehensive ideas combined with many non-Appalachian Trail hikes over the years. This longer journey forced me to test hydration, nutrition, timing, and social theories on the trail. In the process, I began thinking about the next level of overnight stays, water purification, and unexpected weather precautions. The second experience answered questions and discovered new ones as the cycle repeated itself.

The Iterative Process

These four steps do not necessarily need to be conducted in order. Each repetition of doing, reflecting, conversing, and doing it again is an iterative process to increase knowledge at every step. In fact, many times they are done simultaneously and in different orders. The key is to experience things, reflect on that time, learn and grow individually and through others, and experience it again.

For example, if I wanted to write an article but had never done it before, I would probably start by reading how to write an article from experts. I would next think about topic, run it by some close colleagues to see what they think, and receive feedback. I would then reflect on that feedback and start writing while studying my topic. After a draft, I would talk to more mentors, study more writing techniques and my topic, and keep writing the article.

In this process, nothing was linear. I performed the task, reflected about my performance, spoke to others about it, and wrote some more. There was no order, but there was a continuous iterative process between these four tasks to generate improvement.

Go Walk the Trail

We learn best while doing. We can read or study a topic all day long, but until we’re actually performing the activity, we can’t experience the full benefits of learning. Experiential learning requires performing the activity, reflecting on it, talking with others about it, and doing it again. In the end, reading about a topic may be interesting, but until we physically do the activity, it’s an abstract concept.

My short trail jaunt combined with learning and discussing long distance hiking needed me to revisit the trail again to bring it all together. I now have a whole new lens on hiking plus a number of new questions I need to answer. The experiential cycle continues.  

If there’s something we’re interested in, we need to “just do it!” You’ll be amazed by how much more we learn than reading alone.

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

by Jon Hodgin

March 27, 2025

I admit it, I’m not a perfect leader. In fact, perfection in any aspect of life is something I will never attain, and I’ve come to terms with that. Embracing my imperfections is crucial to my growth as a leader, and I believe it’s an essential aspect of guiding team members, companies, and families effectively. 

Last year I went through a challenging period where I felt stretched to my limit with seemingly never-ending demands within my department, from clients, and through random, additional tasks. Honestly, I was struggling. During that period, I had a client with a simple IT issue to resolve. They asked I personally address the issue rather than delegate to my staff. Because I felt so stretched, I tried a shortcut to resolve the issue and ended up paying the price. They’re still a client, but I’m not sure if they’ll stay. I botched it, and not just with a staff member in that company but with a senior leader. 

We were able to salvage that relationship, but in my mind it will go down as one of my worst mistakes. As it was, I felt like stepping down. In all my career, I had not made a mistake like this on such a simple task. “How could I have done something so stupid?” was a question that kept me up at night.

After some reflection, I chose to share this vulnerable moment with my team. I chose not to learn the lesson in isolation, but to share the struggle, show the failure, and relate to the team as the imperfect leader that I am. I did not hand the problem off to my team. I still worked the issue to the point of resolution and communicated with the client, but I continued to communicate with my team where I was in the process of cleaning up the mess I made for myself. They had insight into solutions that I had not considered, and their help was invaluable to fixing this problem. 

An amazing thing happened. They began to share more freely in areas where they were struggling. We became more of a team by connecting through our failures and lifting each other up. The results of sharing that failure paid great dividends, and I know it will continue to pay forward.

It’s not just me saying this. A 2022 study by the Fisher Leadership Institute at Ohio State University found the same thing. Their research proved that leaders who own up to their errors and avoid the false image of perfection are more effective overall. Admitting mistakes demonstrates humility, a critical leadership quality we all want our bosses to have. This translates, according to the study, to improved team performance and a desire to continuously improve.

As the leader, I never want to present myself as someone who is out of reach or aspirational. I want others to recognize the efforts and not reach for perfection, but to genuinely pursue excellence.

I believe that being honest about failures and shortcomings is a vital part of that pursuit. We must foster an environment of trust and transparency. I want my team members to know that making mistakes is a natural part of life. Poet Thomas Jones wrote, “To err, is human; to recover, is Angelic; to persevere is Diabolical.” We will make mistakes, we should own up to them, and we must learn from them and keep going.

In John Maxwell’s book, Failing Forward, he challenged leaders to share their failures to encourage a culture of learning from our mistakes rather than sweeping them under the rug or passing them off to the next guy. The principle worked as in my organization. We created a space where innovation and risk-taking are encouraged and we grow together, agreeing that failure is not the end, but an opportunity to improve. Admitting my flaws and failures doesn’t make me a weaker leader; it makes me more approachable and relatable. 

My team sees that I’m human, and that together, we can work through challenges and find solutions. Sharing mistakes builds trust through honest communication, which is crucial for effective leadership. Only through this trust can we build a cohesive and productive team, where every member feels valued and understood.

“Great leaders don’t try to be perfect, they try to be themselves … and that’s what makes them great.” Simon Sinek

Jon Hodgin is Vice President of Information Technology for TDS IT in Northwest Arkansas. Jon thrives on helping others succeed. In 1998 he began his career in technology with a vendor for a global retailer. Since 2006 he’s been with TDS IT and is working to build the managed technology services division of the company. When he is not at work he might be found enjoying time with his family, wandering in the Ozarks, or out on his kayak looking for rapids or fish that might be biting.

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of any organization.

March 25, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

This week the weather finally became nice, and I grabbed my bike for a ride. Not having ridden since the fall, my body certainly wasn’t ready to sit in the saddle for a long, hard workout. Yet, I found myself magnetically pulled five miles towards a mountain pass and then an additional 2.5-mile, 1,000-foot climb up the Appalachians.

I was not completely ready for this, and my legs were screaming up the incline that occasionally hit a 15% slope. There were multiple times I was ready to quit, but I trudged on, fighting back my mind’s desire to throw in the towel, turn around, and head home.  

As my lungs burned, it made me wonder about the science of not quitting. We’ve been told from an early age to never give up and finish what we’ve started. If you’re like me, I’ve been value-programmed to keep going no matter what, but have occasionally stopped reading a terrible novel, not finished a workout, or lost interest in doing a puzzle.

The decision to quit in the moment, however, is more nuanced than “I don’t feel like it.” It has to do with three independent aspects of our psyche that are competing to get us to quit or keep going. If we can lean into one of these positive aspects, we have a better shot at not quitting.

The Psychology of Quitting

Stopping an activity affects the cognitive, emotional, and social aspects of our minds. If we feel like quitting in the moment, it’s probably because of one of these. At the same time, one or more of these can override the other desires to quit.

Cognitive is the rational side where our mind is debating whether to quit by using logic to balance out the pros and cons. It weighs the current struggles we’re going through with future benefits. If the benefits outweigh the pain, our mind makes a logical decision to continue the activity. During my bike ride, my brain was screaming to stop and found no benefits of continuing the climb.

Emotional is how we feel about our decision. Here we consider emotions such as anxiety, boredom, excitement, fear, or triumph. A decision to continue may intensely pull at the heartstrings like when we’re running a race sponsoring a cancer survivor or feeling the triumph of closing out a crossword puzzle. My emotions riding up the hill were centered around a feeling of satisfaction if I made it to the top.

Finally, the social aspect of quitting is how our family and friends may applaud, judge, celebrate, or criticize our actions. We all have a circle of acquaintances with whom we share life, and we typically want to make proud. Our decisions can be influenced by what we predict they will think of us, good or bad. On my bike ride, I knew about halfway up the hill I was going to write about this, and my actions to my social circle will be a story of either success or failure.  

Putting the Decision to Quit into Practice

When we combine the cognitive, emotional, and social impact in our decision on whether to quit in the moment, we gain a holistic look at the impacts of our decisions.

Social Decision to Continue. Chief Petty Officer Douglas “Mike” Day and his Seal Team raided the house of a high-level al-Qaeda official in Iraq’s Anbar province on April 6, 2007. Upon entering, insurgents from less than 10 feet away opened fire hitting him 16 times, 11 in his body armor. The remaining five bullets directly impacted his exposed areas along with a grenade blast.

His retold his thought process afterward, first thinking: “God get me home to my girls, and then extreme anger. Then I just went to work. It was muscle memory. I just did what I was trained to do.” He took down three bad guys, completed the mission, and walked to the medevac helicopter.

I’m speculating here, but cognitively he probably thought stopping to take care of his wounds would be smart and emotionally he wanted to withdraw to get medical help. But socially he was fighting for his Navy Seal teammates and his family. He made the social choice to continue instead of giving up.

Emotional Decision to Continue. Derek Redmond was a British Olympic 400-meter sprinter in the 1992 Summer Games. He missed running four years earlier after tearing his Achilles an hour before the race, a devastating setback. Five surgeries and four years later, he was ready.

Halfway into his semifinal run, his hamstring tore. He could have chosen to stop right there, avoiding significant injury, but instead he hopped on one foot within his lane. His dad ran out of the stands to support him, and they completed the race together in an emotional moment.

Physically speaking, Redmond should have stopped, as I’m sure his brain was telling him. While socially his country was watching, he had already lost the race. His emotions wanted him to finish though, and with his dad carrying him along, they finished together.

Cognitive Decision to Continue. When Apollo 13 astronaut Jim Lovell reported over 200,000 miles from the Earth, “Houston, we have a problem,” the NASA ground crew leapt into action. An explosion took out the crew’s regular supply of oxygen, water, electricity, heat, and light.

Engineers and mission controllers worked around the clock to solve three main problems of power conservation, removing carbon dioxide from the module, and plotting a course home. It took two days of no sleep to solve this. Their teamwork saved the lives of three astronauts.

I would imagine that the team was emotionally exhausted and wanted to quit, and while social was a factor, it wasn’t the external pressure that kept them going. It was the cognitive belief from this team of engineers that their brains could solve these problems in the face of mental exhaustion to bring their people home.

Don’t Give Up

The desire to either continue or quit comes down to the three aspects: cognitive, emotional, and social. In every situation they vary. Next time we feel like giving up, we should think about these three aspects independently. This allows us to weigh out the risks and rewards, emotional impacts we are facing, and the effect on our family and social network.

Once we look at these objectively, we can make better decisions. Of course, never quitting is a false narrative. There are times when it’s smart to stop and try again another day.

For example, a cross-country drive from a driver with heavy eyelids puts those around them at risk. A hiker deciding whether to summit or turn back before dark without a light or adequate supplies should probably plan better and turn around. Finally, a bike rider climbing that hill who fears they will collapse from exhaustion and would need help getting back may want to make a U-turn halfway up the mountain.

Ultimately, it’s smarter to plan realistic goals and tackle those challenges as they come without stopping, and the decision to quit must not be taken lightly. It comes down to focusing on the cognitive, emotional, and social reasons that we should continue. In any grand endeavor, something inside us will always encourage us to quit, yet something else will encourage us to continue. We must fight that urge to the furthest extent possible and complete the mission so long as it’s safe to do so.

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

March 20, 2025

by Alexander Limber

“I came through and I shall return”

-Gen. Douglas MacArthur

Unfortunately, we all fall victim to broken trust at one point in our lives. For me, not only did I lose trust in someone, but I also lost a friend because of it. I used to be very close with a person who relied on me for help, and as a good friend I was always there for them; however, when the tables were turned, they were never there for me. This person would constantly make false promises and, over time, I slowly lost trust in them until their credibility and image were shattered in my mind.

This is both a warning and a lesson as we lead because when we’re in charge, all eyes and ears are constantly assessing our credibility. Our words and subsequent actions determine our trustworthiness and shape our legacy. Leadership is built upon the foundation of trust between us and our people. It can sometimes be challenging to live out every commitment we make; however, it’s our duty to make good on our promises.

General Douglas MacArthur is a prime example of maintaining credibility as he was a profound leader and a dedicated commander who was committed to keeping his word even in the face of adversity.

MacArthur: A Hard Promise

Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, Imperial Japan launched an invasion of the Philippines on December 8^th, 1941. Here, MacArthur and his combined U.S. and Filipino forces would courageously defend against the assault until May 1942 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered MacArthur to give up the island. MacArthur was forced to make a hard decision to leave his beloved Filipino people behind and inevitably retrograde to Australia to rethink his Pacific theater efforts. However, before he left he made a vow to the people of the Philippines declaring “I shall return,” marking his everlasting commitment to those he fought alongside. MacArthur’s pledge shaped the course of history by promising the people of the Philippines that he wouldn’t abandon them. He had become a beacon of hope for the Filipino people as they suffered under control of Imperial Japan.

Still loyal to the United States and inspired by MacArthur’s promise to liberate them, resistance groups formed in opposition to the occupation. Many of the fighters were trained by American forces prior to the start of WWII and personally by MacArthur himself beginning in 1935, which helped support their trust and faith in the general’s return. The resistance fighters would continue to resist the Japanese for two and a half years before MacArthur would return to the Philippines, leading Allied forces to liberate the Island. He would make good on his promise and demonstrate his commitment as a leader by staying true to his word. Even to this day the Filipino people commemorate Douglas MacArthur for his actions.

Our Credibility Defines Our Trust

The importance of keeping our word cannot be overstated because it shapes our credibility as leaders. MacArthur demonstrated the importance of this. His promise to return was credible in the minds of the Filipino people. They believed wholeheartedly that MacArthur would rescue them, so they continued to fight. As leaders, we need to recognize that our words followed by our actions impact our organizations for better or worse. Our people look to us for guidance and direction. However, by making false promises we diminish our credibility and burn the bridge of trust. That’s what happened with me and my friend. I could no longer trust this person and had to sever the relationship. This is why we always need to think about how our words and actions affect those around us. Our credibility shows others that we can be relied on even during times of adversity.

The U.S. Army believes that mutual trust is a crucial part of leadership and essential for a cohesive organization. According to Army Doctrine Publication 6-22, Army Leadership and The Profession: “Trust enables the ability of leaders to influence subordinates and effective command and control. Trust encompasses reliance upon others, confidence in their abilities, and consistency in behavior.” By having trust across all levels within the Army, it enables mission accomplishment. Our level of effectiveness is directly correlated to our level of trust in our leadership and each other.

Words Followed by Action Establish Trust

From an individual perspective, we lose trust in those who give us false hope by breaking their word. Leaders need to be mindful of what they say and what they promise to their people. If we forget to follow through or make an unrealistic promise, it could result in adverse effects such as lack of trust from others. If this becomes a pattern, they may even predict we will let them down in the future. In contrast, leaders sticking to their words and following through on commitments leads to the development of trust.

For example, MacArthur had cultivated an environment of trust when he was the military advisor for the Philippines prior to WWII, constantly demonstrating through training, speeches, and events his love of the island. Based on his performance and care of their people, Filipino President Manuel Quezon bestowed the rank of Field Marshal to MacArthur. Through his initiatives, MacArthur fostered and developed trust with the people of the Philippines to the extent where when he promised to return, they did not doubt him for a second.

As leaders we are able to establish trust within our organizations by being dependable. When we say we’re going to finish a project, we finish it quick and report our progress. When we say we’ll send a text or email, we don’t wait but instead knock out that task. When we say we’re going to be there, we show up on time, every time without fail. And when we say we will return, we will also come back. We have to continuously and predictably demonstrate that our words and deeds are the same.

Leaders Are Credible

The fact is that a leader’s credibility is reinforced by their words and actions. We must be mindful of what we say and do, as a mismatch can impact the way that we’re seen by our people. This loss of credibility and trust affects the cohesiveness and effectiveness of our organizations. The good news is that like Douglas MacArthur, when we focus on unequivocally keeping our word, our credibility is established just like the general did to the Philippines.

Alexander Limber is a student at The University of Akron, majoring in Emergency Management and Homeland Security. He is a Cadet in the Akron Army ROTC program and is looking to branch Infantry or Armor. His hobbies include weightlifting, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. 

March 18, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

I’m currently in charge of a small team of incredibly talented individuals. They are hardworking, competent, professional, and very successful in their work. Yet at the same time, we’re undergoing massive organizational change, injecting varying degrees of stress into our environment.

Especially amidst uncertainty, it’s so important that we focus on the health of our people. When psychological safety decreases, communication must increase. The 4-H Leadership Model discusses a way to help teams grow and prosper by focusing not only on productivity, but also on the human aspect of leading others.

Manfred Kets de Vries’ 4-H Leadership Model

Every group of people has its own personality and group dynamics. The best teams are those that are highly successful while having fun. Both positive performance and interpersonal relations are needed to create exceptional cultures. When you combine these two factors together, there’s little a team won’t accomplish. In contrast, when you have a team that’s performing but just going through the motions, or one that has a great culture but is not successful nor accomplishing stated objectives, the group rarely is living their best lives. That’s what we all seek: professional success while enjoying what we do at work and home.

The goal is to take a bunch of successful people and help them realize that the great work they’re doing is important and fun.  Manfred Kets de Vries, a renowned professor of leadership, speaks to this point, arguing it’s not enough to simply be successful but to also thrive in our places of work.

He grew up in the Netherlands during World War II, and his early research looked at the darker side of leadership because of his exposure to German aggression. From this, he understood the importance of avoiding autocratic leadership styles, solely driving mission goals. Instead, leaders must take active steps to ensure their people are successful and want to come to work each day. In his 4-H Model, he outlines the four characteristics leaders should demonstrate to encourage hard work, fun, and growth.

Humor. Everyone loves to laugh at work. It’s important to create an environment where people can walk into a room and enjoy each other’s company. Tell a joke. Talk about a funny thing that happened at home. Smile. Laugh at something you did wrong. People spend eight or more hours at work every day. It’s okay to have fun.

Taking it a step further. Rebecca Hinds found that people don’t want to have shallow fun at work; they want to have deep fun. Shallow fun is a Foosball table in the break room. Deep fun is working hard on projects and ideas that stretch the imagination on important things while making a difference. Another way is to have surprises during the workday like unexpected trips or work adventures. If we want our people to enjoy work, we inject fun.

I always try to have a semi-humorous story at work every day for shallow fun. But I also try to challenge a group with a thought project to start off every meeting like who their favorite military theorist is and why. Shallow and deep fun take constant work but are important to build humor and enjoyment into daily activities.

Humility. No one likes a boss who knows it all and speaks at us. Instead, we like to be heard and understood. The second “H” is about listening to respond. So many times I’ve waited for my turn to speak without actually listening to the conversation or caring in what direction it was going. I was going to get my already pre-planned comments into the discussion no matter what. Instead, we should listen to the other person and respond to the last sentence—people feel valued and important when others thoughtfully listen.

Michal Lehmann and his research team found listening well increases perceived levels of humility to all parties in a conversation. They believe two types of humility increase workplace culture. First, interpersonal humility is observable behaviors like complimenting others, receiving feedback well, and supporting people’s needs. Second, intrapersonal humility is knowing our strengths and weaknesses and remembering that we are fallible leaders. Our teams need us to be humble.

Still new to my place of work, I learn something new every day. I try to have a mindset where I understand others know way more than me, and my job is to learn and improve every day. I focus hard on listening and being humble in my growth. This is not an easy skill, and I fail often.

Humanity. The third “H” relates to how we treat others. Empathy and compassion are two qualities that everyone desires in their boss. When we truly care about those around us, they sense it and increase a feeling of belonging to the group. Empathy is being aware of and sensitive to the emotions of others around us. Compassion is being sympathetic to the stress of others and wanting to help.

Udi Dorner speaks on humanity where we all have problems from our personal lives that we subconsciously bring to work. We must demonstrate a balance of performance and empathy where we create a culture where life is more important than work, but we also have to get stuff done. Dorner found people feel humanized when leaders are sensitive to employee emotions, set realistic goals, encourage communication, and actively listen.

We all have life happening around us. In times of uncertainty, it’s important to treat people going through hard times as humans. For example, I have never denied a request for leave for any reason. I always say that if you want to take a day off, don’t ask me. Just tell me when.

Hope. The last component in the 4-H Leadership Model is providing optimistic leadership. Hope is the active process of expecting positive results with confidence. We all need a confident leader. No one wants to follow someone who has already conceded defeat and believes their actions are fruitless. Instead, we need inspiring leaders who will help us believe that the impossible is possible.

In the book “Raising a Modern Day Knight” by Robert Lewis, he argues one quality every young leader should have is “expecting the greater reward.” This is the belief that good things are around the corner and the hard work we’re doing today will bear fruit. We all need leaders who are going to push us to achieve more than we thought we could. Leaders arouse hope in others that they will be successful in their task.

It’s hard to be optimistic in the low points. But I try to constantly project realistic positivity; realistic being the key word. Too optimistic and we come off as dreamers. I’ve found that confidently laying out plans and directions, even when unsure if they will work, goes a long way in building the confidence of others.

Performance and Care

Leaders influence others to make things happen. This comes with a careful combination of driving performance while taking care of people. By using the 4-H Model of humor, humility, humanity, and hope, we can help our people achieve more while feeling great about the work they’re doing. Ultimately, the goal is success at work achieved by people who love coming in every day. Even in hard times, the best of us need quality, caring leaders to inspire us.

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

March 13, 2025

by Alex Licea

For many of us who grew up in the 1990s, walk-up music was often associated with pro wrestling. This was especially true during the so-called “Attitude Era” when legend Stone Cold Steve Austin was wreaking havoc. Austin’s entrance to the sounds of shredded glass followed by an abrasive rock guitar riff established the Texas Rattlesnake and his hard-nosed, brash personality.

Entrance music was and still is instrumental with a wrestler’s character, and it was the audience’s introduction to their persona. 

Have you ever played a song in your head when your boss, your commander, or someone with authority walked in? The theory is that every leader is tied to an entrance song that other people hear. This is the general idea behind the Walk-Up Music Concept.

At a recent military course I was attending, we were challenged to select our walk-up music to describe what our leadership style says about us when we enter a room.  

The institutional structure of these military leadership courses often gives students the ability to go into thoughtful discussions about leadership doctrine, philosophy, and visions. This exercise was a fun way to explore that.

The concept was simple: pick any song you associate with your leadership approach or style. It was a lighthearted and entertaining topic of discussion that carried throughout the course.

Let’s have some fun and explore some walk-up music and genres that could be linked to leadership styles:      

The Raw Energy & Charismatic Leader: Ultimate Warrior Theme Song “Unstable”

Young, energetic leaders with an overabundance of energy are ready to take on the world! Fresh-faced Lieutenants or newly pinned Non-Commissioned Officers with excitement and charisma need a theme song to fire others up.

Let’s stick with the pro wrestling world and talk about the best walk-up/entrance song, in my opinion, of all time. WWE Hall of Famer The Ultimate Warrior’s theme song was titled “Unstable.”  The instrumental track is 100 seconds of pure raw energy matching the Warrior’s electric entrance into the ring. With the guitar, drums, and cymbals, it’s the perfect song to get our people motivated!

The Autocratic Leader: The John Williams Collection

Autocratic leaders are ones with individual control over all decisions. They expect strict obedience and often evoke fear in their followers. The acclaimed composer and conductor John Williams produced legendary autocratic film scores. From Jaws to the Star Wars saga, the Academy Award winner’s music is synonymous over the last half century with raising the level of anxiety when a boss walks in the room.

Whether it’s the strong instrumental tones where Jaws is slinking towards an unsuspecting victim or Darth Vader’s Imperial March from the Empire Strikes Back as he enters looking to choke someone, these songs induce followers to cower and obey.

This music plays as the figure walks in and establishes their presence in the room. There is one clear boss and no questions asked! They might not be popular, but they do make decisions and get results (or not), albeit with the full dedication or disdain of their team. Not many people want this music to play when they walk in the room, but we’ve all heard it in some of our bosses.

The Transformational Leader: The Outkast Collection

A transformational leader is a person who inspires positive changes convincing others to follow. Transformational leaders are generally energetic, enthusiastic, and passionate and are the ones who want their teams to succeed. 

I can’t think of a more transformational musical catalog than Atlanta-based rap duo Outkast. The hip-hop act is considered one of the best in the business. Their style elevated Southern Hip Hop in the 90’s dominated by West Coast Rap Commercial hits like “Hey Ya!”, “B.O.B.”, “ATLiens”, and “The Way You Move” as just a small sample of their eclectic catalog. Their unique way of mixing thoughtful and complex topics with upbeat, dynamic and charged sounds is the ideal soundtrack for a transformational leader.

Other Leadership Styles and Associated Walk-Up Music

The Cheerful or Happy Leader. It’s a no-brainer, and you gotta go with “Happy” by Pharrell Williams where the entrance is fun and shows their mood. This type of leader is always positive, inspiring, and doesn’t let bad news get them down no matter what!

The Disorganized Leader. We’ve all had that leader who is just a “walking mess” from organizational skills to holding a meeting and everything in between. For this, just some good old “Circus Music” or the theme song to the “The Three Stooges” TV show suits the individual perfectly.

The AC-DC Leader. For obvious reasons, legendary rock band AC/DC and its songs are a favorite go-to for military leaders and other hard-chargers across many industries. While AC/DC is not a leadership approach, it is common to hear “Hells Bells,” “Back in Black,” and “Thunderstruck,” among others at events to get people fired up! If you’re a leader looking for your walk-up music, you can’t go wrong with AC/DC.

The Reality of “Walk-Up Music”

Here’s the deal. We get to determine what other people think our walk-up music is by how we act every day. The way we carry ourselves, our energy, and how we treat, lead, and inspire others will undoubtably leave a mark on those around us. This concept represents how we are perceived in other people’s minds which evoke lasting memories of a time, place, and events creating the soundtrack of a person’s life. 

Try it out!

If this concept is new, ask your colleagues what song they would associate with you. Their answers might be surprising. Use it as a fun team building event or part of your next leader professional development session. And then consider how your actions have led to other people hearing that song in you. Music changes and so can leadership styles. Use this as self-reflection, constructive feedback, and lifelong learning. No one song should define our lives because, just like musicians, we all have a lifelong work and music catalogs evolving over time!

Share what is your “Walk-Up Song” in the comments section below.

About the Author:

Alex Licea is a senior enlisted military leader with over 22 years of military service. He has served in Iraq and Afghanistan. He earned his Masters Degree from Georgetown University and is an avid fan of the Miami Dolphins, WWE, the Yellowstone series, chicken wings and Ranch dressing. 

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. 

All songs were used under fair use.

March 11, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

In any pursuit, whether it’s sports, business, art, or personal development, surrounding ourselves with people who challenge and surpass our current abilities is one of the most effective ways to grow. Seeking out mentors, competitors, or peers who excel in areas we want to improve pushes us to up our game. When we work alongside or learn from someone better than us, their expertise provides valuable insight, their example sets a higher standard, and their success serves as tangible proof of what’s possible.

This approach fosters continuous learning and improvement, preventing complacency and stagnation. Growth happens in discomfort, and by embracing the challenge of keeping up with someone more skilled, we accelerate our own progress. Working with those more talented than us is crucial for self-improvement and takes us to the next level.

History is full of examples where junior officers learned from great generals, shaping them into outstanding leaders themselves. One example is Napoleon Bonaparte and his marshals. Many of Napoleon’s protegees, such as Louis-Nicolas Davout and Jean Lannes started as relatively junior officers but learned from Napoleon’s tactical genius, eventually becoming some of the most formidable commanders in Europe. They learned under the tutelage of Napoleon to become greater themselves. Greatness begets greatness.

The Table Tennis Massacre

I’m a pretty good ping pong player. We’ve had a table in our basement on most military assignments where there was room, and I’ve been playing with my kids, brothers, bride, and family for decades. Our setup is simple, and my weapon of choice is the three-dollar Walmart paddle we bought as a set in 2004. While not a blanket statement, I’ve basically been undefeated in the 21^st Century. At this assignment, I’ve been feeling the call for more, and daydreamed about entering a local ping pong tournament. To start, I visited the local table tennis club at our community center a few weeks ago.

It went less as I planned and more like the Rocky movie series, except in this case, the underdog lost every bout. I played the president of the club (Apollo Creed), a 74-year-old man (Mr. T), a no-kidding Russian who spoke broken English (Ivan Drago), and a cocky kid off the streets (Tommy Gunn). Basically, it was a bloodbath. I knew I was in trouble the second I walked in. They all very politely admired my Walmart special as they drew their paddles out of sealed, black plastic mini-suitcases and were waxing them as I entered.

Next Level Learning

While it was embarrassing to lose miserably to every single person I played, it was absolutely enlightening to learn what the next level looks like. I met dedicated students of the game who spent time, money, and effort on getting better. They were all incredibly kind and encouraging, providing tips and advice throughout the three-hour smack down. I learned so much from their experience, example, and success.

1. Experience Provides Valuable Insight. Simply being in the presence of those greater than us allows a glimpse of ways to get better. I saw more spins, slams, and sick serves in 180 minutes than I’d seen or performed in the last 18 years. Being around them and watching their skills made me think about how I could get better and experiment with my own techniques.

I once served on the Commander’s Action Group at United States Transportation Command, working relatively near the commander. General Darren McDew was an incredible leader who I had the opportunity to observe lead at the highest levels. His actions, words, and deeds made me a better officer just by observing him. When we have the opportunity to place ourselves near experts, we instantly learn from it.

2. Example Sets a Higher Standard. It was very clear in my Rocky Balboa beatdown that I was outclassed by experience. These players had the right equipment, practice, and mindset to excel. They raised the bar from a three-dollar ping pong paddle to ones costing hundreds of dollars. They played less with family and more with experts. And they practiced, practiced, and practiced, often trying new moves on each other that night. Everything they did raised my bar.

People invest money and time in what is important to them. When I was attempting to earn the Expert Infantryman’s Badge, a series of tests on basic soldier skills, I went all in for a few months practicing every spare minute with those who have already succeeded, with them demonstrating how extra physical training and purchasing better equipment provided an advantage on testing day. Learning from their example, I passed every task on my first attempt.  We learn by watching, and then by doing.

3. Success Serves as Tangible Proof of What Is Possible. The heavyweight ping pong players at the local club were performing moves I’d never seen before. The ball was defying physics in the air, curving in ways I thought was only possible in the matrix. When we find people who are excelling in their trade, our eyes open to a new and expanded future.

In the Army, sports, parenting, and many organizations, there is a linear path where many have gone before us to pave the way. They are usually more than happy to teach, coach, and mentor us. When we see others doing it right, it shows what we can achieve as well. I have so many mentors in my life that I can pick up the phone and call for advice. Find successful people and latch onto them, learning what is possible well beyond what we’ve already been doing.

Find Someone Better

Whatever place we’re at in life, there is a next level out there we haven’t yet unlocked. But there are others that are already playing ahead of us. It’s our job to find those who are willing to let us observe and discuss their experience, example, and success to get better. Much like when I found a room of ping pong gurus, when we hang out with those that are better than us in a particular discipline, it will up our game.

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

March 4, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

In 333 B.C. Alexander the Great marched with his Army into Gordium, the capital of Phrygian and modern-day Turkey. There he found a wagon with a rope around the yoke entangled so tightly and intricately that it was hard to tell where the rope began or ended. The locals quickly told him that whoever could unfasten these knots would become the ruler of Asia.

According to tradition, the wagon belonged to Gordius, a peasant of the region and father of King Midas. While plowing the fields, an eagle landed on the yoke of his wagon. Thinking it may be a sign from the gods, he consulted a local Telmessian prophetess who told him to make a sacrifice to Zeus. Gordius did so quickly and married the woman.

From here, the story takes two different paths. In one, Gordius travelled into the city with his bride and fulfilled the prophesy that their new king would ride in on an ox cart. In another account, their son Midas rode into town and was anointed king.

Either way, the father or son paid tribute to the gods by offering the wagon and yoke tied with an unsolvable knot to the Temple of Zeus. Whoever could untie it would be destined to conquer Asia. Many tried and failed.

When Alexander heard the story, he was overcome with an unstoppable urge to release the knot. At 23 years old, he was already the King of Macedon and moving West to consolidate power. After struggling with the ropes and unable to make any progress, he stepped back and shrugged, “It makes no difference in how they are loosed.” He pulled his sword and cut the ropes clean with one stroke.

In another telling, he pulled the lynchpin holding together the cart, rope, and yoke which relieved the tension leading to an easy solution. Regardless of the way Alexander undid the Gordian Knot, the locals praised him for solving this riddle. That night, the city experienced a severe thunderstorm, and the army saw this as the gods being pleased with their king. Over the next nine years, Alexander lived up to the prophesy by conquering most of Asia to northwest India.

The Modern-Day Gordian Knot

Today, the term Gordian Knot represents an impossible and intricate puzzle that seems unsolvable. It’s used to help us envision a way to solve an intractable problem other than the way everyone else has already tried. While Alexander used brute force, the Gordian Knot does not represent taking a hammer to every nail but instead finding a solution when others believe it is impossible.

We experience these problems every day in our life and through a global view. It’s too easy to look at the news and see countless Gordian Knots tangled in politics, national debt, Ukraine, artificial intelligence, and ethics to name a few. These are complex issues that often have no solution nor beginning or end. These knots are tied forever and while we may loosen one strand slightly, another retracts. After all, no one can win history.

In our own lives, we also encounter Gordian Knots. Our work has countless issues that others have tried and failed to solve. We can wonder the halls and hear the veterans of the organization talking about how “We’ve already tried that” and “It’s the way we’ve always done it.” People have been pulling at the same knot for decades before we arrived and now walk by the cart in the middle of the city, no longer attempting to pull at the cords.

As a new leader in an organization years ago, I can remember asking why we had two groups of people performing the same tasks in isolation. I was promptly told of how countless leaders have come and gone asking the same question. Like the Mandalorian chant, “This is the way,” they continued to inefficiently pull at the knot without a solution. By the time I left, we consolidated functions and streamlined the process making “the way” cede to a more efficient way. This Gordian Knot did not require a sword, but an assessment and action.

Play-Doh wrestled with its own Gordian Knot in the 1950s. The company originally called Kutol Products sold clay as a cleaner in the 1930s to remove wallpaper stains from indoor coal stove residue. As oil and gas furnaces solved indoor heating leaving the need for coal residue cleaner behind, Kutol considered folding its company. It would have been easy to look at this problem and give up pulling at the strings. However, the owners heard of a schoolteacher using Kutol clay for arts and crafts. The company rebranded to Play-Doh, added color, and have sold over three billion cans since.

We all encounter impossible problems in our lives. Some result in a tied yoke, inefficiency, collapsed businesses, or other problems. Try having a teenager to truly understand a Gordian Knot. We often have to attack these problems in ways other than continuing to pull like everyone else. When we encounter these knots, it’s important to compose ourselves, look at the problem from different ways, and poke the system.

1. Take a Deep Breath. Impossible problems are frustrating. How quickly do we give up on a friendly riddle when someone asks, “How do you keep a rhino for charging?” The first thing to remember is that we can solve any problem or at least make a difference. Too often we quit before we even try, especially when everyone else has already given up and left it to us. Simply stepping back, taking a deep breath, and clearing the air makes a difference.

2. Look at the Problem from All Angles. Alexander’s knot was so confusing he didn’t see a beginning nor end. Often looking at the problem in different ways, with different tools, through different people can help us solve it. In my example above, I in no way solved the problem. I leveraged incredibly smart, newer people to the organization who weren’t ingrained yet in the culture to come up with solutions. Often the best way to look at a problem is from a new perspective.

3. Try Many Different Solutions. One characteristic of a complex problem is that when we poke the system, it changes the system. Often, we must try to solve the problem in many different ways before solutions become apparent. It takes deep thought into the problem along with trial and error to see how the system responds. Alexander tried pulling the ropes, removing the lynchpin, and then cutting the ropes. Kutol considered multiple avenues to solvency. Finally, stopping a rhino from charging is a tough problem that may only be solved by taking away its credit card.

Ultimately, we face many Gordian Knots in our lives. They are seemingly impossible problems that cannot be solved, yet with patience, deep thought, and trial and error, we can certainly make headway on many issues if not solve them completely. Alexander the Great and Kutol understood that there are other ways to find solutions besides the traditional ones. It just takes a little thought sometimes to get the knot apart.

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors. We coach first time authors (and anyone) through the writing process if you need a little help. It’s worth taking the first step and showing interest.

27 February 2025

by Tanner Harless

The overbearing humidity penetrates through the metal walls of the bus, a feeling I would become quite acquainted with over the next ten weeks. As the buildings roll by the window, my inner hubris kicks in: “I’m more fit than my friends, how hard can initial entry training truly be?” Before I can register my thoughts, the shuttle comes to an abrupt halt. The commanding voice of my new Senior Drill Sergeant shatters the silence like bullets to glass. “Lift your bags over your head trainees and move to the company area! Now!” In the next few minutes, the crushing weight of reality sets in. All my peers reached the staging area before me, leaving me behind. I think to myself “I knew I was the strongest, but I’m actually the weakest.” This incident helped me learn that forced humility is a painful and often needed path on our leadership journey when we can’t recognize our own blind spots.

In the simplest terms, humility is the quality of being free from pride and having a modest view of our own importance or significance. “Forced humility” is when we encounter a self-perpetuating individual failure or inadequacy, making personal growth necessary to one’s survival. Understanding the importance of humility provides a catalyst for healthy growth in our life. Having the ability to look at past failures with a humble perspective and take ownership of our faults will reduce the risk of similar pitfalls in the future. The military’s premier leader guide, Army Doctrine Publication 6-22, Army Leadership and the Profession, furthers this by stating: “A leader with the right level of humility is a willing learner, maintains accurate self-awareness, and seeks out others’ input and feedback. Leaders are seen as humble when they are aware of their limitations and abilities and apply that understanding in their leadership.” Whether we’re leading a platoon or a corporate team, humility is what keeps our eyes locked on the objective ahead.

History has a predisposition to repeat itself. Yet though we’ve watched thousands fall from grace due to lack of humility, we can still see even the most talented among us make these same mistakes. Tiger Woods, the prodigy golfer, was thought to be untouchable and for good reason. Tiger would go on to decimate long-standing tour records, as well as win the Masters five times; however, as his victories mounted, so did his ego. Finally, on a day that would change everything, Woods was apprehended by local Florida law enforcement following the collision of his car into a nearby fire hydrant. Police found Woods had five drugs in his system at the time of the crash. Had he decided to look critically at his addiction to painkillers to ensure an event like this would never happen again, perhaps history would look upon Woods more favorably. Unfortunately, he did not, and this event caused the demise of his family, career, and dignity, and would foreshadow many more encounters with law enforcement. As stated by famous American basketball coach John Wooden, “Failure isn’t fatal, but failure to change might be.” After hitting his lowest point, Woods was forced by his own inadequacies to allow true humility into his life and without this simple yet imperative mindset shift, there’s a chance he wouldn’t be here today.

There are three ways we can apply and improve ourselves through humility: considering feedback from all sources, asking questions to reveal blind spots, and unemotionally embracing failure.

Feedback Can Come from Anywhere. We all have a bias that feedback is useful only if it comes from a credible source, but that’s not always true. For example, if an opioid user ten years ago told Tiger Woods he recognized substance abuse signs in him, Woods most likely would have discarded this advice. We cannot allow ourselves to discount the feedback of others based on their status. Although the perceived credibility of an individual does hold weight in determining the validity of a critique, our receptiveness to what is being presented should be based on the quality of feedback, not the speaker who is giving it. It’s not uncommon for the best advice to originate from the most unlikely sources, and we must remove our own personal biases when receiving feedback from any source.

Ask For Feedback. It is nearly impossible to be entirely self-aware of our faults. These invisible character flaws are what are known as blind spots. This is where asking questions is essential in personal development as it can often shine a light on opportunities unknown to us. Before basic training, had I simply stopped to ask my father, an Air Force and Desert Storm veteran, what he thought of my physical fitness, perhaps I could have understood my lack of training and prevented additional scrutiny from those drill sergeants who loved to point them out.

Unemotionally Embrace the Failure. No one likes to fail, but it’s the best teacher. We must continuously place ourselves in positions that test our capabilities to discover our weaknesses. Try, fail, try again, and succeed or fail. This is a reason why many individuals struggle so greatly with humility, as emotions and logic often become tangled in a sea of disappointment. To comprehend our shortfalls, we must actively work to separate logic from emotion when assessing our decisions. The Army’s After Action Review Process has three completely unemotional questions: What were we supposed to do? What did we do? How can we get better? Embracing failure and removing emotions ensure objectivity during self-evaluation and keep both our humility and confidence intact.

We all have blind spots. What separates the best leaders from the pack comes down to how willing they are to change based on their failures, understand humility, openly receive feedback, and ask hard questions about themselves. Unfortunately, growth can often be a painful but necessary process, much like how I was forced to learn humility so I could teach it to others.

Tanner Harless is a prior-enlisted soldier and Cadet at the University of Akron, currently pursuing a BA in Public Relations. Tanner served one year in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and is the President of the Student Veterans of America (SVA) University of Akron Chapter. Tanner hopes to one day commission into the Adjutant General branch in the United States Army Reserve and work towards a future career in Army instructional teaching or Public Affairs.

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February 25, 2025

by Jacob Pattison and Stephen T. Messenger

Mary’s team of four in budgeting was all over the place. She knew it wasn’t unusual, but every person was at a different level of competence and development. When she sat them down in the mornings for a quick huddle to provide daily direction, some of them got it and some did not.

Just yesterday, after tasking them with a fairly easy assignment, one of them immediately got to work and completed it by noon, while another stared at the task until the end of the day before coming back to ask for additional assistance. Why couldn’t they all just get it done and move on to the next thing?

She took a breath to clear her mind. In the quiet moment, she remembered a presentation given by Bryan a few months back on leading people based on their skillsets and not the boss’ leadership style. She grabbed a notebook and slipped out of the office, heading to Bryan’s wing. Maybe he could give her a quick refresher.

When she arrived, Bryan was surrounded by his sea of whiteboards in the office with drawings everywhere of different solutions to problems. She ignored the images and explained her issue to Bryan. He gladly found some empty board space and launched into another drawing.

The Hersey-Blanchard Situational Leadership Model

Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard developed the Situational Leadership Model in their book Management of Organizational Behavior. It’s stating exactly what you’ve discovered with your team—there’s no single best style to lead people. The best bosses can understand how the complexity of a certain task relates to an individual person based on their skills and willingness to complete it. The one in charge must adapt their leadership style based on the person, not lead everyone the same.

Hersey and Blanchard talked about the four main leadership styles of directing, coaching, supporting, and delegating. If I draw a graph, the x-axis is the level of directive behavior, and the y-axis is the level of supporting behavior.  Directive behavior is the focus on getting things done and completing tasks. It’s making sure we are successful as an organization. Supporting behavior is the focus on people. It’s about building relationships with others, making sure they’re taken care of, thinking about morale, and looking out for them as valued members of our team.

Directing. On the chart, the directing style is in the bottom right corner. This is when leaders provide detailed instructions on how to complete the task then supervise that person closely. It has a high directive component because we’re telling them what to do and a low supportive component because we’re not as concerned about the person, but about being successful today. I think of this as the Army’s Basic Combat Training or boot camp.

When they arrive, soldiers are new to everything, and drill sergeants tell them exactly what to do and when to do it without any ambiguity. The instructors are in their faces all day long with detailed instructions and little care for feelings. New Soldiers are expected to complete their tasks as directed with constant oversight from drill sergeants. This dynamic generally persists as new soldiers are integrated into their first units. Their leaders ensure that new unit members can accomplish basic tasks as directed before they can begin a more structured development process.

Coaching. The top right of the chart is the coaching style where there is still a directive component but not as much. Here leaders ramp up support to the person and start involving them in decision-making. Employees still require a significant amount of being told what to do, but two-way communication increases. This part is designed to help others gain confidence in their skills by talking through problems with a coach by their side. In the Army, soldiers attend the Basic Leader Course before supervising soldiers to learn how to lead others. Unlike basic training, the instructors at the course do a lot less directing (yelling) and more coaching to teach them how to lead others effectively.

This is the first level of Army leadership training that introduces experiential learning among students. The instructors, also called small group leaders, are trained to facilitate conversations in the classroom that draw out experience. Instructors use this information to identify gaps in student knowledge so they can better understand how to support student development throughout the course. Graduates of the course have a solid leadership foundation but will still require support and direction from their leaders. 

Supporting. The top left of the chart is the supporting style where the boss provides less instructions on how to complete a task but talks more about what needs to be done. It is a collaborative style where leaders focus on listening, encouraging, praising, and demonstrating trust. Here leaders believe that the employee has the skills and knowledge to complete the task, and leaders support them in any way possible to get the ball across the line. The Army conducts an Advanced and Senior Leaders Course to develop squad leaders and platoon sergeants. Here, there is much less directive action and high emphasis on the student preparing to lead others. They support them in their journey.

Squad leaders and platoon sergeants are generally given more freedom of action to accomplish their assigned tasks. They are told what needs to be done and are free to determine the most effective or efficient way to make it happen. They can manage their people and resources with much less oversight than more junior leaders. These leaders have earned the trust that affords them more flexibility in how to complete tasks. Their leadership is still involved throughout the process, and they provide feedback and guidance as required.

Delegating. The final style of delegating is in the bottom left. Here, the leader is mostly hands off. The employee is self-sufficient and only needs a task and resources and will get it done. The boss tells them what task to do and doesn’t say much else. They back off and watch the employee crush the assignment with little to no oversight. They don’t completely abandon their followers but instead let them run! The Army’s senior school for non-commissioned officers is the Sergeants Major Academy. These senior leaders with decades of experience are responsible for their own learning. They receive an assignment, and they are trusted to read the material and learn themselves, unlike basic training.

Their classroom time is most productive when open dialogue occurs between students with vastly different operational backgrounds and perspectives. The sergeants major obtain value of drawing on the experiences of their teammates. When in the unit, the sergeant major receives guidance and intent from the commander, and makes things happen in their own way using their best judgment, competence, experience, creativity, and leadership. The sergeant major is given a task and trusted to deliver exemplary results without guidance.

Developmental Levels

Ken Blanchard goes on to explain that every employee is at a different developmental level or “D” category. This is the amount of skill they have to complete a task and the level of desire to get it done. Basically, it’s their competence and commitment levels that form an increasing scale from developing to developed followers.

D1 on the right side of the scale is low competence and high commitment or confidence. These are motivated people who want to succeed but they don’t know what they’re doing. Like basic training recruits, new employees, recently promoted leaders, or our child working on a new task, they are learning the job. They require a directive style of leadership being told what to do. Leaders of D1 employees should provide detailed instructions for tasks, and thorough oversight of employee performance.

D2 are those with some competence and low confidence. It’s not that they don’t want to succeed, it’s that they’ve increased in knowledge of the job but have become overwhelmed by everything they still don’t know. These are the Basic Leader Course students, employees expanding roles, or our kid moving from shooting hoops to basketball strategy. Leaders of D2 employees will generally need to adopt a coaching style where the employee and boss are partnered. Coaching can boost confidence and develop employee competence.

D3 are employees with high competence and variable commitment or confidence. These are people with lots of experience but like us all have the highs and lows of motivation. This may be due to personal situations, culture changes, family issues, or levels of recognition. They need support, guidance, and encouragement like the Army NCOs gaining increasing responsibility at leaders courses, seasoned managers, solid citizens who have been around a while, and teenagers. They require a supporting style taking ownership of their career. To maximize D3 performance, leaders must understand what motivates their employees. They should also provide support to encourage a higher degree of autonomy or independence.    

Finally, D4 are employees who have high competence and high commitment and confidence. They are getting after it every day and don’t need to be told what to do. They are self-motivated and have the skills to succeed. They often go above and beyond. These are the senior Army leaders like sergeants major, exceptional employees, those bought into the mission, and hopefully our kids in college and beyond. They require a delegating style of leadership with minimal direction and all trust. Leaders of D4 employees can simply provide their intent and any relevant guidance, then focus their efforts elsewhere as the employee knocks it out of the park.

Matching Styles with Development Level

As you see, leaders have lots of styles to choose from and different employees are at different levels. There is no one-size-fits-all approach. It’s up to us to understand what level the employee is at and then match the leadership style to that person.

Mary was furiously taking notes, and she looked up at the whiteboard. “Yeah… I’ve been treating everyone the same. I probably need to think about each person and their needs instead of just giving them tasks and hoping they do them.”

Bryan smiled, “Well, I was always told hope is not a method, but if you can align developmental levels with leadership styles, I think things are going to change a lot for you.”

Jacob Pattison is a student at the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy. He is also pursuing a master’s degree in environmental management and policy. He has over 22 years of service in the Army, filling leadership positions from team leader to first sergeant. In his spare time, he enjoys hanging out with his family and being in the great outdoors.

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February 20, 2025

by Alexander E. Limber

Hopefully we can all remember a boss who earned our highest admiration and respect. They went out of their way to serve their people. The best ones came around and asked how we were doing. They spend time in conversation and getting to know us. They looked out for our best interests while accomplishing the needs of the organization. Through these relationships, we were eager to make them proud and nervous to disappoint them because they cared. These people were more than just a boss and more than just a leader—they were what many experts refer to as a servant leader.

For me, as a future Second Lieutenant in the U.S. Army, servant leadership isn’t just another leadership style. It’s a way of life as this discipline doesn’t have days off, focuses on developing others, and builds a brighter future. Servant leaders are the ideal role model as they can ‘walk the walk’ of caring for others while generating mission success. Every organization, including the Army needs servant leaders to get results, improve performance, and build trust.

What Is Servant Leadership?

Servant leadership is a style where we put the needs of others first while bettering our organization. Servant leaders are driven by our desire to better and empower others. Unlike other leadership styles that use a top-down hierarchical model, servant leadership uses a bottom-up approach. The servant leader looks down to have a better connection with followers and foster a positive community. Servant leaders do this by using traits of listening, empathy, healing, awareness, persuasion, conceptualization, foresight, stewardship, commitment to grow others, and community building (VanBenschoten, 2024).

When looking for an example of servant leadership, look no further than Colin Powell, former U.S. Army General, Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, and Secretary of State. Powell is widely regarded as the pinnacle of a servant leader by how he truly cares about his people and took the time to listen to them. He would often involve others in the decision-making process and by doing so empower his subordinates (Griffing, 2019).

What the Army Says About Leadership

According to Army Doctrine Publication 6-22, Army Leadership and the Profession, an ideal leader “…has strong intellect, physical presence, professional competence, moral character and serves as a role model” (p. v). These traits and attributes correlate to the ones associated with servant leadership. But why would the Army care about this concept? Well, Servant leadership is about leading and serving others which aligns with the mentality of Army leadership. The Army itself is a big proponent of developing soldiers so that they can reach their full potential. By doing so, it leads to us growing as an organization which in turn makes our ability to accomplish missions more attainable.

Why the Army Needs More Servant Leaders

We need more servant leaders to get results, improve performance, and build trust. When done well, small acts of serving lead to massive gains.

Get Results

Servant leaders generate results by the relationships we build within our organization. In my ROTC Battalion, I plan and organize several recruitment and outreach programs which benefit the local community and generate funding. Often, it’s hard finding volunteers as many of my peers have very busy schedules; however, I’m always able to fully staff these events. I attribute my success to the relationships I’ve formed and by sharing the vision behind the work. Servant leaders take time to personally build rapport with others through personal connection and provide a clear view of the goal and impact their work has on the organization. When done right, they will want to contribute to that goal. Colin Powell’s Eleventh Rule is, “Have a vision. Be demanding.” Servant leaders get results by connecting and sharing with others, then making the mission happen.

Improve Performance

Servant leaders are able to increase performance within their organizations by including their followers in the decision-making process. As one responsible for many tasks, I often look at developing those around me to make them more comfortable with taking on future projects. I do this by slowly giving them more and more responsibility when organizing events. As a way to get them involved, I ask questions such as “What would you do?” or “What do you think?” The end result often leads to them playing a larger role in the development of our projects. By doing this, we’re improving upon their abilities, which over time builds not only their performance, but mine as well. Powell’s Fourth Rule is “It can be done.” Servant leaders impress upon others that they can do things that exceed their current abilities.

Build Trust

Servant leaders contribute to a positive environment by being a person their peers and subordinates trust to bring up problems. Having an open-door policy stimulates and builds trust between the leader and their followers. Leaders should be wary of their people not asking for help. Colin Powell famously said, “The day soldiers stop bringing you their problems is the day you have stopped leading them.” However, this isn’t always easy as it takes time to gain the trust of our people. For me, I build trust with my peers by asking them how they’re doing or if they need any help with any of their projects or classes. I also ensure that during training, I put myself in either as bad or a worse situation than they are in. One time during a training event it began to rain on us. Unfortunately, for my battle buddy, they didn’t have any wet weather gear, I didn’t mind getting wet, so I gave them my poncho to wear. Over time, small actions like these build trust and respect and open doors for them to use when they need help.

A Call for Servant Leaders

The fact of the matter is servant leaders are too few and far between, and the need for these type leaders is ever growing to both support our people and complete our missions. The importance of my challenge to you cannot be understated: take heed to the needs of our people. Be a force for positive change that leads to a better tomorrow.

Alexander Limber is a student at The University of Akron, majoring in Emergency Management and Homeland Security. He is a Cadet in the Akron Army ROTC program and is looking to branch Infantry or Armor. His hobbies include weightlifting, reading, and spending time with friends and family.

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors. 

Works Cited

Griffing, Aaron. (2019). Servant leadership: Ten military figures who got it right. Army University Press.

Guigni, A. (2023). Resilience and servant leadership. Army University Press.

VanBenschoten, B. (2024, July 26). What is servant leadership?. What is Servant Leadership?

February 11, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

Peter was wrestling with his inner demons. He had been working for the company as a purchaser for two years now. He was good at it, comfortable, and made decent money. The problem was that he wasn’t fulfilled.

Every morning, he had to drag himself into work. Peter’s alarm would ring, and he would pull the covers over his head, hoping he didn’t have to show up today. The drive to work was just as painful. The thought of spending eight hours in front of a computer buying supplies did not excite him.

What did excite him was his plans for after work: trading on the stock market. Over the past year, he had made a small nest egg in day trading, and it became his hobby. He majored in finance and only took the purchasing job because it was local, available, and safe right out of college. Sometimes he wished he had cast his search wider.

Half working and half dreaming of day trading, Peter was jolted back to life as Bryan walked by Peter’s cubicle, laughing. Bryan truly seemed to love his job. “Hey Bryan!” Peter called out. “What’s so funny?”

“Just Denise’s joke about a flower. What are you up to, Pete?”

Peter considered being vulnerable for a moment and slowly said for the first time out loud: “To be honest, I was thinking this job may not be right for me.” He explained his downtrodden mindset.

Bryan’s face became both concerned and caring. “Well, are you living in the sweet spot of life?” he asked, grabbing a dry erase marker.

The Sweet Spot

Let me draw a big circle on the left and let it represent our talents. Every one of us has things we’re good at such as math, writing, sports, music, cooking, or talking to others. It doesn’t matter whether we were born with them or developed them over time, only that we’re good at it. When I need someone to buy something, I come to you. You’ve got the financing down. You’re always fast. You ask the right questions. You have a talent for doing it.

Talents are interesting because if we’re good at it and practice over time, we become great at it. Consistently working on our skills makes us an expert.

Denise is really good at gardening, as you’ve seen from the plants in her office. She told me she was practically raised in a flowerbed with her mom and learned how to garden from an early age. She even has a blog to help others. She found her talent.

This big circle I’ll draw over here on the right represents our passions. These are things we love. Hopefully, we’re pursuing these things in life. Many people go to college to develop their passions in art, music, business, religion, medicine, marketing, or hundreds of other disciplines. Again, we were born attracted to these things, they developed over time, or both. However it happened, the point is we love doing them.

Passions are things that we’re going to do whether we get paid or not. It’s a hobby, game, discipline, or something we could see ourselves doing in retirement.

I mentioned Denise loves gardening. She goes home and works on her flowerbed, spends the weekends mulching, and brings in flowers all the time to people in the office. She already has a plan after retiring to buy more land and grow more flowers.  

Naturally, some things we’re passionate about but not talented at. Some things we’re talented at but not passionate about.

The interesting part is where these two circles overlap. If we can find something we’re talented at and passionate about, we have a pretty cool hobby.  For Denise, that’s gardening.

But let’s look at the true beauty of this diagram. I’ll draw a final circle below these two. This circle represents opportunity.

Opportunity is when life offers us an opening to do something. It’s when we have a chance to try a new thing. It could be a new career or a new hobby. In the past two months, I’ve been asked to play on the company basketball team, go to trivia night, cook for a potluck, and join the church choir. I’m not passionate or talented at any of these four things and turned them all down. But I’ve had the opportunity.

Now look where these three things intersect. I call where talent, passion, and opportunity come together on this Venn Diagram the “Sweet Spot” of life. Here’s where we get to do something we’re good at, love to do, and have a chance to do often.

Back to Denise, she’s good at gardening, she loves to do it, and she’s creating opportunities now in her spare time and in the future with a retirement plan—the Sweet Spot of life.

But to get back to your question, Peter, it sounds like you’re talented at your job and have the opportunity to do it, but you’re not real passionate about it. That’s two out of three circles. Based on your experience with the stock market, your financing degree, and passion for investing, a better fit may be volunteering to manage the company’s 401K program. You sound good at making picks, enjoy doing it, and would have the opportunity at work to do it while getting paid.

In order to be fulfilled at work, we need to be living in the Sweet Spot. This is where we’re doing something we love, we’re good at what we do, and we get paid for it. Sometimes that’s simply asking around our current job to find tasks that fit in our Sweet Spot. Sometimes that’s changing jobs altogether.

When these three things align, we thrive in life. Living here is not a destination, but a journey. The Sweet Spot is not about external success, but it’s where our external achievement mirrors our internal growth. Here we can fully embrace our potential, fulfill our purpose, and live the life we dream of.

Peter looked at the three circles on the board. “Well, I’m definitely not living in my Sweet Spot here, but you’re right, I see ways to get there. By the way, what was Denise’s joke?”

Bryan smiled, “What do you call a country that only drives light red vehicles? A pink carnation.”

Authors Note: I’ve been blessed to live in the Sweet Spot of life with my military career. I have always felt talented and passionate in this opportunity life has presented and love going to work. For two years, I worked at a Fortune 500 Company that offered me the opportunity of a job that I was pretty good at, but in no way passionate at. I was miserable.

It is critical to find your Sweet Spot of life.

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors. 

February 6, 2025

By Sean Elwin

“There is only one kind of discipline-perfect discipline.”

Gen. George S. Patton

Marines define discipline as instant and willing obedience to orders, respect for authority, and teamwork. To the Marine, it is the foundation that all leadership traits are built upon. Discipline, whether in the Corps or in our daily lives, is one of the most essential characteristics to leaders.

The best leaders have, as George Patton would say, perfect discipline. Every Marine knows this in the first few seconds after getting off the bus at Marine Corps Recruiting Depot Parris Island.

I remember looking out the window and pulling up to recruit training. The yellow footsteps at Parris Island reception that lay wait to greet new recruits are as legendary in Marine Corps lore as Chesty Puller himself. They instill fear in new recruits before they even depart for the depot. As I and my fellow recruits stepped off the bus, our eyes were instantly drawn to these yellow prints as we were herded off the bus like cattle into a haze of confusion. Self-doubt and anxiety began to set in, but there was no time to pay it any mind.

There is a saying in the Corps that will echo over the duration of our time spent in this swampy hell known simply as PI, “If the mind doesn’t care, the body won’t mind.”  Simply put, that means having self-disciple to control your emotions and having the mental strength to persevere—to tackle all obstacles head on while staring down adversity and fear. There was still a lot of work that needed to be done in the 12 weeks, 6 days, 23 hours, and 59 minutes that would follow this exact moment while transforming raw recruits from what they once were into what they will one day become. Standing tall and still on the yellow footprints were the starting point.

A Leatherneck, Teufelshunde, Devil Dogs, a Marine!

Recruit training focuses on physical fitness, history, and drill & ceremony. Countless hours are spent on the parade field learning and practicing specific movements. When one Marine is out of step or places their hand in the wrong location on the rifle, we all fail. There are times that the Drill Instructor gives us extra attention in the sand box while we practice the art of “up down,” jumping jacks, pushups, on your feet, get back down, and flutter kicks to name a few. These are grueling sessions in unbearable Carolina heat. They teach us that we are only as strong as our weakest Marine.

We spend more time on the parade field as we become proficient in marching. Our heels strike the deck at precisely the same time, our boots are boot top high, and our arms swing six inches to the front and three to the rear. We are becoming a well-oiled machine and a green amphibious monster from the sea. Initial drill will be our first measuring stick to identify our shortcomings. By final drill, we will be picture perfect.

Drill and Ceremony is an exercise in discipline. I challenge any individual to visit the oldest active Marine Corps Barracks Washington D.C., known as “8^th and I” to take in an evening drill team ceremony and not be captivated. There is disciple to not flinch as the M1 Garand flips toward your head. There is precision to catch and inspect at the precise moment. There is discipline on display by the Silent Drill Team which is second to none.

On the flip side,  a lack of discipline is infectious and will spread to junior Marines. Leaders who forget what it was like to stand on the yellow footprints and be undisciplined or allow this behavior to go unchecked are useless and need to be reminded of their responsibility to lead, or be removed from their position of trust.

Discipline cannot be forced on any individual and can only be instilled into impressionable men and women. They must learn to adapt it into their way of life. A Marine will experience what happens as a team when discipline does not exist and pay in sweat for each other’s mistakes; they are not only responsible for themselves but also for those other team members. They are punished together, and they will learn and grow stronger together.

Discipline in the Corps and in Life

This is also true in life outside of the Marine Corps. It is present in organizations where undisciplined leaders fail to hold their subordinates accountable. Leaders with low standards breed cultures with low standards, and the organization falters.

In the Corps, as in life, discipline may be the most essential element to leading others and ourselves. How can a Marine, or an employee, or we be expected to follow orders without first having self-discipline? If we cannot follow orders, we will never find ourselves in a position to give orders. Discipline is all-encompassing. Self-discipline enables us to do the right thing, which reflects in our INTEGRITY and COURAGE. It aids in our INITIATIVE, JUDGEMENT, DECISIVENESS, and DEPENDABILITY to be risk-takers, while making sound judgements and prompt decisions in the performance of our duties while accomplishing the mission. It helps us to have the ENTHUSIASM to train harder and have the ENDURANCE to withstand. TACT and BEARING allow us to speak up in a professional manner along with the UNSELFISHNESS to mentor and train others. The KNOWLEDGE of our past helps train our future. Discipline hones our JUSTICE, to be fair and impartial with both rewards and punishment. Primarily, it gives us LOYALTY to serve our country, their team, and Chain of Command.

While this Marine Corps narrative is all very “In service to God, Country, and Corps,” it’s also a life lesson. We should all strive for perfect discipline, and while we often fall short, we keep trying. We must get out of bed in the morning, exercise, show up for work, take care of loved ones, and make something of ourselves.

Stand on the yellow footprints and be disciplined!

Sean Elwin is a Massachusetts native and father of two with over 20 years of active-duty experience and deployments to Kosovo, Horn of Africa, and Iraq. He has a fondness for sarcasm, bluntness, and sweets. Alongside his pets Scooby and Casper, he can be found eating an entire cake while enjoying his retirement.

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors. 

February 4, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

Mark wanted to scream! There were so many questions competing for his attention right now, it was a tidal wave.

As the company’s public affairs employee of one, he was responsible for all internal and external communications. But with so many different contacts, it was hard to understand which message should go to which group and where to focus his energy. He was overwhelmed to answer this endless stream of questions and invitations.

Mark knew the solution was in prioritizing the importance of the requests, but they all seemed equally essential. He checked his email again to review the three competing community events for their CEO. “Impossible,” he huffed out loud. “Maybe if I cloned the boss…”

Bryan was walking by at the same moment of his sci-fi fantasy. “Talking to yourself again,” he grinned. “I do that too. Just hope no one ever talks back.”

“Bryan, can you come in here really quick.” Jane from the other building said Bryan helped her out with a project management question. Maybe he could help here. “What would you do if you had too many people needing too much of your time? Who gets to go first?” Mark took the next two minutes to outline his problem.

Bryan thought about it for a moment. “Have you considered a stakeholder analysis?” he asked as he moved to the whiteboard.

Influence and Interest

Stakeholders are individuals or groups that have some level of interest and concern about what we’re doing. Stakeholders are inside and outside our organization, have a voice in our outcomes, and are impacted by our decisions. They can be broad like, “the government,” or specific like, “Mayor Pete.” It just depends what levels we want to explore.

There will always be too many stakeholders competing for our attention. When we work for a large organization, our people and messaging are in demand, others want to engage us, and we need to be present talking to the public and our employees.

The best way to manage all these requests is by prioritizing who has influence and interest in our business. People have both, one or the other, or neither. It’s our job to understand who the most influential stakeholders are, and who the most interested stakeholders are. Once we understand that, we can prioritize them better.

Step 1: Identify Stakeholders. The first thing we need to do is understand who our stakeholders are. I recommend we develop a list of internal and external partners such as employees, management, marketing, media, neighboring businesses, elected officials, and governmental departments such as the city permit office.

All these people have a stake in what we do. We can develop this list by getting together with a lot of smart people and brainstorming, reviewing existing documentation, looking at calendars, and writing down whoever calls and emails us. Once we generate a list, we write all the names down on sticky notes.

Step 2: Evaluate and Plot Stakeholder Interest and Influence. This step needs our whiteboard. We’ll draw a chart with the x-axis representing stakeholder interest and the y-axis representing stakeholder influence. The further to the right we go on the chart, the more interest they have in our organization. The higher we go on the chart, the more influence they have in what we do.

Interest is defined as other people’s hopes and expectations in us. Some stakeholders have more interest because of financial gain, social impact, conflicts, synergy, communication strategies, enthusiasm towards a project, attitudes, or a host of other reasons. For example, our shareholders have a lot of interest because their profits depend on us making money, but the city permit office has no interest in what we’re doing.

Influence is described as how much power a stakeholder has in our decision making. Those with high power can influence how we operate. Those with low power have little impact on the choices we make. Using the same examples, our shareholders don’t have a lot of influence on what we do. They just watch stock prices. The city permit office has a lot of influence on restrictions and limitations as we apply for various projects.

This divides our chart into four general categories:

Manage Closely (Top Right): High Interest-High Influence. This group is our focus. We involve them in activities, welcome them into decision-making, consult with them, and maintain open and clear lines of communication. Stakeholders in this group are the top priority. When they need something, we deliver! An example is our parent company. They care about our success and can influence our choices.

Keep Informed (Bottom Right): High Interest-Low Influence. This group is watching from the outside, and we need to keep them informed to build their confidence in us. We don’t need to manage them, but do need to communicate often. An example we’ve talked about is our shareholders. They want to make money from our company and will pull support if they don’t feel good about our business. These people are our consultants and can be ambassadors of our brand when managed right.

Keep Satisfied (Top Left): Low Interest-High Influence. This group is not usually watching what we do but can have a tremendous impact on our organization. We need to make sure they are comfortable with us without overwhelming them. We usually need stuff from this group, not the other way around. An example is the city permit office. They don’t care about us until we request building permits, and then they have all the power to approve or disapprove our requests. Keep them happy!

Monitor Activity (Bottom Left): Low Interest-Low Influence. The final group does not have much interest nor influence. With them, we still need to communicate, but can do it through email, newsletters, social media, or just whenever we see them. It’s always important to monitor their progress in case their positions change. An example is the business next door. They don’t care what we do and have no influence. But if we get too noisy or block the road with trucks, they may start to weigh in.

Now we can take our sticky notes with the stakeholders on them and plot them where they belong. Not every group has an equal stake in what we do. It’s important to chart them accordingly so we can prioritize the amount of effort we put towards them. Then, we should develop a plan for each stakeholder to map out a different strategy of engagement.

Simply put, the ones in the top right are our priority. They get the bulk of our energy. The rest we inform, satisfy, and monitor appropriately.

As a final point, our goal is to move everyone to the right and encourage them to have more interest in what we do. This creates allies, friends, partners, and advocates.

There’s a lot more detail on stakeholder analysis to include dividing them into groups such as change agents or blockers, analysis process steps to include matrix tables, the 10 different types of stakeholders, relations between cost, time, and quality, and countless ways to go deeper. Simply google this concept and you’ll be flooded with info.

But if we don’t have a basic stakeholder analysis today, we need to get one on the books so we know where to engage.

Mark took it all in. “It seems really simple and really complicated at the same time. But it looks like by gathering a few people in the building, we could easily prioritize where to put our efforts.”

Bryan nodded like a proud father. “Just make sure when you build your team to do this, they have interest and influence in the outcome.”

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors. 

January 30, 2025

By Tom Console

Having been around canines now for the past few years in Army veterinary medicine, it’s become very clear these animals are incredibly intelligent. While I’d probably never follow a dog into combat, I have learned a lot of lessons from our four-legged friends. My dog is incredibly special (as yours is too), but he is not unique in giving us three simple lessons of: do what you love, live in the now, and take a break to make time for others.

Do What You Love

Everyone has heard a version of Marc Anthony’s saying, “If you do what you love you’ll never work a day in your life.” As cliché as it may be, I’ve found that when we love what we do, we have an immense feeling of pride in being a part of our organization, exude more positive attitudes, and find resiliency to push through challenges when others might quit. But loving what we do doesn’t have to be all about our occupation. We must discover things that we’re passionate about, and once we find them, go all in.

With dogs, this is easy to see. Some love to play fetch while others enjoy digging. Many can’t walk by a body of water without taking a dip. Whatever your dog loves to do, they not only find excuses to do it but also fully lean into that activity. They’re never working—they’re loving what they do!

For me, I discovered that I absolutely LOVE coaching football. I stuck with it for three of my four years in veterinary school, slammed between eight-hour classroom days and studying for exams. The only reason I didn’t coach during my fourth year of school was because Army obligations pulled me in another direction.

It wasn’t easy, and both my grades and my sleep suffered, but I wouldn’t trade a single day of my time as a coach for a better GPA. Coaching football is the one place I’ve found where I get to instruct and mentor young people and help them achieve their goals, be part of an organization that has a singular focus, and scratch my competitive itch in a game of complex strategy. And I’ve found the more I gave to my coaching job, the more it gave to me in return. I’m thankful every day that I kept coaching and didn’t listen to people who tried to convince me it was too much. Just like my dog, I’ve learned we must do the things that bring us joy and do them to the fullest.

Move Our Bodies Every Day

For dog owners, you know the struggle of the morning walk. It’s usually before the sun comes up, in freezing weather, and during a downpour. Have you ever wondered as you were dripping wet, “Why does my dog still love being outside even though we went potty five blocks ago?” Well, every dog needs to exercise both physically and mentally. Physically, a walk is not only a bathroom break but a chance to burn off that morning adrenaline. Each dog has different energy needs. They may walk around the block with you or run five miles, but they all need something.

They also need their mental fix. Many get it in the form of sniffing. While it may seem excessive, ten minutes of our dog sniffing can be just as tiring as 30 minutes of walking (a quick tip from your friendly veterinarian-author). While physical exertion cannot be totally substituted with mental work, our dog sniffing everything shows us an important connection between the mental and physical.

I get my physical exercise by going to the gym or running. I exercise my brain through playing chess, writing, and voraciously reading sci-fi novels, books on leadership and sports, and academic papers to stay current on veterinary medicine. Even though I’m years removed from playing football, I still find a need to physically compete, and I get my competitive energy out through mixed martial arts. Our bodies have mental and physical needs we must fulfill.

You don’t have to be a competitive bodybuilder, run a monthly marathon, or play chess daily. But physical and mental exercise is something we should all do regularly. There are the obvious immediate benefits such as muscular conditioning, looking good for swimsuit season, and a sharper mind. But there are also long-term physical and mental health implications.

My dog (and cat) patients that are within a healthy weight range and are mentally acute on average live longer and avoid both initial development and serious progression of some diseases. Old dogs that have been in good shape and are intellectually stimulated for most of their lives are more cognitively aware as they age, and the same happens in people. In the words of Major Dick Winters of Band of Brothers fame: “Physical stamina is the root of mental toughness.” Those individuals who regularly face and overcome challenges in the gym or on the bike trail are better prepared to persevere through the hard times that life inevitably throws at them.

Not every dog is winning the national dog show agility competition, but they all understand the importance of getting out of bed, doing that big stretch, and working both their bodies and their minds every day.

Make Time for Friends, Family, and the Couch

But what is life if all we do is work and exercise? That’s called burnout. It can happen very quickly and takes many forms including mental, physical, and emotional. It’s vital to include rest in your routine. It’s even more important to include enough space in your life to spend quality time with family and friends.

You’ve probably seen a dog burn out. They become so stressed or exhausted that they’re shaking or frantic. Sometimes, they become totally unresponsive and shut down all together. They need to recharge and get back into a safe place.

We see this in Military Working Dogs in the form of heat stress. These working dogs have an incredibly high drive to do whatever is asked of them so that they can get their reward at the end (usually a game of fetch or tug-of-war with their handler). However, the drive to work in some of these dogs can be so high that it overrides all safety switches in their brains telling them to stop and take a break. Sound familiar? These dogs show up as emergencies in the veterinary clinic, which can be a life-threatening situation.

I remember one weekend in college where I had an important exam coming up. My friends were all going to a party but I was holed up in my room studying. One came by to see if I was ready to go out and found me at my desk, textbook open, with a quizzical look. I smiled and told him I memorized most of the study guide for the exam over a week away.

Then he hit me with a saying that has become a core pillar in the way I view life. He said, “In twenty years, what are you going to remember more? That one night in college you studied a few extra hours for an exam you have a good handle on or a night out with your best friends?”

As soon as he said it, I knew he was right. I was already super prepared and was hyper fixating (and stressing) about nothing, and it was affecting my relationships.

Keeping this frame of mind helps us avoid burnout. Sure, there is time for work, but there is also time for breaks, fun, family, friends, and relaxation. We need to make sure that our drive to work and succeed does not override the circuit breakers in our bodies when they scream that we’re about to crash and burn.

Take a cue from the working dogs; you can work hard but remember that it’s more than okay to hit the couch with your owner every now and then.

Conclusion

Sometimes leadership is about doing and experiencing. Sometimes, it is about observing.

I encourage you to closely observe your dog (or someone else’s if you don’t have one) after you finish this article and see life through their eyes. See if you don’t learn something about leadership from them. If you look hard enough, you’ll find that we are the best versions of our leadership selves when we fully invest into all aspects of our lives.

Take a page from your dog’s book and do what you love, move your body every day, and make time for yourself and those most important to you.

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors. 

January 28, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

Terry was struggling. She had been with the company for the last six years in accounting, but her background, degree, and passion were in marketing. Her degree was in marketing, she was an adjunct professor on the topic a few years ago, and she ran a small marketing account for her cousin’s business.

When the opening came up for a supervisory position of the three-person team in marketing, she jumped at the chance. After six weeks of a competitive interview process, she was elated to earn the job! Terry was confident she was the most educated and knowledgeable candidate, knew the company, and was going to make a perfect fit. It was game on!

But Day One didn’t start like she thought. The three veteran marketers had been there a long time and were very comfortable in the way they were doing things—which Terry quickly discovered was slow and antiquated. They had over 85 years of marketing experience combined and were not interested in trying new things.

Every suggestion she made was met with skepticism and disinterest. “I don’t get it,” she told her husband on her second week. “I’m in charge. They need to listen to me.”

Tuesday morning, she was so frustrated she went for a power walk around the building to burn off some energy. Rounding a corner too fast, she bumped into Bryan.

“Are you okay?” Bryan asked. “You look a little stressed.”

Terry looked at Bryan slowly. He’s been here for as long as she could remember. Maybe he could help. She looked around and quietly pulled him into a side conference room. Here she recounted her struggles on how hard it was to get these three people to follow her. Bryan nodded thoughtfully. “Have you heard of the Leadership Pyramid?” he asked.

John Maxwell’s Five Levels of Leadership

Being a leader has nothing to do with our title. It has everything to do with our behavior. Think of our favorite people to follow? They weren’t just in a position of authority. They cared about us, they were successful, they helped us grow, and we wanted to be like them when we grew up. Now think about a boss we never wanted to follow. What was their one main attribute to get us to do something? They were in charge.

It’s not enough to get people to follow us because they have to. They should follow us because it benefits everyone involved. John Maxwell talks about this in his book The 5 Levels of Leadership. He argues that getting assigned as boss is only the first step of being a true leader. There are four other steps to reach the pinnacle of leadership. The good news is, it’s easy to remember as all the levels start with Ps and Rs.

The First Level is where you’re at—the base of the pyramid of position and rights. Here, people follow you because you have organizational authority to be in charge. You just got this new leadership position, I can tell you’re excited, and you’re ready to make an impact. So, you show up on the first day ready to lead, and they should follow. It all makes sense on paper. But often, followers have their own ideas, agenda, and expectations of you. Just because you have a right to be in charge doesn’t mean they want you to be. You can’t rely solely on authority to lead.

The Second Level climbs the pyramid a little higher with permissions and relationships. This is when people accept you as a leader because they like you. They give themselves permission to follow because you’re the type of person that talks to them, engages them, asks about their day, and creates a bond. The leader and follower now have a connection that develops through trust. No longer are you just the boss, but you’re a caring, trusted agent who wants to be a part of their life and have a relationship. In doing so, you create stronger bonds and a more enjoyable work experience. However, just because people want to follow you doesn’t mean you’re any good at it.

Level Three is about production and results. In this level, you prove to be the leader that gets results. You are making decisions that are effective, motivating your team to do better, and producing for the company. This is the core of why organizations hire people—to make it happen! Leadership is a game of influencing others to accomplish tasks. Now, you don’t have to have all the good ideas. In fact, your team already has most of them. But you have to put it all together to win. At this level, you now have organizational authority, a team who likes you, and are making things happen. You may think you’re there, but you’re only halfway.

The Fourth Level relates to people development and reproduction. Here, you are proving to be the leader who wants to see others develop both professionally and personally. You’re not just looking out for company success but about finding the right places for your people to excel. This means knowing their talents and passions and matching them with assignments. It means finding training opportunities for them to get even better. And most of all, it means finding ways to put them in positions where they will thrive, be it a promotion, lateral transfer, or task. Now, you are the one reproducing the next generation of leaders who follow you because you care about their personal success.

The final and Fifth Level is one of pinnacle and respect. People no longer follow you just because they have to, they like you as a person, you are generating wins, and you’re helping them personally. Here they follow you because of the person you are. They want to be like you someday because they respect you. At the pinnacle of leadership, you are the face of the organization, lift others up, are a team player, and genuinely care. You are someone that others want to emulate and be near. At this level, people look to you as an exemplar of leadership and hope to be you someday because of your reputation. You place people first, complete the mission, and improve the organization.

Remember, this is a pyramid. That means that one cannot be completed without first accomplishing the one underneath. You can’t be at the pinnacle of leadership if you’re not meeting goals or people don’t like you. With few exceptions, each level must be accomplished in order with one building to the next.

Today, you’re at the bottom of the pyramid and congrats! The company thought enough about you to be in charge because of your knowledge and potential for success. As you start trekking up the levels, you’ll make steady progress.

Terry took a deep breath. “I thought I would be in charge because I was told to be in charge. How naive is that?” Bryan laughed. “Everyone thinks that in their first leadership assignment, and trust me, we all find out the hard way!”

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors. 

Be great today!

January 21, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

Jane Breeze was sitting at her desk with head in hands. It’s been a challenging three weeks since she implemented her new project: realigning roles and responsibilities within her team. With three of her people now working on tasks they had never done before, their productivity took a hit, and everyone noticed.

Four months ago, she pitched this to the senior leaders. They were admittedly risk averse, but after she convinced them of the long-term benefits they wholeheartedly agreed. Now productivity is down, the bosses are concerned, and her team is getting frustrated. This was unexpected because the plan was solid, and she took extra precautions to mitigate any issues.

She looked out the doorway and sighed. That’s when she saw Bryan at the end of the hall. He was on one of his daily strolls through the office, checking in with people to ask how they were doing. He was always talking to people and interested in their projects. “Why did he do that?” she wondered.

“Hey Bryan,” she called a little too loudly. She spoke a little softer: “You have a minute?”

Bryan listened with the calm demeanor he always carried. Jane noticed how nothing ever really seemed to shake him. By the time she unloaded her worries and problems on him about her failing change initiative, Bryan simply smiled and grabbed a whiteboard marker. “May I?” he asked.

The J-Curve

Whenever we go through change, we experience a dip in performance. This is because we’re about to try new things that will invariably cause growing pains. It’s like when babies fall a lot when they begin learning how to walk. But the problem is that most people expect results now; they want to yell at the baby for trying. That’s why leading change is so difficult.

This chart I’ll draw represents our performance over time. Before any change occurs, we’re at the status quo. Without trying anything new, we’ll probably stay here forever. Our job as change agents is to improve the status quo and bring us to a point where we’re performing better.

When we first pitch our idea, we plant the seed of improvement to our team. They can all envision from our idea how it will make us better, smarter, faster, or stronger. They’re all on board! The real problem is that everyone in our organization thinks that there’s a straight line from our current state to our desired end state. But… that’s not going to happen.

Instead, performance during change is based off a J-Curve. This theory comes from Dr. Jerald Jellison in his book Managing the Dynamics of Change. He talks about the five stages of change and the performance, thoughts, and emotions that go along with it.

At the beginning of change, we’ll see a dip in performance because we’re all trying new things. For example, I once started a different workout routine where I ran on the treadmill at a 12% incline. During the first try, I was slower, felt terrible, and was way out of breath compared to my normal runs. The next day, I had trouble walking.

Here, I had fallen into this “period of disruption.” Initially, there’s an adverse impact on performance, and it all qualifies as risk to the organization. The depth of the dip is the amount of safety I and everyone around me are willing to accept.  On the treadmill, if I want less safety I could lower the incline. This may not give as much benefit in the long run, but it will lessen the risk. Or, I could raise the incline to 15% and feel more pain with the confidence of larger gains at the end.

The length of the dip is how much we can tolerate before we quit. When we have these dips in performance, people are going to be upset, especially bosses. If they don’t see improvement, they may want to pull the plug. That’s how I felt running on an incline. After a few days, I wanted to unplug my treadmill and never use it again because of the initial pain.

The low point in this curve is the “Valley of Death.” This is where change initiatives go to die. Did you know the second Friday of every January is called “Quitter’s Day?” It is the point where people reevaluate their goals and decide whether going to the gym or eating healthy is worth it. They give up on their vision of the future. About 12 days into my incline running was the day I wanted to quit.  But four strategies can get us through this valley.

1. Anticipate. Before change initiatives even start, the key is to anticipate the amount and length of disruption. In doing so, we can understand and articulate the risk to everyone around us, not just the boss, so we all know what to expect. Before I started running, I knew the incline was going to be uncomfortable, and I’d be sore the day after. I let everyone in the house know how great this was going to be for me, but that I may be moving slower than normal in the beginning.

2. Communicate. Once we know the risks, we have to communicate them far and wide to everyone affected. Our knowledge of the risks we’re about to undertake will reassure our stakeholders that we understand the full life cycle of this change and allow them ideas of how to participate. I told my wife that I was going to wake up earlier, be on the treadmill a little more, and probably be more tired in the evenings. Once I let her know, she even helped by suggesting a better diet to go with it.

3. Support. Next, we must have our support network in place. There are a number of technical, IT, systems, subject matter experts, educational, management, social, and emotional networks that need to be standing by to support our people in times of change. We have the resources, so we should use them. My change in exercise wasn’t just physical. I changed my diet, sleep habits, and time management. Most importantly, my wife and kids were cheering me on, which really helped.

4. Adjust. Finally, we must listen to feedback from the field and adjust as needed. Not all feedback will be constructive, but it should all be heard. It’s important to hear from the stakeholders, and it’s important they feel heard. After my first few hill climb workouts, my body was crying out for more water. I didn’t realize I needed so much hydration. Now I keep a water bottle on the treadmill and drink as I go.

Once we get past the risk phase and it’s uphill, we can’t stop there. It’s now time to celebrate the wins, communicate the change, and consolidate the gains we’ve made. We have to keep using the four strategies above even after we leave the period of disruption.

It’s never easy to get through change, but it helps when we realize what the change will look like and communicate it effectively to everyone. That’s how we can lead a team through change while understanding and dealing with the challenges that come with it.

Jane looked at the whiteboard with interest. “I feel like I did well in anticipating the risk, but I certainly didn’t communicate it effectively. Do you think that was the problem?”

Bryan gave a reassuring smile and pointed to the fourth strategy. “I think you’re adjusting well, and this is going to work out just fine. After all, I’m still running at incline. Keep at it!”

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors.  Lead well

January 14, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

Wayne Johnson was new to the company, and it was his first time sitting in a meeting with the senior leadership team. The conversation was fast-paced, exciting, and interesting. Wayne really thought he would like this new job.

Halfway through the meeting, Janice, who ran the human resources department, asked Wayne what he thought of the onboarding process. Wow, thought Wayne, I’ve only been here a week and I’m already being asked about my opinions. An extroverted person to begin with, he was thrilled to share.

Wayne opened up about his experiences in onboarding: the good, the bad, and the ugly. He referenced his former company, how he was treated upon arrival, and the strengths and opportunities of the human resources department. After 15 minutes, Wayne provided what he considered an excellent summary of what to sustain and how to improve. The meeting quickly wrapped up afterwards, and he walked back to his desk.

What a day!, Wayne reflected. I’m already making a huge impact in my new position.

The Feedback

Wayne sheepishly knocked on Bryan’s open door, “Hey, you got a minute?” He met Bryan Green during onboarding, and Bryan offered to help if he needed anything. Bryan just seemed like a sincere and caring person.

They were both in the meeting this morning, and Wayne recounted how Janice pulled him aside about an hour ago. She told him, in a very nice and professional way, that his 15-minute speech to all the senior executives was long and rambling. Since the meeting was on a tight schedule, Janice hoped that Wayne would quickly share one or two points, and they could move on.

Instead, in her words, Wayne’s diatribe full of tangents and stories that didn’t help the leadership team came off as preachy and overbearing. In the future, he should look to follow the three B’s of speaking: Be brief, Be brilliant, and Be gone.

“I’ve never heard before that I’ve had a problem speaking in public. What do you think, Bryan?”

Bryan gave a genuine smile and leaned back in his chair, “Sounds like you’re suffering from what we all suffer with. Blind spots.” Then he asked, “Have you heard about the Johari Window?” and went to the whiteboard and drew a simple picture. “Let me explain.”

The Johari Window

The Johari Window is used by teams to expand levels of self-awareness among each other. For new people in a company but also for those that have been there a while, there are many unknowns on both sides about how people think and act.  The Johari Window helps everyone in a group improve this understanding.

It was created by American psychologists Joseph Luft and Harry Ingham in 1955 and branded by combining their two first names (Joe-Harry). It’s core concept is that there’s a lot of information about yourself, but not everybody knows it, including you.

The Y-axis represents things that others know or don’t know about you. On the top are things we all know about you. For example, after you talked today, everyone now knows who you are, where you came from, and your public speaking style in meetings (he smiled). On the bottom are things we don’t know about you like how you best like to communicate, your conflict management style, and your favorite birthday cake.

The X-axis represents things that you know about yourself. The good news is you know a lot!  The bad news is, there are some things that you don’t know like how you’re perceived in public (he smiled again) and what others think of your communication style. This entire window divides into four quadrants:

1. Open Area or Arena. In the top left quadrant is what we all know to be true about you. It’s your stated attitudes, emotions, strengths, and views that we’ve heard and observed. This is where we’ve shared communication and feedback in the past and now have a common understanding. Every time we have a conversation, this area becomes larger. I learn more about you, and you learn more about yourself.

2. Hidden Area,  Facade, or Mask. In the bottom left quadrant is information that you know but haven’t shared with us. It’s the feelings, emotions, scar tissue from the past, fears, hopes, and dreams that you’re keeping to yourself. This is natural because we all have private thoughts that we don’t always want to share.

3. Blind Area or the Blind Spot. The top right quadrant represents the stuff we know about you, but you don’t know about yourself. Just like the feedback you received, a lot of other people were thinking it, myself included to be honest. But you aren’t aware of it. Every time you get feedback like today, it’s a gift to help reduce the size of this window.

4. Unknown Area or Unconscious. This is the trickiest one because we don’t know it about you, and you don’t know it about yourself. The bottom right represents hidden and suppressed feelings, unknown talents, or information about you that you haven’t even processed yet. They may have come from past experiences as a child or a skill that you haven’t discovered like writing or a foreign language.

When you put all these together in the window, you can start to see how others look at you differently than you look at yourself. Perhaps you think your message came off clear, but everyone in the room thought you weren’t getting to the point quick enough in an already time crunched environment.

By the way, the four windows are never the same size. For new people to a company, like you, the windows may look out of proportion like this:

We know very little about you since you just arrived. Your open area is small because we’re just getting to know you. Your hidden area is pretty big because you know a lot about yourself, but we don’t know a lot about you. And we all have blind spots. Plus, the unknown is big because you’re new to a company and you don’t know what you don’t know. As we start to interact with you, we’re all going to make judgments and opinions, and you’re going to make them about us. They may or may not be in line with what you already know.

The good news is, we can push open the arena to our own Johari Window in two ways.

First, we can tell other people about us. This can be done through meet and greets, small group conversations, having lunch with coworkers, water cooler talk, or countless ways just to share things. Having coaching sessions with people at work is a great way to expand the window down because it’s all about us talking and the other person asking questions.

The second way is to ask for feedback. When we ask others to tell us about ourselves, it pushes the windows to the right as we gain more information we didn’t know before. Feedback is a gift. Sometimes it comes unsolicited and sometimes when we ask for it. Either way, the more we know about ourselves, the more we can use that to be a great team player.

As an afterthought, there are thousands of permutations of this window in an organization. I have one with you, you have one with me, I have one with the senior leadership team, and you have one with the three people in your office.

The best organizations are good at expanding the open area so that common knowledge is shared professionally across groups, and everyone can use that information to best communicate. We should all be sharing information about ourselves and giving and asking for feedback every chance we get. This allows teams to best work together.

Wayne nodded thoughtfully. “I appreciate the chart, Brian. But you didn’t answer my question. Did I talk too much this morning?”

Without hesitation Brian responded with a grin, “Absolutely. And think how much your Johari Window open area grew today.”

Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors.  Lead well

January 7, 2025

by Stephen T. Messenger

“The size of your dreams must always exceed your current capacity to achieve them. If your dreams do not scare you, they are not big enough.” — Ellen Johnson Sirleaf

Every year in January, much to my wife’s chagrin, I outline a list of twenty personal, audacious goals that I want to accomplish by next December. These objectives require a significant level of motivation to achieve. At a minimum, they involve a deliberate and sustained effort over time.

This year’s list is much more focused than it has been in the past. What I’ve been missing was an overarching theme which guides my daily interactions with others. I again compiled a list across the domains of the Army’s Holistic Health and Fitness (H2F) Program. This includes mental, physical, spiritual, nutritional, and sleep domains. I’ve also added financial and encouragement categories along with a bonus area for fun family trips.

But the theme of this year is “Lift Others Up.” I’d like to leverage my personal goals to encourage others and be their biggest fan. Everyone needs a cheerleader, and I know that I can do a better job of encouraging others to reach their goals.

As I put the finishing touches on this year’s list, I usually felt the satisfaction of challenging myself along with the immediate stress of having to meet these goals over the next twelve months. However, this year is a bit different. With the thematic goal of lifting others up, it’s less about achieving my own goals and more about working towards them to benefit others.  

Goal Setting

Goal setting is a fundamental tenant of leadership. If we have no idea where we’re going, we’re never going to get there. However, these audacious, personal goals help mold us into a more holistic leader at work along with improving as an individual, husband, and parent at home.

This year, I’ve divided the personal goals into the five domains of H2F and two additional categories of finance and encouragement.

1. Mental helps us think broader and more deeply, building mental capacity over time.
2. Physical is geared towards training our body to deal with the stressors of life.
3. Spiritual focuses on staying in touch with God to build faith and resiliency.
4. Nutritional creates the greatest challenge with defining tangible ways to improve our body’s fuel.
5. Sleep is about daily rest and recharge
6. Finance is working towards building generational wealth for our families.
7. Finally, encourage—the theme of this year—helps us build up those closest to us and foster growth in others.

To be clear, none of these goals are work related; they’re all personal achievements. Work goals stay in the office where they belong. I also like to throw in a bonus category to challenge ourselves to get out into the world with our families and see something new.

Big, Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG)

Our goals must be bold and audacious. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was the first female elected head of state in Africa. As a young woman, she repeatedly questioned Liberia’s ability and desire to stand up for equality, and she set a goal to solve this problem.

Along her journey, she faced prison, death threats, and exile. Yet she never gave up on her dream to improve the nation in the face of naysayers and setbacks.

Along the way, she graduated from Harvard, participated in numerous levels of government, won the presidency, and ultimately earned the Nobel Peace Prize. Her goals in life were always larger than what was possible and fraught with peril. Audacious goal setting is a scary journey to embark on but one that bears incredible success.   

Resourcing Our Goals

Our annual goals can’t compare to President Sirleaf’s, but collectively they provide a roadmap to improving life mentally, physically, spiritually, nutritionally, and sleep-wise. It also protects our finances and encourages us to lift others up. It provides focus and forces us to invest time and energy to collectively make us and those around us better.

Once we determine what our goals are, we can efficiently use our resources to attack those priorities. We can plan our year and ensure we’re not wasting the precious commodity of time, but instead harnessing the power of the calendar.

A personal goals list will not get us promoted or earn a better paycheck in itself; it will make us a better leader and direct our focus. After doing this for a number of years, I can guarantee by focusing on goals, we’ll see sustained growth in multiple areas and achieve more than we thought was possible. Over time, our capacity will grow across a wide range of skillsets as we seek to be more than we could ask or imagine.

Without this mindset, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland said it best. “If you don’t know where you’re going, any road’ll get you there.”

It’s the Journey, Not the Destination

One note: rarely do I achieve every task on the list. However, the energy put into working towards these goals bears tangible benefits in many other areas. For example, three years in a row I had the goal to finish a doctorate. The dissertation blew up that dream and extended it almost 24 months more than I wanted.

While I didn’t achieve the original timeline which was optimistic at best, I was forced to work on it and complete it still is what I understand is a below average amount of time. A task strived for and not completed still bears great fruit. Oftentimes it is the journey, not the destination.

Goal setting is hard. Great leaders pick goals to improve their personal habits, which leads to gains across the spectrum of leadership. This year, I challenge us to select some bold and audacious goals. We’ll see benefits over time as we steadily work towards accomplishing more than we thought possible.

Lift Others Up

Finally, work this year on lifting others up. The more we can make it about other people and the less we can make it about ourselves, the better influence we have on the world!

This is your year!  Leaders read, think, discuss, and write about leadership.  Your first step should be to sign up for The Maximum Standard’s weekly email where you’ll get a leadership vignette delivered for free every Tuesday morning!  This could also be your year to get published in the Maximum Standard—we’re always looking for authors.  Lead well this year!  

See where this website all began in our foundational article: The Maximum Standard.

December 17, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

Small habits done consistently over time generate success. I’ve seen this theory put into action across two decades of military experience where small-scale, routine accomplishments beat a surge effort every time to get things done.

We’re all busy people. The challenge is to find time to tackle those passionate projects we’ve always wanted to accomplish. Maybe our goal is to get faster at running, read more books, journal, practice a religious discipline, learn a language, or tackle another project.

I did something this year I had absolutely no time in my life to do. I wrote a book. (It’s in draft form and needs a lot of editing, but it has potential to be submitted to a publisher in the near future).

I knew that I wanted to write one, but with a military job, a summer move, learning a new position, finishing a doctorate, raising four kids, staying healthy, and trying to have a life, there was no way to sit down for hours to write. So instead, in January I drew up an outline in January and every week wrote a section.

One year later, I’ve consolidated these 48 pieces and have a healthy draft. Without making small, incremental gains week by week, there’s no way I’d have a book draft sitting in front of me.

The key to these larger projects is to make small, continuous progress to achieve a larger goal.

The Atomic Push-up

Youtuber Jack Clancy challenged himself to 100 push-ups a day for a year in 2019. On Day One, Clancy stated that he could only do 14 push-ups in a row. He then had to squeeze out the remaining 86 over time. That number slowly increased until he could easily accomplish it.

The revelation, he stated, was having the dedication to perform push-ups every single day. His constant effort was rewarded with continuous progress.

Another 49-year-old set a goal to complete 100 push-ups without stopping. His first set on January 2^nd was  36 in a row. He did not perform them daily so he would build in recovery time, but after 48 attempts over nine months, he hit his goal.

The log he kept of his push-up journey was telling. When he routinely and consistently practiced leveraging rest days, he showed progress – at one point increasing by 25 push-ups in 18 days across eight sessions. When he did not perform them consistently, his progress slowed – increasing by only four reps over two months during a mere five sessions. Consistency is important.

James Clear in his book Atomic Habits talks about getting 1% better every day through consistency. He argues that small habits are game changers, such as writing a few pages about a topic every week could result in a complete book after a year.

He then argues it’s not about setting goals, but about establishing systems to repetitively perform tasks. Finally, these habits, when done right, create a new identity where we’re not defined by our goals but by the things we do.

Clear goes on to say that we first need to decide the type of people we want to be and then become that person through small wins. If we can turn those small habits into wins over time with a clear purpose and goal in mind, we accomplish great things!

The Need for Consistency

As we consistently knock out our habits day after day, an amazing phenomenon occurs. We get better! Five key things occur when we’re consistent: we gain accountability, get better, become more confident, build momentum, and generate progress.

Create Accountability. When we make our habits non-negotiable, it’s easier to accomplish them. To create my book shell, I gave myself a weekly deadline to finish three pages every Tuesday. It had to go out! I would be letting myself down if I didn’t.

We perform even better when we have accountability partners. They keep us responsible for achieving those habits even more. For example, my dad loves to ask about the next three pages every week. Being accountable to ourselves and others forces us to complete our goals.  

Improve Quality. Constantly performing an action naturally makes us better. Malcolm Gladwell opined it takes 10,000 hours to become a phenom. While we’re probably not looking to become a freakish expert in our respective goals, constant practice over many hours significantly improves our skills.

Reviewing my book draft in its entirety, it’s painfully obvious that the articles I wrote near the end of the year were much better than those at the beginning. The adage “practice makes perfect,” may not be entirely true, but practice “certainly makes better.”

Build Confidence. Habitual practice increases the positive perception we have of our work. James Clear emphasized this point when he said habits start to establish our new identity by changing us to become better people through small wins. These wins equate to improved self-esteem over time.

In my book journey this year, I know my confidence in writing has risen every week. The process has become more natural with every repetition. Moreover, it’s been fun to see my writing improve, resulting in more self-confidence.

Generate Momentum. It’s interesting that habits beget habits. I often joke how I like to streak – not the “sans-clothes running;” but the “do something daily” type of streaking like studying the Bible, working out, or eating healthy. Once we see our streaks grow, our subconscious doesn’t want to break it and start over.

Moreover, our brain sees the goodness in streaking. There’s momentum when we do things over time. Halfway through this past year, I started to envision a future where writing a book could actually become a reality. When we see the gains from our habits, we want to do more.

Demonstrate Results. Just like our push-up friends, habits create results. Generating results is what it’s about at the end of the day. The Army’s mission is to “deploy, fight, and win our nation’s wars.” The only way to do that is through continuous military training and repetition to get better each day.

The result of my one-year journey was a complete book draft. There was no way I could have done this in one chunk of time. I needed to write, reflect, think, edit, and shape thoughts over time. My creativity tank wouldn’t support a non-stop writing period, but routine and repetitive patterns allowed progress to be made!

Make Gains Over Time, Not All at Once

Repetitive habits demonstrate exponential growth. If we establish good routines, we’ll start to see these gains in accountability, quality, confidence, momentum, and results. Moreover, our tasks will look less like independent parts of a puzzle and more like holistic goals that we’re trying to achieve.

Consider what habits you need to start as we approach the end of the year, and take the chance to start something new.

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

December 10, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

This entire year we’ve been walking through the BRAG+1 Leadership Framework. This model is key for leaders to connect with our people and make great gains in the process. The foundation to being in charge is to serve the people around us, and the basis of the BRAG+1 model is to lift others up while achieving organizational goals.

Critical to being a successful leader is to brag about those on our teams. When was the last time we bragged about our teammates, employees, bosses, spouses, kids, neighbors, or anyone we know about their achievements? Probably recently. And the reason was that we’re proud of them!  They work so hard at something they’re talented and passionate about—we should lift those successes up every chance we get.

It is our people who are working so hard to achieve the organizational strategy, vision, objectives, and goals that deserve recognition and accolades on behalf of those in charge. When in a leadership position, we owe it to our people to lift them up, recognize their achievements, help them accomplish personal goals, and bring everyone along together.

The best leaders understand this and place people at the forefront of their activities. We go out of their way to ensure the employees, volunteers, or family members feel like valued members of the team. At the end of the day, it is our job to not only accomplish organizational objectives but lift everyone else up in the process.

The best way to do this is to BRAG+1 about our teams. Each of the five letters in the acronym stands for part of the equipment soldiers carry into battle.

B – Boots. Be Present with Our People

The boots of a soldier represent our need to be present and where our people are. The number one thing we can do is be present in our people’s lives. It’s quite simple; interact with our people and find them at their places of work.

If our soldier is pulling guard in a tower, go visit her. If our son has a soccer game, be there. If our employee has to work late to finish a project, join him. Leaders need to be where our people are for two reasons. First, we need to let them know we care. Second, we need to see what’s actually happening on the ground. By walking in the same places as our people, we make a difference.

R – Regimental. Place Service Over Self

The regimentals are synonymous with the uniform a soldier wears. Like most service jobs, a military uniform has a soldier’s name on the right side of the chest and who they work for on the left side, in this case, the U.S. Army. Our personal name tag is interesting, but our organizational name is compelling. It’s always about the team and not ourselves.

Our job is to place service over self. Leadership is never about the person in charge. It’s about achieving our organizational goals and serving the people who work for us. It is our job to sacrifice for others. The phrase leaders eat last has significant meaning where we let others get the perks before we do. Service is a calling, and one needed in those that lead.

A – Armor. Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Life is going to attack us and at times attack us hard, which is why we need to wear the soldier’s armor. Whether it is sickness, injury, work failures, social media jabs, talking behind our backs, public attacks, family problems, or a host of other issues, we’re going to face trials and tribulations. Instead of rolling over, we must be able to stand strong in the face of these attacks and keep moving forward.

Leaders cannot appear frustrated. The organization takes on the attitude and characteristics of us. If we appear defeated and sullen, so will our people. This doesn’t mean having a fake positive attitude, but a real one. We must always have the resiliency to stand strong against adversity and encourage our team to tackle whatever problem lay ahead.

G – Gun. Close with and Destroy the Enemy

A leader’s job first and foremost is to accomplish the mission, and the soldier’s weapon is the instrument to do so. While victory is accomplished by serving our people, our end result must always be focused on success. The best leaders are ruthlessly working on accomplishing organizational objectives.

The two keys are to define what success looks like and then knock down the proverbial targets by engaging them with the tools at our disposal. Once we know what to accomplish through defining decisive points, we lead our teams by affixing bayonets and tackling hard problems. The best of us knows how to effectively use our full array of weapons to solve problems and move the team to the next objective.

+1 – Belt. Not Have a Hint, Sniff, or Whiff of Impropriety about Us

The final required trait is the belt of leadership that keeps our pants from falling down. It is a leader’s job to never have a hint of impropriety about us. In every decision, we must ensure that it is ethically sound where no one can question our legality or morality.  

When in charge, all eyes are upon us, and we are constantly being watched to see if our actions are above reproach. Every time we are not, we set a lower ethical standard for our team. This is why it is critical that no one can ever say about our decisions that we are cheating the system, trying to get over, bending the rules, or immorally benefiting from our actions. Always follow the rules!

The Five Characteristics of Leaders

If we can follow these five characteristics, others will follow us. Teams look for leaders who support their people and generate results. That’s it. Leaders who truly love their people while delivering organizational objectives are incredibly successful.

Our job is simple: Be with our people, make it about others and not ourselves, stand in the face of adversity, win, and do all of this while setting the highest ethical standard.

This is the BRAG+1 leadership model that our people need and desire. It is founded in love and care to look out for others’ best interests while delivering success after success. We must always put on the five qualities of leadership while engaging within the battlefield or the boardroom, and our people will thank us!

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:

Boots: Put Boots on the Ground

Regimentals: Place Service over Self

Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy

+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

December 3, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

The last exceptional BRAG+1 leader we’ll study, and our only contemporary case, is General Stanely McChrystal. He lived a career of slow and quiet advancement in positions of greater responsibility culminating as Commander of all forces in Afghanistan during a tumultuous time in 2009.

His story is one of continuous success as a warrior-scholar. He navigated diverse assignments from conventional military, special operations, and key educational opportunities to rise as one of the most influential generals to affect progress in the Middle East post-9/11.

One of his key attributes was speaking plainly and truthfully to paint an accurate and realistic picture on the ground. This trait gained him the respect of national leadership and peers as he reframed the conduct of counterinsurgency warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan.

In a sudden end to his military career, a reporter from Rolling Stones Magazine embedded within his command and reported the frank words by him and his staff about political leaders resulting in McChrystal’s resignation to President Obama. However, this event did not define his legacy nor success, and he continues to have an impact to this day.

The Warrior Scholar

McChrystal began his career as an infantry platoon leader in the 82d Airborne Division in 1976 where he learned the basics of leadership of being with men and on the ground. He completed the Special Forces Operations Course and excelled in small unit leadership as a special forces operator, an operations and intelligence officer in South Korea, and mechanized infantry and ranger regiment company commander.

He then rejoined the special operations community and saw his first combat in Desert Storm. In all these military roles, McChrystal understood the importance of placing service over self and placing his boots in the mud with his soldiers.  

In his final roles before becoming a general officer, McChrystal commanded an 82d Airborne Division Battalion, Ranger Regiment Battalion, and the 75^th Ranger Regiment in its entirety. No one achieves this level of military success without being highly engaged with their people and constantly achieving success after success.   

Sprinkled between these assignments, McChrystal was focused on education. He attended the Naval War College, earned a Master of Science Degree in International Relations, and was a senior service college fellow at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard. Finally, he spent a year at the Washington Think Tank Council on Foreign Relations in a military role.

This balance of key leadership assignments and educational experiences shaped a broad worldview of how McChrystal acted and thought. The best leaders continuously learn, study, and grow, and McChrystal spent a career both doing and learning, a key trait we should all emulate as warrior scholars.

General Success

Promoted to Brigadier General in 2001, McChrystal held a number of pivotal assignments to include Assistant Division Commander of the 82d Airborne and Chief of Staff of the XVIII Airborne Corps as America entered its post-9/11 conflict. In March of 2003, he was chosen for his poise to represent the Pentagon on nationally televised press events on current operations in Iraq.

These positions led to his time at Joint Special Operations Command. In this capacity, McChrystal used a career of operational and educational acumen to capture Sadaam Hussein in 2003, kill Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, head of Al-Qaeda in Iraq, and capture or kill countless high-profile insurgents. His keen mind and ability to combine tactical and strategic thinking coalesced into battlefield gains.

After a short stint as Director of the Joint Staff, the Senate confirmed McChrystal’s appointment as Commander of U.S. and International Security Assistance Forces in Afghanistan. He quickly made his mark by conducting large-scale offensive operations and requesting tens of thousands more troops to guide the now seven-year-old war.

McChrystal, every consistent, maintained his aggressiveness as when he started his military career. He took the initiative, knocked down targets, spoke the truth, and valued success above all.

The Stone Rolled Hard

But even when we do everything right, we can still do it wrong. McChrystal let his private words be made public, a problem we all have in keeping our internal monologue to ourselves, and this became his downfall. After a career of literally putting boots on the ground, serving the nation at the expense of his personal life, fighting the enemy, and achieving great victories, he let the cavalier words of him and his staff be made public.

Rolling Stones reporter Michael Hastings began a two-day trip with McChrystal in 2010 which turned into a month-long engagement with the general and his staff. During this time, Hastings overheard several comments from the group that weren’t for public consumption. This tale of loose lips is a cautionary tale of always being appropriate. We have to continuously act like the cameras are on and the mics are hot.

In the Rolling Stones article, Hastings reported several disparaging comments by McChrystal and his team. Among them, a key McChrystal advisor relayed the general was not impressed with President Obama calling him unengaged in their meeting. Another aide compared the National Security Advisor to a clown. McChrystal himself stated that he felt the U.S. Ambassador to Kabul betrayed him. Moreover, McChrystal made disparaging comments towards the Vice President and the State Department’s liaison.

In a final point of many others, McChrystal requested a 40,000-troop surge in Afghanistan stating that without those extra forces, it would result in a strategic failure. While his request was not inappropriate by itself, it was leaked to the press forcing Obama’s hand. In what should have been private recommendation to the President was a public attempt to force a Presidential decision.

These items in totality led to President Obama summoning McChrystal to the White House and a pressured resignation. This entire incident falls under not having a hint of impropriety about us. We all have thoughts in our heads that should never come out. McChrystal learned this the hard way.

Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Stanley McChrystal had an exceptional career as a warrior scholar, a trait we should strive to achieve in operational and academic success. However, we can have all the success in the world, but one incident can cause significant chaos. In this case, it was allowing an inner monologue to be overheard by others. Our words can have significant effects, and it’s so important to monitor our thoughts in public.

I try hard, and fail often, to keep my negative thoughts inside my head. What can seem like healthy venting to others can often be damaging comments to those we truly want to succeed. When in charge, we have the responsibility to lift others up in public and chastise in private. With social media, cameras, thin walls, email forwards, and a host of other issues, our words travel faster than ever before. It’s important we control them in every and all circumstances.

This was not the end of the story for Stanley McChrystal. He took responsibility for his actions and continued his career out of the military. He taught at Yale University, joined numerous boards, advocated for national service, wrote four books, is a prolific public speaker, and continues to serve in other capacities.

McChrystal showed resiliency through this attack and came out on the others side in a positive position. I imagine he learned a great lesson about the impact seemingly private words can have in public. This lesson is critical for all of us to keep our words in check.   

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:

Boots: Put Boots on the Ground

Regimentals: Place Service over Self

Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy

+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

November 26, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

General Douglas MacArthur’s name is synonymous with his World War II exploits in the Pacific, most notably rescuing the Philippines from a Japanese takeover and assuring them that “I will return,” which he did. He graduated from West Point in 1903, achieved general officer rank in 1918, and remained in service through 1951, one of only nine service members to earn the rank of Five-Star general or admiral in his storied career.

Less known about MacArthur is his heroic leadership in World War I. Throughout this conflict, he took extraordinary risks on the front lines. Always placing boots on the ground and aggressively closing with the enemy, MacArthur was relentless in attacking while leading from the front, earning seven Silver Stars.

His exemplary display of the BRAG+1 leadership model was clear as his men followed him through the harshest conditions of trench warfare. However, much like Teddy Roosevelt and George Patton before him, MacArthur possessed a huge ego and was fired by President Truman at the end.

We all have opportunities to lead in our fields of battle like MacArthur, but unlike him must prevent our hubris from overpowering our desire to support organizational objectives and our people.

Leadership Earned in the Trenches

Before his strategic involvement in global affairs in the 1940s and 50s, Douglas MacArthur earned his leadership legacy in the trenches of World War I. Here, he approached problems aggressively, led charges himself, and was resilient when faced with failure.

MacArthur entered the Great War on February 26, 1917 as the Chief of Staff of the 42^nd Infantry Division. Upon arrival, he wasted no time learning from French units and conducting raids. He earned the Silver Star for this action.

As a staff officer, MacArthur could have stayed back in the Division Headquarters but on March 9th, he led one of his line units in an attack across no-man’s land and occupied enemy trench positions. For this he earned the Distinguished Service Cross and Purple Heart.  

In the July Champagne-Marne Campaign, MacArthur quickly showed his battlefield bravery by leading four raids of German trenches. Others will follow brave, confident, successful leaders into the fire. Silver Star #2.

In Seringes et Nesles on July 29th, he carried the day by leading an assault across a creek, up a slope, and into enemy fire. Silver Star #3. Days later, he assumed command of the 84^th Infantry Brigade and conducted a forward reconnaissance patrol with a runner across a sea of corpses, barbed wire, mines, and obstacles. Finding the enemy had pulled back, he reported his findings to headquarters after four days of not sleeping, and promptly passed out. Silver Star #4.

On September 12^th, MacArthur devised a new scheme to attack the Germans at the flanks. He led his men in the main assault at St. Mihiel, driving the enemy back and capturing over 10,000 prisoners of war. Silver Star #5. Two weeks later, his diversionary raid in Meuse-Argonne distracted the Germans with a mere 20 friendly casualties. Silver Star #6.

He was next ordered by his leadership to take a position, even if it cost 5,000 names on a casualty list. His response: “We’ll take it, or my name will head the list.” In the face of biting cold and a hail of bullets, his unit took the position on October 16th. His Distinguished Service Cross #2 read, “On a field where courage was the rule, his courage was the dominant feature.”

In Sedan, he deconflicted operations by leaving the trenches at great danger to himself to communicate with adjacent units. Silver Star #7. After being hit with poison gas, he earned Purple Heart #2.

Douglas MacArthur was a beast on the battlefield, demonstrating the amazing leadership qualities of being present with his people, putting himself in personal danger with his soldiers, making it about the organization, and seeking victory at all costs. For his World War I heroics, he earned the Distinguished Service Medal and was lauded by the nation. He displayed all the qualities that we should in our daily lives.

So why did this military hero who could do no wrong get fired by President Truman in 1951?

The Downfall of a Hero

MacArthur was a military legend. After World War I, he became the Army’s youngest Chief of Staff. In 1930, he led the Army through the interwar period. Before and during World War II, he took command in the Philippines, was driven out by the Japanese, became the Supreme Allied Commander in the Pacific, liberated the Philippines, and accepted the Japanese surrender. Post-war, he oversaw the reconstruction of Japan and became the appointed as Commander of United Nations Command in the Korean War. He was exceptional.

After almost five decades of unadulterated success, it’s easy to see how MacArthur believed he could do no wrong and be overcome by his ego, but during his career he often forgot that the game of leadership is about “us” and not about “me.” But he did. For example, upon liberating the Philippines, he cockily waded ashore boasting “I have returned,” conveniently forgetting the entire Pacific Fleet, Marines, and Army forces that did all the work.

Pasquale Picone, Giovanni Dagnino, and Anna Mina conducted a 2014 study on hubris in leadership and found three symptoms that all relate to MacArthur. First, he overestimated his own abilities and likelihood of success. Second, he was overconfident in his core beliefs and decisions. Finally, he thought his personal performance overshadowed everyone around him.

This leads us to the Korean War in 1950. MacArthur again showed great success on the battlefield, conducting an amphibious assault into Inchon and pushing Allied forces all the way to the Northern border with China. Amazing!

But here’s where it went wrong. MacArthur insisted to President Truman that China wouldn’t join the war. They did. Not seeing the big picture, he insisted a bombing campaign in the North would “get the boys home by Christmas.” They weren’t. He advocated for the use of nuclear weapons to bring peace. It wouldn’t. Finally, he openly debated with President Truman’s strategies and defied him in a public letter. He was fired.

His ego and hubris finally caught up to him in a public embarrassment, leading him to fade away like the old soldier he was.

Caution of Hubris Overcoming Our Successes

MacArthur was an incredible leader. He showed victory after victory on the battlefield, led the American Army through the interwar period, and defeated the Japanese in World War II. He then rebuilt the nation, yet his hubris led to his ultimate downfall.

He started his career knowing it was service above self, but ended thinking it was himself over service. At whatever level we’re at, we’ve seen great success and some setbacks. We continue to go forward during challenges and adversity, but we must remain humble.

That’s the key throughout our life. It’s so important to remember that we’re here to serve others and keep our ego in check so that we can achieve organizational objectives and support our people above all else.

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:

Boots: Put Boots on the Ground

Regimentals: Place Service over Self

Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy

+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

November 19, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

George S. Patton was one of the greatest military generals of our nation. He exemplified the five BRAG+1 qualities of leadership and was a leading contributor to the Allied successes during World War II. A crowd favorite, Patton was beloved by his soldiers and the nation with his exploits known far and wide.

Patton was so much more than a famous battlefield general. He was an avid horseman, fencer, and Olympic Modern Pentathlete in the 1912 Games. He was a student of military history, graduated West Point although he failed math and had to repeat his first year, designed his own sword, and had a tank named after him.  Now if only he was a taxidermist…

However, Patton had a fatal flaw: his ego. Even in the face of being the quintessential military leader of a generation, Patton fell from grace because he struggled to keep his feelings in check and his mouth shut at times. We can be the best leader in the world, but if we disrupt those around us, frustrate our bosses, and are combative with our peers, we will struggle.

Exemplifying 80% of the BRAG+1 Framework

Simply put George Patton was amazing! He was almost everything the Army wanted in a combat leader. It really started with his outlook on life to “advance” at all costs. This is such a critical mindset when in charge. Being aggressive embodies the leadership qualities of putting boots on the ground and engaging the adversary. His philosophy focused on not letting temporary setbacks get him down but being resilient when the enemy attacks. And it relied on engaging with and destroying our problems at all costs.

Patton’s motto in battle was “GO FORWARD!” and this was for two reasons. First, he understood the importance of exploiting advantages on the battlefield and sustaining momentum. When he heard from a corps commander that the objective to reach the Selune River was achieved, Patton ordered him to keep going as “throughout history, many campaigns have been lost by stopping on the wrong side of the river.” We must constantly advance our position.

His second reason to drive forward was to keep his people motivated and see new ground taken every moment. People love to win, and Patton knew that the motivation to see ground being taken, enemies being defeated, and progress being made was critical for his organization to want to achieve even more.

Patton discouraged the defense and rarely let his units dig trenches. He thought it would create a mental model that the enemy had an advantage. Instead, he believed, “An army is defeated when it digs in.” This is a great object lesson to always have the mindset to close with the enemy, destroy them, and be relentless on advancing our goals and objectives.

Patton did this his whole life. In the Pancho Villa Expedition of 1916, he participated in the first U.S. Army motorized attack using three Dodge touring cars. In World War I, he led the 1^st Provisional Tank Brigade into battle, at times walking in front or riding on top of the tanks. In 1923, he saved two children from drowning after a boating accident in frigid water earning him the Silver Lifesaving Medal.

When World War II began, Patton drove his passion for armored warfare forward. He was quickly promoted to the general officer ranks and had leading roles in North Africa, Sicily, and European campaigns. He was constantly out in front of his troops, urging them to move ahead at all costs. He took town after town and repeatedly outmaneuvered both his enemy and friendly forces who struggled to keep up. His aggressive actions were imperative to winning the war.

The Fatal Flaw

With Teddy Roosevelt, last week we talked about how too much aggressiveness may cause problems. George Patton’s aggressiveness and ego were downright damaging with his bosses. For all his great qualities, he often caused trouble with superiors because of his massive ego and actions that at best made it seem like the war was about himself and at worst disrupted national interests.

At the Biscari Massacre, two of Patton’s soldiers killed dozens of prisoners of war citing they were following Patton’s orders from one of his speeches. Patton slapped two of his men suffering from battle fatigue. He openly countered U.S. policy by stating in a speech that Great Britain and the United States were destined to rule the world, alienating coalition members. He was widely considered an antisemite and alienated the very same Jewish people he came to liberate in displaced persons camps.

His actions isolated him from his bosses. The Supreme Allied Commander General Dwight Eisenhower relieved and sidelined him right before the Normandy Invasion, a role in which he was destined to have a significant impact. General Omar Bradley, his boss in Europe, wanted to relieve him permanently after the slapping incident. Field Marshall Bernard Montgomery had a heated rivalry with him to get to Berlin first. Finally, President Truman after the war wrote a note to Eisenhower about the poor treatment of Jewish people being overseen by Patton.

There is no doubt Patton was an amazing commander. All those bosses and peers mentioned above acknowledge this. But he was also a distraction, and his actions caused superiors heartburn and consternation. Patton let his ego overshadow his amazing leadership abilities. By taking ourselves out of the equation and focusing on our organizational goals, we can mitigate the Patton ego syndrome by being incredibly successful along with being a team player.

Patton Life Lessons

Our two takeaways from Patton are to go for it and make it about us, not me.

First, if Patton were here today, he would say, “Go for it!” His “advance” mentality had him achieving success after success. We must have the same mindset in our goals. We only have a limited number of months or years in a certain position. We have kids in our homes for a mere two decades or less before they’re gone. We take a position at work which may last only a year or two. We take on a project that could be over in weeks.

Look, once we have a goal, it’s our job to be all in and go for it! Patton attacked above all else. He relentlessly pursued his objectives and knocked out target after target. On his subject of tank warfare, he read, wrote, discussed, and built a culture of armored activity. We must have the same aggressive mindset whether it’s a class we’re taking, a business we’re building, or a job we possess.  Let’s use our limited time wisely to get big things done quickly.

On the flip side, it’s so important to not make things about us. Patton had a huge ego, and it caused him to do some things that disrupted the organization. We can be both aggressive and a team player at the same time. When running hard to make things happen, it’s necessary to bring others along.

Don’t make it all about us. Watch our words and deeds. Don’t alienate our boss or do something that causes disruption. Be a team player.

Part of the BRAG+1 framework is about placing service over self. It is always about the organization and never about our own interests. Patton was a great role model for being successful. He was not so great about building coalitions. The best leaders can do both.

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:

Boots: Put Boots on the Ground

Regimentals: Place Service over Self

Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy

+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

November 12, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

Teddy Roosevelt was the 26^th President of the United States and certainly one of the more interesting characters in American history. To name a few of his exploits, he was a taxidermist, Sunday school teacher, Harvard grad, historian, author, law school dropout, cattle rancher, mountain climber, governor of New York, Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Army officer, and Vice President, to name a few. What a resume!

He was ambitious, driven, and motivated to achieve in every aspect of life, aggressively taking on challenges. But seldom discussed when talking about Roosevelt were the personal hardships he faced. His speech on the “Man in the Arena” was more than just words about how one must get back up when knocked down. It was a biography on how the obstacles we face in life are there to confront, not from which to shy away.

While this may have been Roosevelt’s greatest strength, it was also his weakness, as he would do anything to confront a challenge no matter the cost. This lesson resonates with us as we seek to aggressively overcome obstacles while understanding the effect our drive has on those around us.

Teddy’s Greatest Hits

Early life wasn’t all that easy for Roosevelt, but he overcame it by following his father’s call to, “Get action. Do things. Be sane. Don’t fritter away your time.” This idiom resembles the first of our five characteristics of leadership with putting our boots on the ground in different places and embracing challenges.

He grew up as a sickly child who suffered from malnutrition, a sunken chest, and debilitating asthma. His rich parents tried every era-approved—and often terrible—remedy they could find, to include electric shocks, bloodletting, violent massages, cigar smoking (yes, for a young child), and induced vomiting. Spending most of his time in bed, Teddy was a voracious reader and used this time to learn about science, nature, and adventure which captivated and drove him for the rest of his life.

After exhausting all options, his father settled on the cure: “Theodore, you have the mind, but you have not the body, and without the help of the body the mind cannot go as far as it should. You must make your body.” Teddy relentlessly started working out, including efforts in gymnastics, boxing, and weightlifting. He received his first gun and glasses at 13 years old, which opened up his world to adventure and beauty. He turned his initial hardship into a foundation for success, with all early childhood medical issues fading into the background.

Hit again by life, only four years into marriage, his wife Alice died two days after giving birth, the same day his mother passed from typhoid fever. His journal entry that day was a large “X’ followed by “The light has gone out of my life.” What might have crippled an ordinary man did not deter him, and in four months he was speaking at the 1884 Republican National Convention.

Time and time again, Roosevelt rose to the occasion. During the Spanish-American War, he quit his post as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy and formed the First U.S. Volunteer Cavalry Regiment, the Rough Riders. With little military experience for the newly commissioned lieutenant colonel, he nonetheless led a diverse group of men through training, mobilization, deployment, and combat in Cuba, where he became the hero of San Juan Hill. The only soldier on horseback, he prodded his men along into a fortified defensive position and seized both the hill and his legacy in the process.

Roosevelt never backed down in life. Whether from crippling disease, devastating family trauma, or the call to war, Teddy Roosevelt lived the leadership quality of closing with and destroying the enemy, and this lifestyle propelled him to the highest office in the land.

Overly Aggressive?

There’s no doubt Teddy Roosevelt was aggressive, but it is possible to be too aggressive at times to the detriment of our team. It’s important to be a team player, and Roosevelt flirted the line between helpful and harmful.

His willingness to volunteer and lead the Rough Riders into Cuba was noble at best and self-serving at worst. This action earned him a second life in politics and a meteoric rise to the presidency. His justification was patriotism: “It does not seem to me that it would be honorable for a man who has consistently advocated a warlike policy not to be willing himself to bear the brunt of carrying out that policy.”

Yet, sending Roosevelt into combat with little to no military experience was a gamble, with lives on the line. His aggressive behavior was again seen at the Port of Tampa, prior to loading ships to Cuba. When Roosevelt’s train was delayed to the port, he stole an engine and coal cars to move there himself. Upon arrival, he rushed his men onto a ship not designated for him and refused to unload, stranding the other unit for 48 hours without transportation. His relentless focus on getting to the fight was at the expense of the soldiers deploying with him.

Fast forward to World War I, Roosevelt—age 58 and 20 years removed from the Army—again tried to form his own command, this time as a general officer. He petitioned President Wilson to establish his own military unit but was denied by prevailing heads. This request, while again noble, was overly aggressive and would have people at risk by an untrained senior military leader.

Personifying the BRAG+1 Framework

Teddy Roosevelt captured all the competencies of a BRAG+1 leader. He put his boots on the ground in Cuba, placed service over self in public positions, was resilient through life’s attacks on his health and family, and certainly closed with the enemy.

However, his aggressiveness sometimes went too far. Placing an untrained colonel to lead the assault in Cuba was risky, his behavior at the port left his teammates out in the lurch, and his play to march an Army division into Europe in the Great War was a pipe dream stopped by common sense.

Roosevelt was a great example of how we should act: present, aggressive, resilient, chalking up victories, and summiting mountains. He is far and away one of my favorite people in American history and teaches us the lesson of being aggressive while knowing when it may be too much.

While Roosevelt’s heart was in the right place, his actions created risk for other parts of his organizations. We see this in our personal lives as well. People in meetings bulldoze others to get their point across, someone who thinks they’re right drives ahead without regard to how it affects the organization, or a colleague who disagrees with us undermines authority to get their way, often at the expense of others and in support of their egos or personal goals.

There is nothing wrong with being aggressive, in fact, I encourage it! But there is something wrong with not bringing the team along with us. Nothing we do is an individual sport. Leaders lead people, not things, and it’s our job to generate successes like Teddy Roosevelt while supporting our people in victory.

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:

Boots: Put Boots on the Ground

Regimentals: Place Service over Self

Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy

+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

November 5, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

General William Sherman had a spectacular career exemplified by resiliency and teamwork, yet he is most often remembered as the architect of destruction during his March to the Sea in the Civil War. When history looks back, they see a man defined by one instance in his career—a cold, uncaring warmonger with no regard for the rights of innocent civilians.

Sherman was a well-respected general, loyal to his country and commanders, and wanted to end the war as quick as possible. His exceptional leadership was overshadowed by one 36-day period where he burned and pillaged the South. It’s a warning that a single negative act can have damaging consequences to how other’s perceive us.

As we’ll see, there‘s no doubt that Sherman’s acts alleviated bloodshed, but his methods tarnished his reputation. A period of great leadership can be erased with one negative act. For us, we need to both do our job well and leave a legacy in which to be proud. We must prevent even that one time where we erupt in public, berate someone, or do something to lose the trust and confidence of our people.

The Armor and Regimentals of Sherman’s Leadership

William Sherman embodied resiliency and loyalty. He graduated from West Point but missed the Mexican-American War, unlike many of his contemporaries such as Ulysses S. Grant. With no combat experience, Sherman left the Army in 1853 and was unsuccessful in a number of career fields. The Panic of 1857 ended his California banker days during the gold rush, and he performed mediocre law in Kansas.

When the Civil War Broke out, Sherman volunteered to rejoin the Army and was appointed Colonel in the 13^th Infantry. At the First Battle of Bull Run, he performed well but the Union suffered a loss large enough for Sherman to question his own skills. He struggled with depression, had a mental breakdown, and was relieved after being considered unfit for duty.

We all have failures, and it’s not how we fail but how we respond to failing. Sherman put on the armor of leadership after struggling in banking, law, and soldiering, but got right back on his horse. After public failures, the best leaders dust themselves off and get back in the fight, and Sherman did just that.

He returned to service and performed brilliantly as the logistics officer for General Grant in the capture of Fort Donelson, then with the Army of West Tennessee, and next the battle of Shiloh. Here, Sherman and Grant fought side-by-side against a brutal Confederate offensive. This experience bonded them for life.

This is where we see Sherman placing service over self. He was a true team player to Grant, encouraging him to stay in the Army in the face of withering media attacks. As written in the newspapers, the, “Army was being ruined in mud-turtle expeditions under the leadership of a drunkard [Grant] whose confidential advisor [Sherman] was a lunatic.”

The nation believed Grant’s penchant for alcohol and knew of Sherman’s breakdown, but Sherman stood tall against media attacks and talked Grant out of resigning his position. Sherman truly put his interest to the nation first by placing his friend above his own promotion. Grant eventually went on to be the commander of all Union forces and the President, presumably, because Sherman talked him into staying.

Just like Sherman, we must be resilient to life’s attacks and be true team players. These two gentlemen went onto seize the strategically important Vicksburg, Mississippi leading to the Confederacy’s eventual demise. President Lincoln lauded their efforts and promoted both to increasingly important positions.

Total Destruction

Sherman continued to prove himself as a great battlefield commander. He next secured victories at the Battle of Chattanooga and then during the Atlanta Campaign.

Here’s where his narrative took a turn. It was no secret that Sherman thought a ruthless campaign against civilians would hasten the end of the war; he spoke often of this. His goal was to cripple the South’s economy, manufacturing, and transportation to force them to quit.

Sherman spent 36 days starting in November 1864 leading over 60,000 soldiers 285 miles from Atlanta to Savannah, Georgia, burning and pillaging the South. His intent was not to cause pain, but to stop it. He thought by making life miserable for the Southern residents, they would demand an end to the war. By destroying factories, railroads, food, and the logistics of the Confederacy, their will to fight would evaporate.

In the end, it worked. This action helped speed the collapse of the Confederacy. However, in the process Sherman changed his legacy from being a brilliant military strategist who helped end to war to a destructive tyrant and terrorist of civilians.

His men seized food, animals, wagons, and anything else they found useful. They overran farms and plantations burning many, robbed houses of valuables, and caused chaos and confusion in the countryside, all under Sherman’s approval.

Sherman stated, “No doubt many acts of pillage, robbery, and violence were committed” by his men, and he encouraged it. One Georgian described it: “…like Demons they rush in!” The soldiers ransacked personal property, looted and stole, set fire to buildings, and took what they wanted.

This was all deliberate. Sherman warned Southern civilians that resistance meant no mercy destruction but would stop immediately upon surrender. Once they captured Savannah, the mayor relinquished the city, and the destruction stopped. A professional general with a deliberate plan, Sherman flipped a proverbial switch from tyrant to savior.

The entire 36-day period resulted in 3,000 total casualties, and many argue that the loss of life was nothing compared to what could have been another 50,000 casualties like Gettysburg. Moreover, Sherman’s tactics resulted in very few civilian deaths but instead focused on over $100 million in property damage, essentially reducing the will of the South to fight. Ultimately, it was not a bad strategy.

He was very effective, and many don’t realize he went on to be the Commanding General of the U.S. Army and a rising presidential candidate which he turned down. Most only remember his destructive wake in Georgia. Sherman’s exceptional military leadership was overshadowed by his total war campaign terrorizing civilians, a moniker he always carried with him.

It Only Takes One Time

This case study on William Sherman highlights a number of great leadership qualities such as being resilient to life’s attacks, placing service over self, and closing with and destroying the enemy to gain victory. But it also demonstrates the danger of how one act, even when done deliberately, can destroy a reputation.

We can excel in our leadership responsibilities, but one slip could define us. We all have times when our human nature wants to leave a destructive path.

For example, upon hearing bad news, we explode all over the one who delivered the message. When we see shoddy work, we denigrate an employee in public. We share an inappropriate joke that is not meant for the workplace. We send a fiery email that circulates the organization.

These events can define a person and erase the leadership capital we worked so hard to build up. One instance can erase consistent habits of good work. It’s up to us to understand how a negative action at any point in time can damage our reputation and subsequent leadership efforts.

William Sherman was a great leader but is now known throughout history as the man who burned Georgia. We need to make sure our reputation and legacy is defined by a consistent pattern of positive leadership behaviors and prevent slipping lest we be known as something less.

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:

Boots: Put Boots on the Ground

Regimentals: Place Service over Self

Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy

+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

October 29, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

Both the hardest and easiest part of being a great leader is often just being at the point of greatest friction. Lacing up our boots and placing them in the trenches is critical to our success in our battles. Ulysses S. Grant understood this concept well, especially at a young age. While masking his Achilles heel of alcoholism a good portion of his life, Grant nonetheless was the epitome of leading from the front.

Ulysses S. Grant is best known as the President of the United States or perhaps the general who won the Civil War for the Union, but his early career set the stage for a reputation of battlefield aggressiveness. In the Mexican-American War, Grant first learned as a young officer the importance of maintaining the offensive and keeping the enemy reacting to him.

The Heroic Quartermaster

Much to his chagrin, Grant was assigned as the regimental quartermaster and commissary officer. This critical position to manage the logistics support was originally lost on Grant who wanted to see combat. But he embraced his disappointment and became a successful young logistician. Often when we’re assigned positions we don’t like, it’s easy to complain and sink into depression. Like Grant however, we need to embrace those experiences and be resilient to our inner monologue, learning what we can in undesirable positions.

Grant did just that, and his knowledge gained from sustainment support on was invaluable to his future career. Many argue that the knowledge he gained encouraged him to use railroads and rivers to gain victories in future Civil War operations.

Yet while relegated to a supporting role, he still found a way to move to the point of greatest friction. In the first of three examples in the Mexican-American War, at the Battle of Palo Alto in 1846 he participated in what amounted to an artillery volley. Outnumbered and facing 4,000 attackers against 2,300 Americans, Grant withstood cannonball fire as one “passed through our ranks, not far from me.” In the face of his first hostile fire, he stood his ground as we all must when things get tough. Resiliency matters when facing hardships.

In a second instance at the Battle of Monterey, his unit was running low on ammunition while fighting through the city streets. Taking the initiative, he jumped on his horse to speed to the rear for resupply.  Grant hung low to one side, protecting himself from enemy fire that was coming from the streets. After grabbing supplies, he rode back through gunfire and arrived unharmed. While we most likely won’t be shot at, there are times when we have to ride through the fire to accomplish our objectives.

Third, outside Mexico City, Grant was commanding a platoon-sized element and dragged a disassembled howitzer cannon to a key position. He and his men moved it 300 yards to the top of a church belfry and poured fire on the enemy, allowing the Americans to advance. Grant showed great bravery in the face of adversity.

We too must follow his lead and find ways to be useful in any and all circumstances. Grant led from the front, put boots on the ground, and engaged the problems in front of him at great personal danger and sacrifice.  

In July of 1852, Grant was tasked to escort civilians from New York City to California. The route was by boat through Panama and then to an overland route. Once down in Central America, the expedition was ravished by cholera, killing one third of the 300 passengers. As the quartermaster, Grant quickly took action and set up a field hospital preventing the outbreak from spreading. When some of the orderlies refused to provide care to the sick, Grant filled the gap. One passenger was amazed: “He was like a ministering angel to us all.”

Grant got it!  He stepped up in the worst of times, took on the roles that he didn’t really want, and placed himself in personal danger and hardship to carry out the mission. It’s not easy being in charge, but the best of us must emulate young Ulysses S. Grant and put on our boots, regimentals, armor, and gun to make things happen.

Grant did this time and time again in the Mexican-American War, his civilian life, and again as a Civil War general and hero. We won’t get into all the accolades of his life, but Grant knew how to make things happen. As Abraham Lincoln said, “I can’t spare this man; he fights!”

The Dark Side of Grant

Just like all of us, Grant had some, we’ll call them, opportunities to improve. One accusation he carried with him through almost his whole life was that he was an alcoholic. Historians cannot conclusively determine if this was true or not, but what is clear is that his actions caused others to question his behavior. When in charge, we have to be above reproach and not give anyone a chance to question us.

In Grant’s case, repeated assignments after the war consisting of boredom and monotony caused him to hit the bottle, and many saw this. Some historians argue that he drank just as much as the next 1800’s American, but he quickly gained a poor reputation.

It became so bad he self-admitted to the Sons of Temperance in 1851 to quell his drinking. But on his next assignment in Detroit, he slipped on some sidewalk ice and blamed the storekeeper. In the subsequent trial, he was accused of drunkenness, and it captured the attention of military leaders on Grant’s condition. His reputation lessened the validity of his words. We can’t let that happen to us.

Future Civil War General George B. McClellan observed him drunk in Vancouver, which further spread rumors among senior leaders. At his next assignment, the Fort Humboldt Post Commander accused Grant of being drunk on duty and had him draft a letter of resignation from the U.S. Army in case of a subsequent incident. A short time later, it happened again. Grant signed the letter in lieu of court martial in April of 1854.

Again, there’s very little indication that Grant had a drinking problem or consumed more alcohol than the average man, but his reputation followed him nonetheless. When Grant reentered the Army during the Civil War and rose to lead the Union, his alcoholism followed him right up to President Lincoln. He was simultaneously the hero of the country and plagued by his opponents questioning his competencies because of liquor.

Not a Hint

We can be great in so many different areas of life yet suffer in one. Grant showed incredible success on the battlefield and went on to be President of the United States while living with the moniker as a drunk that plagues him long after his death.

Imagine Grant’s legacy without this hanging over him. Imagine if his critics didn’t have alcoholism to attack him. Imagine if this entire article wasn’t clouded by a drunken haze. Ulysses S. Grant would be heralded as one of the greatest Americans in our history. Instead, we question his self-control and ability to be sober while protecting his soldiers.

We must be better than him. We can’t give our critics an ethical weakness. Notice I didn’t say we can’t let them see our ethical weakness; we have to be above reproach at all we do. In Grant’s defense, there’s nothing wrong with drinking. There is wrong with drinking to a point where multiple people including our bosses think we have a problem. Ulysses S. Grant was amazing and, just like us, flawed.

It is wrong to gawk at the opposite sex outside our marriage. Or have a gambling problem. Or be vulgar or rude. Or not treat everyone with dignity or respect. Or have a reputation as one who hides or bends the truth.

All eyes are watching.  We can thrive at the points of greatest friction like Grant and not have a hint, sniff, or whiff of impropriety about us.

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:

Boots: Put Boots on the Ground

Regimentals: Place Service over Self

Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy

+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

October 22, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

The past 42 weeks we’ve been talking about the BRAG+1 leadership framework and five characteristics to lead well. Each time we’ve shared a practical story, leadership case study, and tangible ways to improve our practices.

We covered why it’s essential to use these five qualities to put boots on the ground, place service over self, be resilient to life’s attacks, close with and destroy the enemy, and not have a hint, sniff, or whiff of impropriety about us.

The next six weeks we’re going to see what applying these skills look like in real life. There have been so many exceptional leaders in the United States Army who exemplified the characteristic of BRAG+1. We’ll examine six of them and their application of leadership through the lens of our framework.

What we’ll see are natural uses of leadership to gain great victories on the battlefield, inspire others to follow, and create teams that achieve their maximum standard.  

At the same time, we’re all a work in progress, and we’ll see flawed leaders just like ourselves that struggle at times to fully apply all principles. For some, they fought through their demons and continued to successfully lead. For others, their shortcomings were their downfall, and they ended a still incredible career on someone else’s terms.

Six Exceptional Leaders

Ulysses S. Grant. Young Grant put boots on the ground in the Mexican-American War in 1846. He was assigned as a regimental quartermaster in a background role but still performed commendably in the position he was given. Later in the Civil War, Grant personified closing with and destroying the enemy, receiving successive assignments of increasing importance.

Eventually, he rose to the senior position in the Union Army, leading the North to victory over the Confederacy. His career was full of aggressive leadership to accomplish the mission, but it was also a battle of alcoholism and struggle.   

William Sherman. Grant’s Civil War partner in crime, Sherman became known by showing early aggressiveness to engage Southern forces in the First Battle of Bull Run. He had to put on his armor and demonstrate resilience when he was ridiculed by the press and relieved in 1861. He suffered from depression, regained command but was routed at the Battle of Shiloh in 1862 thanks to his own mistakes, and was criticized by the media at the Battle of Chattanooga.

Sherman stood strong against personal attacks and is best known for his March to the Sea. This move was strategically brilliant yet criticized for unfair treatment of civilians by burning everything in his path.

Theodore Roosevelt. Best known for his presidency, Teddy Roosevelt personified the BRAG+1 framework in his short stint in the Army. He began the Spanish-American War as the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, but arguably placed service over self to take a commission as an Army Lieutenant Colonel with the Rough Riders. This high-ranking American civilian leader took a demotion to lace his boots up and personally stand on San Juan Hill after closing with and engaging the enemy face-to-face.

From a slightly different perspective, Roosevelt was personally (and selfishly) interested in an Army experience to enhance his career and even bullied his way onto a deployment ship at the Port of Tampa to secure his personal legacy.

George S. Patton. No discussion on exceptional leadership would be complete without General Patton. He personified aggressive leadership, personally being at the front of the action, and resilience when attacked by the enemy, the media, and his peers. Often noted as the best combat general in World War II, Patton drove the entire Allied force to be better.

As a counterpoint, Patton also allowed his ego to drive his actions. Often putting himself over others, Patton lost credibility from senior American leaders by constantly stating his mind and slapping two soldiers for perceived weakness.

Douglas MacArthur. Another outstanding military strategist, MacArthur was the quintessential American leader from World War I to Korea. He exemplified boots on the ground in WWI Europe, twice earning the Army Distinguished Service Cross for raiding across no-man’s land. He was the Army Chief of Staff in the 1930’s, Supreme Commander of Allied Powers in the Pacific in WWII, and Commander of the Far East Command for the Korean War until 1951.

While personifying military leadership across five decades, he was also subject to a massive ego, poorly communicated with authority figures, and was removed from command by President Truman.  

Stanley McCrystal. Finally, General McCrystal has been noted as one of the military’s modern quintessential leaders. In the Post-9/11 era, McCrystal’s legacy is in reshaping modern warfare to deal with the terrorist threats against America. His ability to speak the truth when others were afraid rose him to key positions in the 2000’s to close with the enemy by putting boots on the ground.

His one mistake was criticizing Presidential leadership, which was widely circulated by Rolling Stones Magazine and led to his resignation.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Reviewing these tales of great leaders, it is easy to see what makes them successful. They are fearless to put themselves at the front of the fight and gain battlefield successes by attacking. They have great service to the Nation, three serving for multiple decades and some like Grant, Sherman, and Roosevelt joining the military during it’s greatest time of need.

They all experienced personal hardships and demonstrated resilience through trying times, as we’ll learn in the next few weeks. And none of them were perfect.

If there was a theme of struggle in the BRAG+1 framework, I would argue it’s to not have a hint, a sniff, or a whiff of impropriety and to place service over egos. While all our case studies were exceptional military phenoms, these two qualities seemed to trip people up. This is a great lesson for our own personal journey.

Make no mistake, it’s impossible to be perfect. These leaders struggled with alcoholism, depression, ego-centric thoughts, and disobedience of leadership. These seemingly innocuous actions often turned the tide on an otherwise exceptional career. You and I struggle with so many things every day.

But it’s our job to strive for excellence in all five leadership qualities, not just four of them. The best of the best not only gain significant ground in their jobs, but also do so as team players and with the highest ethics.

At the end of reviewing these six leaders, we’ll examine one more: General George C. Marshall. He excelled in every quality. He was the ultimate soldier-statesman and universally respected. He put boots on the ground, placed service over self, was resilient to life’s attacks, closed with and destroyed the enemy, and did not have a hint of impropriety about him.

He is the example we should emulate.

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:

Boots: Put Boots on the Ground

Regimentals: Place Service over Self

Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy

+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

October 15, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

I’ve taken over a job or two where the ethical standards weren’t that high. I could see around me the acceptance of questionable integrity and rule breaking that comes from a lackadaisical environment of morality enforcement. Let me provide a few examples I’ve experienced:

• A soldier needing parts for his military vehicle doesn’t go through the supply system but instead “acquires” that part from somewhere else. When asked where they got it, the answer is, “You don’t want to know, Sir.” That response always means something shady is happening.

• A married supervisor is having a side fling with someone at work. They try to keep it a secret against company policy (and marriage fidelity!), but everyone knows it’s happening, ignores it, and hopes it goes away.

• Office banter becomes a little more vulgar each day. The jokes continue to get more crude and offensive. There are generally three groups of people: those who join in, those who uncomfortably laugh, and those who walk away but never confront it.

These situations happen every day and as younger, fledgling leader, I admit to being a guilty onlooker in every situation. It’s hard to be above reproach and police up every little violation. Mainly because we often feel like we’re on our own, when we’re not. There are people all around that feel the same way and suffer in silence.

That’s why it’s so important to never quit communicating the ethical narrative. We must be the ones out front of the moral message to remind everyone that it’s expected to police up our shortfalls. Our organization is reliant on and expects us to take a continuous stand with the highest ethical standards we can offer. When we do, others will follow. When we don’t our ethics will crumble around us.

The Firebombing of Dresden and Japan

Let me caveat this transition in that we’re about to move from petty theft to firebombing cities with hundreds of thousands of civilian deaths. I acknowledge they are nowhere close to the same. But the narrative is similar. We allow what we say we will allow, and our language should match our standards.

American’s looked in horror prior to World War II at the atrocities committed through “terror bombing.” In 1937, Germany bombed Guernica in Northern Spain garnering global attention during the inception of mass aerial bombing. Casualty estimates varied from hundreds to thousands, as it was clear the attack on bridges and roads were indiscriminately and purposefully killing civilians.

The same year, the Japanese terror bombed Nanjing, then Shanghai, then Guangzhou. The first started aiming for strategic targets, but the Japanese goals shifted and were soon intended to terrorize civilians and destroy morale.

In 1937, President Franklin Roosevelt raised the moral banner and stated, “Without warning or justification of any kind, civilians, including vast numbers of women and children, are being ruthlessly murdered with bombs from the air.”

He started off on the ethical high ground, but quickly changed his tune. During American WWII attacks on the town of Dresden, Germany, the British and American bombers dropped incendiary bombs with the intent to ignite everything it could. Casualty estimates were over 25,000 civilians with over 600,000 killed during the war.

In Japan, President Roosevelt authorized the firebombing of 67 cities, 180 square miles, and a death toll of over 600,000 civilians with 8.5 million homeless. The Secretary of War, Henry Stimson, was concerned stating the United States may “get the reputation of outdoing Hitler in atrocities.” He then approved the atomic bomb drop on Hiroshima and Nagasaki killing over 200,000 civilians.

It’s easy to have the moral high ground when our adversary is the one in the wrong. However, when we’re doing it, we lose that high ground. Roosevelt could have maintained a policy of not targeting civilians. He did not. He could have focused the narrative on strategic targets. He did not. Instead, he chastised the Japanese then turned around and did the same.

As a note, American may never have won the war without a firebombing campaign of civilians. This is an ethical problem that’s been studied for decades with no great answers. But what is clear is that the President’s messaging did not match his decisions. The result was continued moral degradation with no clear explanation.

Kotter: Communicate the Change Vision

It’s our responsibility to communicate the ethical bar in our organization. Once we initially establish the high standards we want our people to live by, we have to keep that message going.

John Kotter’s fourth step of his change model is to communicate the change vision. What he means by that is to relentlessly continue a narrative that everyone repeatedly hears.

1. Simplicity and Repetition. Our message must be easy to remember. When I first started saying, “Don’t have a hint, a sniff, or a whiff or impropriety about us,” I didn’t think it would stick. But it became a thing. When something was morally amiss, others in the room would start sniffing with their noses, like they could smell what was wrong.

It didn’t take much for people to remember that line after I said it a number of times. It’s short, catchy, clear, and to the point. They were now using OUR language with each other to lay out the standard.

2. Make It Two-Way Conversation. We need to talk with people and not at them. Every team is at a different place on their moral-o-meter. It’s good to have the conversation of we’re at, where we want to go, and how we’re going to get there.

State the standards up front, and then have an open, honest conversation of our current state of affairs. It’s surprising that people want to be on the high ground; sometimes they just need to talk about it.

3. Create a Pyramid Scheme. We should have these conversations often with our leadership teams. The intent is that they then go and have the same conversations with their leadership teams. Have others pass the message levels down into their small groups.

This creates an ethical whisper down the lane where multiple echelons of leadership are having great conversations on what the standards are and how to hold each other accountable.

By using simple messages, having two-way conversations, and training leaders to train their teams, we can raise the ethical standards within our formations.

Don’t Give Up

It’s easy to let this one go. Our Utopian mindset thinks that we can lay out our ethical standards one time and everyone will fall in line. But they won’t.

Our job is to ruthlessly promote the narrative of being above reproach in the organization. Our people need to hear a continuous message from us on ethical standards, moral propriety, and legal standards. Be relentless!

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:

Boots: Put Boots on the Ground

Regimentals: Place Service over Self

Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy

+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

October 8, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

As a young Army officer, I was once assigned as an investigator for a crate of stolen sunglasses. While not quite a high-profile crime, I was young and felt pretty important trying to solve a case of government larceny. All those years of watching Scooby Doo as a kid were about to pay off!

Everyone around me knew I was trying to solve this felony and casually watched with interest. After an exhaustive investigating and grilling witnesses over a few days, I finally found our culprit. It was a young soldier a few platoons over who fessed up to the crime.

Telling the tale of my heroic detective skills to the onlookers, one of them casually dropped this tidbit: “Yeah, I knew he did it last week. He offered me some of the sunglasses when he stole them.”

I almost lost my mind. This guy watched me investigate (apparently not as exhaustively as I thought) for days and could have told me who did it from the beginning. Yet, he chose to keep it hidden and underground, protecting his fellow soldier but hiding the truth from me.

I knew the theft violated organizational values, but I couldn’t believe this other person covered it up for so long. I just assumed that we all had the same value system and would help each other out.

When trying to serve without a hint, sniff, or whiff of impropriety, we have to remember that not everyone is aiming for the same goal. If every single one of us strived for perfection, we’d all hold each other accountable to be the best version of our ethical selves. But that’s not the case.

We all were raised with different values. Very few people come to complete stops at every stop sign, ask others to keep them accountable for their values, and hold others responsible for ethical mistakes. We must be aware that everyone is at a different stage of their ethical journey, and our job is to make incremental cultural improvements.

George Washington’s Fallible Army

In this unproven account but widely told in most elementary schools, George Washington as a young lad used his new hatchet to chop down one of the family’s cherry trees. When confronted by his father, Washington immediately confessed. His dad gave him a hug and told him that honesty was worth more than 1,000 of those trees.

While most likely fictional, the story is meant to impress on us of Washington’s high ethical standards. As General of the Continental Army, he is known for his soldiering with high professionalism and morals. His army, on the other hand, not so much…

Our most optimistic view of the Army that beat back the British has them as brave patriots who fought for freedom and the American way of life; however, this was an idealistic way of seeing them. The realities of war and the brutality of soldiering in the 1700’s drove many men to crime.

Problems were persistent such as being absent without leave, insubordination, and enlisting in multiple units to collect double or triple pay. I would imagine one even stole a crate of sunglasses!

Our schoolbooks lead us to believe soldiers were fighting for their freedom, but many left after their first enlistment contract and were not in it to win a new country. In fact, many deserted before their time was completed. They abandoned the Army and the cause.

George Washington’s high values were not always aligned with his soldiers. At times, Washington was incredulous about the lack of discipline, but he and his men were two very different people. Washington was from a high-class family and the soldiers were mostly laborers.

It was not an all-volunteer army. In many places, the militia was mandatory for males of certain ages, and nationally Congress established soldier quotas each State must provide to the Continental Army. Fighting, gambling, and drunkenness were not surprising. What was shocking to George Washington was commonplace to many soldiers.

General Washington’s solution was to implement corporal punishment. The most common method was flogging, but he established several tools to keep his men in line. Ultimately, Washington attempted to keep order through harsh penalties enacted upon his soldiers. A little extreme for our day.

Values Mismatch

Similar to the Continental Army, all organizations experience a values mismatch. If we as the leader are attempting to be above reproach, that’s great! But don’t expect everyone else to emulate us. What we find unacceptable, they may find ordinary. Profanity, drunkenness at home, gambling off duty, bending the truth, or unfaithfulness are all legal, but should be frowned upon as a professional.

Our people’s values may or may not line up with ours. We need a plan to mitigate this.

1.  Clearly Articulate Organizational Values. In the Army, it’s pretty clear. There are seven Army Values to abide by: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honesty, integrity, and personal courage. West Point has the Cadet Honor Code which states, “I will not lie, cheat, steal, or tolerate those who do.” The Non-commissioned Officers Creed says, “I will not compromise my integrity, nor my moral courage.”

There are sayings everywhere to uphold the highest standards. In any organization, we need to articulate early and often what those values are to ensure everyone knows the standard.

2. Encourage Picking Up Trash. I have a habit whenever I see trash on the ground to pick it up and throw it away. If I don’t do it, who will? It’s the same when we see an ethical violation. If we don’t make an on-the-spot correction, who will? We need to foster an environment that encourages others, especially peers, to correct ethical mistakes.

We’re probably not seeing drunkenness, fighting, and desertion in our ranks, but correcting smaller, ethical lapses in a professional manner is a cultural shift we need to teach.

3. Raise the Ethical Climate. George Washington did this to the extreme. In our organization, we have to be the ones to raise the standard without flogging. We will never be perfect as we all make mistakes, but talking about morality, holding others accountable, demonstrating what right looks like, and upping everyone’s game is critical to ethical success.

Acknowledge where we’re at, set a goal to where we’re going, and constantly take steps to raise the ethical climate.

It’s a Long Game

This will take time, and we have to pick and choose our battles. But with constant focus, we can acknowledge that we are all at different stages of our ethical journey, professionally take action to improve, and mentor others to be a better version of themselves.

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:

Boots: Put Boots on the Ground

Regimentals: Place Service over Self

Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy

+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

October 1, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

My biggest fear would be if someone who listens to me speak says I’m not following my own principles. In this fear, they may say that: “While Steve talks a big game, if you really watch him, you’ll see that he’s not following his own rules. He has a hint of impropriety to him.”

Well sadly, it’s true. Everyone makes mistakes, especially me. We all fall short of perfection and have lapses in judgment, but it’s not about how we fail, but how we recover afterwards. I can recall countless moments in my life where I’ve become angry for little reason, rolled through stop signs, passively taken credit for things that weren’t mine, bent the truth to make myself look better, and morally failed over and over again.

I can recall having breakfast at a restaurant once. As I was paying my check, I remembered I had a meeting shortly after and discovered I had forgotten my pen. Conveniently, the waitress placed one on the table to sign the credit card bill, so I pocketed it and walked out the door.

This act did not just have a hint, sniff, or whiff of impropriety, it was just plain wrong. I have no idea what came over me. That morning, the incident haunted me. I knew I screwed up and wanted to make amends. I drove back to that restaurant, found the waitress, let her know that I took her pen that morning, and apologized sincerely for my actions.

Honestly, she couldn’t have cared less. But I couldn’t have cared more. I made a mistake and needed to own up to it.      

We all mess up. It is so important when we identify something wrong in our lives, we take action to correct it, apologize, and bring the misdeed to light.

The Petraeus Scandal

General David Petraeus was an icon in military circles. Across a 37-year U.S. Army career, Petraeus commanded at every level in peacetime and combat. He led the 101^st Airborne Division in 2003 into Iraq, commanded the Multi-National Security Transition Command to create a new Iraqi Army, and rewrote critical doctrine surrounding counterinsurgency at the helm of the Combined Arms Command.

He used this experience to return to Iraq in 2007 under what was coined “The Petraeus Doctrine” where coalition forces used it to lower violence and deaths while gaining political capital. Continuing to rise through the ranks, he was appointed to lead United States Central Command, in charge of all U.S. military operations in the Middle East and later assigned to command forces in Afghanistan.

He retired as a four-star general, was known as one of the most respected soldier/scholar/statesmen the military had ever seen, and was appointed as Director of the CIA. General Petraeus could do no wrong. Until he did.

The wrongs he committed began innocuously, but as time progressed and for a variety of reasons he succumbed to multiple temptations. Although his actions were undeniably and morally bad, the manner in which he recovered is the aspect that relates to our topic.

In 2012, David Petraeus resigned as CIA Director after he was exposed in an extramarital affair with his biographer, Paula Broadwell, and gave her eight notebooks of classified material for her research. How could a man who had it all from a military standpoint, a wife of more than 30 years, two children, and a bright future do such a thing?

We will never know because we cannot see inside his mind, but we do know what he did after.

When news of the affair broke on November 6, 2012, Petraeus walked into President Barack Obama’s White House office and resigned his position. Now, it’s true he waited for this story to become public before admitting it. But he still took ownership.

He apologized in his first public event after the resignation speaking at Southern California’s ROTC Annual Dinner in 2013, and many times thereafter. He pleaded guilty in 2015 to federal charges relating to exposing classified information. Later that year, he testified in Congress by opening with an apology. It’s not what you do wrong, it’s what you do after you do wrong. 

In his words, and one of his rules for living: “We all make mistakes. The key is to recognize them, to learn from them, and to take off the rear-view mirrors — drive on and avoid making them again.”

Make no mistake, there were repercussions. He lost his job, his reputation, and his legacy. Ownership comes with consequences. But life goes on. His career continued in other ways, and he’s still an influential part of military strategy and strategic thinking, albeit not the extent he was. Everything is recoverable when we bring our misdeeds to light.

Own Our Mistakes

No one likes to admit we’re wrong, but we are… a lot. And here’s the hard part. Our credibility often relies on us admitting our mistakes. Everyone else probably knows we’re wrong, and not admitting it only makes things worse. And if they didn’t know, our credibility can only rise when we fess up to malfeasance.

To make it right, we have to confront the issue head on.  Here’s how.

Step 1: Mentally Accept We’re Wrong. It’s going to be okay. First, we’re going to mentally commit to owning our ethical and moral failures and come clean. While uncomfortable, it will all work out in the end.

Step 2: Plan Our Apology. We need to have a plan to apologize at the right time and place and with the right audience. Not everyone needs an apology—the lady at the snack counter could care less about what we did. Find the ones who need to know and tell them in the proper setting.

Step 3: Apologize. This is the toughest, and most important, part. Directly confront the wrongdoing. Be honest and sincere. Use “I” statements. Don’t make excuses. Ask for forgiveness. A great framework is: “I’m sorry I (fill in the offense). I was wrong. Will you please forgive me?”   

Step 4: Fix Our Errors. It doesn’t end with an apology. There’s probably damage that happened from our actions. Find out what the effects were and take steps to work through them. It may require emotional healing or tangible actions for resolution. Find them and fix them.

Step 5: Learn from the Event and Move on. It’s important to learn from our mistakes, but we can’t dwell on them. Once we’ve apologized, fixed what we can, and learned something from the incident, it’s time to move on. We must be better people tomorrow than we are today.

We Are All Culpable

It’s pointless pretending we are faultless. We will make mistakes, stumble and fall, and err when we want to be perfect, sometimes in large ways like Petraeus, more often in much smaller ways. No one is above ethical and moral breaches. That’s why it’s so important to have the mindset of not having a hint, sniff, or whiff or impropriety about us. Aim for perfection and fall just a little short instead of falling face down in the gutter.

General Petraeus closed his remarks at the ROTC Annual Dinner that night with the second half of his apology. He said:

“But perhaps my experience can be instructive to others who stumble or indeed fall as far as I did. One learns, after all, that life doesn’t stop with such a mistake. It can, and must, go on.

“And the effort to move forward over the rocky path of one’s making is vital, inescapable, and ultimately worth it. I know that I can never fully assuage the pain that I inflicted on those closest to me and a number of others. I can, however, try to move forward in a manner that is consistent with the values to which I subscribed before slipping my moorings, and as best possible to make amends to those I have hurt and let down, and that is what I will strive to do.”

Despite committing grave wrongs, Petraeus turned away from those completely and recovered himself to the public slowly but surely.

That’s a great reminder of knowing none of us are faultless, to err is human, to apologize is important, and to forgive is divine.

This series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:

Boots: Put Boots on the Ground

Regimentals: Place Service over Self

Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy

+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

September 24, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

Twenty-one years ago, I made a poor lapse in judgment, and someone directly and immediately confronted me with what I did wrong. I have not forgotten it to this day.

Holding others accountable is an important skill for leaders. When we see others make a lapse in judgment, it’s not the end of the world. We must identify that ethical mistake, address the problem, and take corrective action. Ethical propriety is critical to keeping an organization above reproach and maintaining high moral standards. Let me tell you my story.

A Lapse in Judgment

I was a young lieutenant in the 82d Airborne Division. Back then, my motto wasn’t to avoid having a hint, sniff, or whiff of impropriety about me. I was a little looser back then. I had recently transferred from an all-male infantry battalion to a mixed-gender logistics unit.

We were out doing physical training in a large group, and I made an inappropriate gesture to someone across the field. In my former unit, this was commonplace, but I quickly learned it was not here.

A senior officer came seemingly out of nowhere and let me know this wasn’t appropriate. When I say he confronted me, I say that in the most militaristic, drill sergeant way possible. He confronted me publicly and at maximum volume.

He also invited me (ordered) to run some stairs to make amends for my misgivings. After a few flights up and down along with some counseling on why my actions were inappropriate around women (and men), I certainly learned my lesson.

Two decades later, I have never come close to making the same error and understand the importance of confronting ethical impropriety immediately. I’m thankful to this man for correcting my mistake. We must do the same.

The Fallen Military King

People in power or perceived power sometimes make ethical lapses and expect to get away with them. If they avoid punishment with the small things, often they escalate into bigger indiscretions. That’s why we need leaders who address moral failures at the beginning.

King David was not only the Biblical King of Israel but also what we would call the Commander-in Chief and leader of the army.

At one point in his reign, he chose to stay home when he should have been out in front of his military during the fighting season—a moral failure in itself. Wandering the castle rooftops, he saw the beautiful Bathsheba catching some rays outside her home.

His initial ethical failure of not fighting with his men led to a terrible domino effect of gawking at a married woman, summoning Bathsheba to his home for an affair, impregnating her, recalling her army husband home from the front lines to trick him into thinking he knocked up his wife, ordering his death, and marrying Bathsheba. Whew! Now that’s a hint of impropriety!

But after, someone had the guts to confront him. A prophet Nathan was told by God to set the king straight. In a scathing rebuke of Biblical proportion, Nathan reared back, and I imagine him pointing at the king when he admonished him for his indiscretions. I see him yelling at David, “Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in His eyes?”

To the King’s credit, he took full responsibility. He acknowledged his wrongdoing and made amends the best he could. At the end of the story, David is seen back at the head of his army, attacking the town of Rabbah and others. He learned from Nathan’s rebuke and was known as a man after God’s own heart, even after this moral collapse.

All of us need to be corrected from time to time.

The Bathsheba Syndrome

Dean Ludwig and Clinton Longenecker (1993) wrote an article on the Bathsheba Syndrome stated as the ethical failure of successful leaders. They argue that seasoned leaders are poorly equipped to deal with success which causes them to commit moral infractions, much like David. The four reasons they do this are:

1. Success convinces people to stop focusing on their job, and they become distracted by other temptations.

2. Success allows access to information, people, or things that others don’t have.

3. Success lets leaders do whatever they want, whenever they want, with whatever they want.

4. Success clouds a leader’s belief that they can control any outcome themselves.

I argue this applies to anyone. Success, or even apathy, leads to good, hard-working people doing the wrong thing and acting with perceived impunity. I know I did in the story above. Which is why we need a coalition of the willing ready to confront others in times of personal lapse.

Nathan was that person. My senior officer was that person. And we need to be that person when we see it. Now, this is a hard task. I’ll admit just last month I saw someone smoking closer than 50 feet next to a building, standing by a sign that explicitly stated the same. This failure weighs on my heart as I write this article.

But there have been many more times I’ve confronted the wrongdoing right in front of me. Whether we’re are in a position of authority or not, the first step is to ask someone, “Are you open for some feedback?” Very few people will say no.

This simple question allows us to speak into their life with permission. Be professional. Be courteous. Be direct. Be brief.  

They will either accept our feedback or not. If so, we’ve made an impression just like was made on me decades ago. If not, we now get to decide if we’re in a position of influence to correct the wrong or let it go. That’s a call on the ground. But we all must be out there looking for the moral lapses and confronting the failures.

Step Up to the Challenge

Confronting ethical failures is not easy, but it’s imperative. We must hold others accountable when they are failing. They must hold us accountable when we fail—and we will. Without a dedicated support system, we have young people like me offending others inadvertently, kings like David committing adultery and murder, and good people committing small ethical breeches that need to be corrected before they get worse.

Next time we see a moral or ethical lapse in judgment, it is our calling to bring it to their attention and prevent it from getting any bigger.

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:

Boots: Put Boots on the Ground

Regimentals: Place Service over Self

Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy

+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

September 17, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

The first time I described my Leadership Constitution to a brand-new team, I’ll admit, it was intimidating. This talk was how I outlined my leadership expectations to both me and my team. I talked about my core values and high standards that I expected others and myself to uphold. This talk to any team is so important… and a little scary…

It’s tough to lay out our values in front of a group of people and have them judge it. But this week I got another opportunity to present it to a whole new team, and I was excited.

There’s no substitute for a leader clearly articulating their core values and expectations. It eliminates ambiguity and baselines leader-to-led expectations.

A constitution is a set of rules that describe and guide how something functions. Scott O’Neil, CEO of several professional sports teams and author of Be Where Your Feet Are, defines a Leadership Constitution as a document that defines our values and how we will lead.

As I stood there describing my Leadership Constitution, the excitement came not because of the words I was saying, but from knowing the high standards I was setting for myself. I was now publicly accountable to everyone in the room (and Teams), and that was a good—albeit scary—thing; scary because I, like all of us, am a very fallible person.

James Kouzes and Barry Posner, authors of The Leadership Challenge, conducted a survey repeated every year for the past three decades asking followers of the number one leadership attribute they pine for and respect above all else. Without fail, one attribute topped the list year after year: credibility.

Followers long for a leader who lays out their value system and then does what they say they will do. That is credibility.

Rules of Leadership

Colin Powell has an incredible resume: Four-Star General, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Advisor, and Secretary of State. His leadership was prolific. A two-time Vietnam veteran, he proved his mettle on the battlefield from the jungles to the desert, leading the coalition during the 1991 Gulf War.

A soldier-statesman, Powell exemplified leadership at every level, tactical and strategic. He led troops into battle and countries into peace. In his 2012 memoir, “It Worked for Me: In Life and Leadership,” Powell outlined his 13 leadership rules to live by. This was how he publicized his core values:

1. It ain’t as bad as you think! It will look better in the morning.
2. Get mad then get over it.
3. Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.
4. It can be done.
5. Be careful what you choose. You may get it.
6. Don’t let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.
7. You can’t make someone else’s choices. You shouldn’t let someone else make yours.
8. Check small things.
9. Share credit.
10. Remain calm. Be kind.
11. Have a vision. Be demanding.
12. Don’t take counsel of your fears or naysayers.
13. Perpetual optimism is a force multiplier.

His list was a way to communicate his core values, what he expected out of others, and how people should hold him accountable for his leadership. We all need to do the same.

Credibility

Credibility is the foundation of leaders. Followers seek a leader who they trust. They want someone who is open, forthright, and transparent. People demand someone who holds the highest standards, is not afraid to speak to those values in public, and then lives out those values.

 Credibility revolves around honest behavior. It’s the simple things such as:

– Fulfilling commitments. If we say we’re going to do something today, complete it today.

– Showing up on time. Begin and end every meeting on schedule—don’t waste their time.

– Thinking first, speaking second. Don’t say things just to please others. Take some time to think through our words.

– Keeping confidentiality. If we can’t say something, don’t. Instead of breaching trust or lying that we don’t know, just explain we’re not at liberty to say.

– Apologizing when wrong. We all make mistakes. Say sorry and move on.

– Give the tough message. Not everything we say others will like. That’s okay. Speak the hard message and explain the rationale behind it.

People want to follow someone who is honest because our honesty is directly linked to our credibility. They want to work for someone with good morals, character, and principles. Their leader is a direct reflection on themselves, and vice versa.

Leadership Constitution

Just like Colin Powell, we need to publicly espouse our values. After getting this idea from Scott O’Neil and pitching it countless times, I truly believe everyone should have a Leadership Constitution.

O’Neil recommends that after forming one, we publicly declare it to our team. What this does is hold us accountable to the values and commitments we’re making. Others know what we stand for, and they can validate our credibility.

My Leadership Constitution is as follows:

(this is A way… not THE way…)

What I’ve found is that it’s not easy to publicly announce our value system to others, especially the first time, but its critical. Everyone places importance on different values, and it’s easy to judge what other’s think are important.

Doing this exercise multiple times with many different audiences, however, I’ve found that others appreciate knowing who they’re following. It’s like you’re making a contract with them.

And they desire someone who has extremely high value standards. Someone who, on first impression by sharing their Leadership Constitution, is honest, competent, inspiring, and forward-thinking—the top four leadership characteristics in the Kouzes and Posner survey.

Our people may not agree with everything in it, but they also don’t have to. For example, I don’t drink alcohol. For me, I’ve found that it tastes terrible and doesn’t help my body perform its best. There’s no judgement from me on others who drink; I just don’t do it.

Not all our values will match. But 99% will, and those are the items others need to hear.

Declare Our Values Publicly

The Leadership Constitution is a way to think about how we’re going to lead, communicate with our teams, and live out our best selves.

Our people are looking at us to be credible above all else, to do what we say we will do. To demonstrate this, we should develop our value system, tell others about it, and live it out every day. This is challenging. We’re all humans and will fail often.

Luckily, no one is looking for the perfect leader. They’re looking for one who is honest, competent, inspiring, and forward-thinking; and they’re looking for a credible leader who knows what they stand for.

This series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:

Boots: Put Boots on the Ground

Regimentals: Place Service over Self

Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy

+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

September 10, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

I have a theory called “Stop Sign Ethics.” The law states that we must come to a complete stop at those red octagons on the side of the road. Yet it’s so tempting not to.

Let’s be honest, when no one’s around, we use the California Stop. The one where we slow down near a stop sign, look around quickly, and roll slowly through. This is easy to justify, especially when we can clearly see no other cars, and it’s obviously safe to do so.

Yet, it’s illegal. Stop Sign Ethics is my theory that if we do all the little things right, like a full stop at every stop sign, then we’ll do the bigger things right, like not cheat on our spouse. When we do the right things every day, especially when no one is looking, we’re going to set an example of positive values and ethics to those around us.

My wife once joked it’s irrelevant because no one would want to have an affair with someone who’s boring enough to come to a complete stop at every single stop sign; but doing the little things in private earns us instant credibility with others and trust in the bigger things.

When we’re in a leadership position, everyone is watching us. They know what car we drive and if we stop at that intersection. They know our habits and how we treat others. They see a lot more than we think they do. It’s imperative that we’re above reproach in our public and private lives. And yes, that means stopping at every stop sign, no matter how boring that seems.

Broken Windows

In 1969, Stanford psychologist Phillip Zimbardo conducted an experiment relating to small crimes and whether they led to bigger ones. He abandoned two cars with the front hoods up and no license plates. The first he dumped in the middle of the Bronx in a run-down, crime-ridden area. The second he dropped in Palo Alto, California.

Ten minutes after leaving the car in New York City, a family approached the vehicle and stole the radiator and battery. After one day, the entire car was stripped of all usable parts. Shortly after, the locals started destroying the car, smashing the windows and tearing up the vehicle. Finally, the car became a dilapidated playground for the local children.

In contrast, the Palo Alto residents left their car alone. For over a week, the car sat there with no vandalism. Zimbardo then took a sledgehammer to the vehicle, and afterward the residents began to smash the car. His theory was that when a car is clearly abandoned, others feel they can participate in the destruction.

Criminologists George Kelling and James Wilson in 1982 argued that it didn’t matter if that car was in a crime-ridden or affluent neighborhood. Crime commonly has a ripple effect. Once a single misdemeanor occurs with no punishment, things start to escalate. The solution, they reasoned, is to target low level crimes (like drifting through stop signs) to deter more violent activity.  

This concept evolved into “Broken Windows Policing.” In the Bronx, criminal activity was seen as the norm so the community felt it was an acceptable behavior to take part in it.

William Bratton took over as the head of the New York City Transit Authority in 1990, where using Kelling’s work, he sent hundreds of police officers to patrol subway stations with the goal of catching turnstile jumpers and vandals. Rudy Giuliani was elected mayor in 1993 and expanded this to the streets, arresting people for previously ignored crimes: marijuana use, graffiti, selling cigarettes, and in a Footloose move, shutting down illegal dancing clubs.

The results were a significant increase in misdemeanor charges and a decrease in violent crimes. Focusing on the little things helped with the big things. In effect, stopping at every stop sign keeps people faithful to their spouses… I know that’s a stretch, but it does make sense.

Set the Example Every Day

It’s so important that we walk around without a hint, sniff, or whiff of impropriety, because everyone is watching. If we’re rolling through stop signs, not contributing to the coffee fund, treating people poorly, accepting the broken window or just being a negative person, everyone around us will emulate those behaviors.

We must ensure we take a hard look at our windows and fix the ones that are broken. We must reflect on and emulate the values we want our team to normalize. Nothing is hard about this—but it does take effort. We can do this in five ways.

1. Smile. Mother Teresa said: “I will never understand all the good that a simple smile can accomplish.” It’s so true! To reflect positive values to others, often the best thing we can do is to smile. Simply put, when we smile, we feel better. When others see us smile, they want to smile as well. When they smile, they feel better too! This simple act is very powerful.

2. Treat Everyone with Dignity and Respect. “Do you know the name of your janitor?” This was asked to me over twenty years ago. I didn’t at the time but have known every one since. It’s so important to treat each person the same from the C-Suite to the mailroom. Our reputation is built on how we treat others. Those that see us will copy what we do creating a better organizational climate.

3. Be Energetic. Not always the easiest, but our attitude directly reflects onto those around us. The more energy we have to tackle that impossible project, engage the challenging employee, or perform the mundane tasks in life, the better it is for the group. Throw on some upbeat music, encourage others, and bring energy to every event.

4. Stop at Every Stop Sign. People know when we talk about ethics and then blow the proverbial stop sign. But when they see us come to a complete stop and talk about value ethics often, they’ll think about upping their game too. It starts at the top, and we need to set the example to others on what right looks like.

5. Hold Ourselves to the Highest Standard. Not only does setting a high bar help others, but it also helps us. There is only one person that can truly hold me accountable for every action – it’s me. I have to be the one to police myself so others won’t. I have to be above reproach and correct myself. I have to be the example to others.  Only I can choose to reflect positive values in the workplace.

The World Is Watching

One of my recent supervisors would say, “Act as if the mics are always on and the camera is always rolling.” She understood the importance of being above reproach. By policing the little things in our lives, it protects us from messing up the big things, and no one can debate our ethics.

As a counterpoint, we’re all going to mess up, and that’s okay. There is grace in leadership. We just need to admit we were wrong, apologize, and move on. Sometimes that’s the best way to gain credibility.

As Linda Thornton stated, “You won’t find ethical leadership in the rule books. It’s in the deep commitment to good that drives our choices and transforms our organizations.” Our personal example has the ability to transform the people around us simply by reflecting positive values. And stopping at every stop sign.

This series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:

Boots: Put Boots on the Ground

Regimentals: Place Service over Self

Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy

+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

September 3, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

We recently moved into a new house and haven’t built a backyard fence yet for our dog. Luckily, we’re in a part of the neighborhood with no other homes, and we can let him out front in the morning with relative solitude.

The other day I opened the door, and he decided to make a break for it. We walked together for about a minute, and then my four-legged friend was off and running.

I watched him go, helpless to stop him from getting lost, hurting himself, or running into a local critter near the woods. I ran after him but was no match for his energy and enthusiasm. He had a goal in mind and not much could deter him from his plan; not that he shared that plan with me.

After a few minutes, our dog stopped and looked around. He was tired, panting yet undeterred. I caught up to him and received a look as if to say, “What took you so long?” or “Why couldn’t you keep up?” But the thing is, I had no idea where he was going, what he wanted to accomplish, or what help he needed from me. He just ran!

Some overly energetic bosses are like this (I’m guilty, to say the least). They have a “great idea” and run ahead of the organization. In their minds, just like my dog, they envision a desired future without providing any direction or purpose, and don’t allow us a chance to properly resource their plan. When we finally catch up, they look at us like we’re the crazy ones.

It’s important to be ahead of our team, but if we get too far out there, we lose support and the psychological connection to the main body. Be far enough ahead to motivate, but not so far as to discourage them from reaching achievable goals.

The Lost Platoon

The 1965 Battle of Ia Drang was the first major battle in Vietnam between the U.S. Army and the People’s Army of Vietnam. Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore was ordered to conduct an airmobile assault into the valley to search and destroy reported enemy in the area.

As directed, Moore air landed around 450 soldiers into a landing zone the size of a football field, right in the middle of approximately 2,500 enemy troops. The battalion touched down into a seemingly quiet area, spreading out their perimeter, but after 90 minutes of silence, shots rang out against the American force.

Lieutenant Henry Herrick, 2^nd Platoon Leader for Bravo Company, was at one of the perimeter sides which was attacked. He was ordered to advance against the nearest enemy and boldly led his platoon forward. Quickly advancing, he pushed out 100 meters, inflicting casualties upon the enemy, but finally realized he went too far.

The enemy closed around his flanks and cut him off from the main body. The platoon quickly formed a defensive perimeter, and for the next 24 hours, they fought through withering enemy assaults, engaged in hand-to-hand combat, and had to call down mortars and air fire right on their position.

After running ahead of the main body, the 29-man platoon had no support, resourcing, or supply lines to the battalion. They had to fight on their own that night and into the next afternoon. Ever to be known as “The Lost Platoon,” Moore eventually rescued them the next day on the third attempt after nine men were killed and 13 wounded.

The heroics during that period were beyond measure both by the Lost Platoon and their rescuers. But when they got too far in front of their unit, they simply didn’t have the support needed to be successful. It’s imperative that military units maintain a support line. Getting too far ahead is can be deadly.

Just as it’s dangerous to run ahead in an infantry unit, so is it dangerous to run too far ahead as a leader.

Staying in Contact

Jim Collins in his book Good to Great references his “Big, Hairy Audacious Goals” or BHAGs. He describes them as, “clear and compelling, needing little explanation; people get it right away. Think of the NASA moon mission of the 1960s.”

What an amazing goal to land somewhere outside of Earth! At the same time, what a daunting, frustrating process that could discourage many in the organization as designs fail, rockets explode, funding dries up, and bureaucracies threaten. There is a delicate balance of inspiring others without destroying their motivation.

Our job as leaders is to walk this line to have others achieve the seemingly impossible. We lay out BHAGs and inspire others to raise their game and accomplish more than they could ever think or imagine. Ideas are easy. Success is hard. We need leaders who will establish those big ideas, goals, and objectives, and then get things done. To do so, we must:

1. Break It into Pieces. How do we eat an elephant? One bite at a time. How do we colonize Mars? Elon Musk started SpaceX in 2002. His plan was incremental and sequential to develop reusable rockets, gain government contracts, send unmanned spacecraft to Mars, build manned prototypes, and on and on. Musk didn’t state that we’re going to Mars and drop the mic. He broke it down into mentally consumable bites. These small chunks allow people to see possibility without being frustrated by the impossible.

2. Engage People. If we lay out a big goal and disappear, our team will struggle to link the vision to the organization. It’s important we get out and talk to others, tell them about our big goals and steps to get there, let them ask questions, get them committed to the project, and have them own it. By talking to others, these big ideas are no longer way out there, but within conversational distance. Musk does an excellent job of communicating this vision in so many different formats to include fiction and non-fiction television shows on Mars colonization. We all have to relentlessly communicate bold visions.

3. Celebrate the Small Wins. No matter the size of a victory, we should be celebrating. In 2012, Space-X launched its Falcon 9 and Dragon, the first commercial spacecraft to link-up with the International Space Station. Lined up outside the control room in Hawthorne, CA were hundreds of Space-X employees, watching the launch and wildly cheering. It wasn’t going to Mars. But it was one step closer. By celebrating those wins with our people, we grow interest, increase passion, and get people used to and hungry for more victory.

Drive Ahead… Bring People Along

It’s great to espouse bold ideas, create passion, and drive an organization forward. But if you do it too fast, your people are like me, running after my dog wondering where he’s going. Our job is to inspire others to accomplish great things, within the realm of what they’re motivated to do and what they think is possible.

Drive far and fast ahead. And look behind you often to make sure others have caught the vision and are keeping up.

This series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:

Boots: Put Boots on the Ground

Regimentals: Place Service over Self

Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy

+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

August 27, 2024

by Stephen T. Messenger

If you’ve ever been in a soldier’s office, you would know they have a lot of stuff on their walls. Every assignment culminates with a going away gift, and over a 20-year career, we accumulate a lot of cool plaques, gifts, books, and things.

Last month I packed up all my office memorabilia in preparation for a new job. The mission: to transport “my stuff” from the second floor to the parking lot. It wasn’t excessive, but it was more than a one-person job.

Well, I in my stubbornness and not wanting to bother anyone moved under cover of night. I took countless trips up and down the stairs, awkwardly fumbling heavy boxes, fragile frames, and strange-shaped items in the July heat. At the end, I was tired, sweaty, and sore. I definitely should have asked for help.

The irony is that everyone would have loved to help. There were 15 other people in that building who would have been more than happy to grab a box and take one trip down—no questions. Many even offered! Just like I enjoy helping other people, they would have as well.

But for some strange reason, I feel like I had to do everything myself. Maybe it’s not bothering others. Maybe it’s pride. Maybe I like lower back pain… Whatever it is, I was wrong and should have asked.

When one soldier goes into battle, they bring a basic M-4 rife load of 240 rounds. If they fight as an 800-soldier infantry battalion, they bring over 200,000 rounds, 800 people, heavy weapons, mortars, sniper teams, vehicles, logistics, medical, and the most damage-producing weapon on the battlefield: a radio to call Air Force pals.

Organizational success is predicated on using teams to accomplish missions. We must all ensure we’re leading the charge, not running up the hill by ourselves. Don’t fight battles alone!

Blackhawk Down

On October 3, 1993, an infamous incident took place in Mogadishu, Somalia. American forces in the area were originally part of a United Nations mission to alleviate starving Somalians, but due to increased violence against American forces, President Bill Clinton deployed a task force consisting of U.S. Army Rangers and Delta Force operators along with a helicopter package.

During the Battle of Mogadishu, two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters were shot down by enemy fire. They came to rest in the center of a hostile city comprised of Somali militia converging on the crash sites. The Ranger Team secured the first, but the second was on its own.

Circling overhead was the Delta Force sniper team consisting of Master Sergeant Gary Gordon and Sergeant First Class Randall Shughart. They were providing supporting sniper fire from the air but understood the crew on the ground would be overrun before reinforcements could arrive.

In an amazing act of sacrifice and heroism, the two requested to be dropped into the crash site to protect the four critically wounded crewmembers. Everyone knew Gordon and Shughart couldn’t fight this battle alone, including themselves, as they were looking at hundreds of armed combatants converging on the crash site. It was simply too dangerous.

But Gordon continued his request and on the third time was granted permission. He and Shugart inserted into the area armed with only rifles and sidearms, fought their way to the downed chopper, pulled the crew out of the bird, and formed a defensive perimeter. They held their position killing at least 25 insurgents and wounding countless more, but the hundreds of combatants eventually overwhelmed them.

Enemy gunfire killed both Gordon and Shughart along with three of the four Blackhawk crew. Only the pilot, Chief Warrant Officer Michael Durant survived and was captured for 11 days before being released. Gordon and Shughart were posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for their actions that day.

This story is not to argue the Delta Force Team should have stayed in the air. Quite the opposite. These soldiers showed true heroism and love of their teammates in the face of an impossible situation.

But they fought alone. They needed the full resources of the United States military in direct support. With more soldiers, firepower, weapons, ammunition, and equipment, they would have extracted the crew and fought back the insurgents.

Gordon and Shughart entering that situation was amazing. They needed to fight that battle. But they didn’t need to fight it alone.

Go Together

Rudyard Kipling stated, “He travels fastest who travels alone.” This statement is true but countered by industrialist Cyrus McCormick who told his workforce that, “This may do for a race, but will not do for… the kind of work we have to do. Ours is a different work, and we might rather say, ‘Scaling the mountain or breasting the stream, he travels furthest who pulls with his team.’”

Now, we’re not going to ask to be inserted into hundreds of insurgents with very little support. But we are going to have to make daily choices to tackle problems by ourselves or with others. This isn’t an easy decision, because Kipling is right. Going alone usually means going faster. But there are three main benefits to working with others.

Increases Brainpower. We’re limited by our own experiences on how we would tackle a problem. Once we bring in more people, the breadth of knowledge and experience exponentially increases providing us more ideas and perspectives. Adding a subject matter expert to our specific problem will always expand our ability to overcome an obstacle.

I was going to install seven ceiling fans in my house a few weeks ago. I’d never installed one before, but my electrician dad does this for a living. He came over to help and quickly answered every electrical question I would have been stumped on.

Multiplies Manpower. I’m always fascinated by the “two-man lift” signs on boxes. It’s nearly impossible to move them by yourself, yet people love to try, myself included. Going by ourselves is like trying to move those heavy boxes in a Home Depot aisle. We’ll probably get it, but look like a fool in the process, struggling by not asking for help.

My family moved a piano a few months ago. That morning, I tried lifting one end, and it didn’t even budge. But when eight of us each grabbed an edge, it wasn’t even heavy. More people equals more success.

Builds Team Power. In a world of telework, teams who physically come together, help each other with projects, solve problems, and interact frequently have higher levels of trust and teamwork. Trust is built by proximity. People have to be together to gain a level of trust with each other. When we fight and win together, we improve our team.

Last week, someone in our section was tasked to box, label, and move thousands of books in the warehouse… by herself. A few of us went down, rolled up our sleeves, cranked some music, and rocked out to the sounds of 90’s boy bands and packaging tape. We didn’t have to. But now we have a success under our belts, a shared hardship, and inside jokes. Our relationships took a huge leap forward.

As the African Proverb states: If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.

Find Partners

It’s easy to fight battles alone, and sometimes it’s hard to ask for help. Yet there is no more powerful way to accomplish something than by adding others to our team. An additional person, or more, brings new perspectives, more energy, and more teamwork.

So next time we need help, let’s not be afraid to ask. Trust me, it’s way easier on the lower back. 

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

his series is part of our BRAG+1 Leadership Philosophy. If you’re just joining us, start from the beginning on 16 January: A Team to BRAG about and continue from there:

Boots: Put Boots on the Ground

Regimentals: Place Service over Self

Armor: Be Resilient to Life’s Attacks

Gun: Close with and Destroy the Enemy

+1 (Belt): Not a Hint, Sniff, nor Whiff of Impropriety

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization. Podcast music credit in this audio file is to: “Alex Productions – Legends” is under a Creative Commons license (CC BY 3.0).    / @alexproductionsnocopyright   

Music promoted by BreakingCopyright:    • 🌆 Royalty Free Epic Cinematic Music -…  

August 22, 2024

by Tom Console

Undoubtedly, life will be filled with both mountains and valleys. One minute you feel on top of the world, and the next you feel as if that same world is crumbling beneath you. No matter who you are, you will have moments of both great triumph and defeat. In most instances, there will be variables outside of your control that affect the result.

One key separator between inexperienced leaders and great leaders is the attitude with which they face events in their lives. Great leaders learn how to maximize the variables within their control and have an appropriate response to both wins and losses.

Control What We Can Control

Some people see life as a math problem with no variables. Fixed numbers result in a fixed outcome.

2 + 2 = 4

But we all know our math problem of life has so many variables we cannot control. It’s more advanced algebra than second grade math.

(2x)2 + y² + 2²xy = 4x + y² + 4xy

An inexperienced leader will not make the distinction between a fixed and variable problem. They will try to control everything and everyone around them, trying to fix numbers, resulting in inefficiencies with their energy and resources. A better leader identifies what is and what is not under their control and leverages those things they can control.

In a 2022 playoff game against the Bills that went into overtime, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes wore a device that tracked his heart rate with the data shared on social media by his personal trainer. It showed that throughout the duration of the game, Mahomes’ heart rate spiked while he was on the sidelines watching his defense (which had allowed the Bills to score and send the game to overtime by giving up fifteen points in the fourth quarter).

However, his heart rate was shown to be at its lowest when he was in the huddle, right before he snapped the ball. When later asked about why this was, Mahomes said “…when the defense is on the field, I’m a fan just like everybody else… but I can’t control everything. When you’re on the field…you get to put your input on the game.”

This is really important for leaders to understand. You would think a quarterback’s heart rate would be at its highest right before he snaps the balls and is rushed by enormous, bloodthirsty NFL defenders looking to take his head off, especially in overtime during a win or go home playoff game. But this is when Patrick Mahomes is at his most calm.

He is able to stay even-keeled right before a play because he knows that he has mastered both the physical aspects of the game (the mechanics of throwing a football and precision placement of the ball for his receivers) and also the mental aspects of the game.

Without a doubt he spent countless hours watching film on the Bills defense, probably more than he did practicing his own plays. Mahomes meticulously studied and understood the defensive fronts, blitzes, line twists, and coverages the Bills would throw at him as well as pre-snap adjustments and audibles based on whatever defensive look he was shown.

He memorized and interpreted the variable formations the Bills would show him. Through this, he maximized the control he had over the different looks that he could directly influence, giving his team the best production when they needed it most.

The Response

Every situation has an outcome. Some are favorable, some are unfavorable, and some are neutral. Even if we maximize our influence on the things under our control, we can get any one of these results.

Often what is most important is not what happens but how we react to that thing, good or bad. An immature leader allows an emotional response to take control over them. By doing so, they let their feelings dominate, instead of being the master of themself.

Some give themselves all the praise when things are going well and blame everyone else when things go wrong. The best version of us instead accepts both the wins and losses in life as opportunities to grow while not allowing emotions to ovecome us.

Without a doubt, life will find a way to sweep the rug out from under us. Let me give a personal example from my own life.

In May, I graduated Veterinary school and promoted to Captain in the U.S. Army. This was the realization of two dreams that I have spent quite literally my entire life working towards.

I was very proud of myself and extremely excited to finally start my career as an Army Veterinarian, where I was to start a year of training at Fort Moore, Georgia (quite a road trip from my hometown of Philadelphia). With a new career and a new title in a new part of the country, life had granted me a major victory.

Less than a month after graduation and three days after moving into my new house in Georgia, I was diagnosed with diabetes. This was quite a shock for me, and it came out of nowhere as a young, active, and generally healthy person.

As it turns out, members of the military diagnosed with diabetes must go before medical personnel and be deemed fit to continue duty. If they are deemed unfit, they are medically discharged. So, I am currently confronted with my military career ending before it really even began. To add to it, all of this is happening hundreds of miles away from all friends and family. Life had handed me a major defeat.

A trait I think is vital in a leader is their reaction to different situations. They should not get too high or too low, and especially avoid becoming some cold, emotionless brick of a person. The absence of emotion is not the same as control over emotion.

I know we’re supposed to celebrate our wins. I certainly celebrated my graduation and promotion. But we are not the greatest thing since sliced bread. Our ego needs to be kept in check, thanks given to those who helped us along the way, and lessons and good habits from our recent victory need to be carried over.

Conversely, a hardship is only bad if we allow it to be. When I got my diagnosis in the emergency room, I was certainly depressed. When I learned that I could be facing a discharge, I absolutely felt a lot of anxiety. But the best of us work to understand our emotions, deal with them, and move on to face the next challenge. Everyone does this in their own way, and asking for help is always encouraged. A defeat can be just as educational, and perhaps more so, as any victory.

Responding Well in the Highs or Lows

Our lives certainly aren’t 2 + 2 = 4.  I cannot control the fact that I have diabetes. But what I can control are those things that can help manage diabetes. I already had a pretty healthy diet and a good exercise regimen, and I’ve used this diagnosis as an excuse to improve both.

I cannot control whether the Army will deem me fit to continue duty or medically discharge me. But what I can control is my cooperation towards that process and coming up with multiple backup plans so that I can be prepared for whatever decision is handed down.

As leaders we will all face victories and defeats, constants and variables. How these problems impact us and our teams is based on our ability to maximize those things that are under our control and our response in the good times and the bad.

Subscribe at the link above to The Maximum Standard. This platform is a free, no-ad site designed to help others live up to their full potential as a leader. Thank you for committing to something greater than yourself.  Your leadership matters.

We are also looking for authors. You will reap the benefits by having an idea, putting it down on paper, wrestling with it a little, and publishing it for others to see.  I encourage you to take this bold journey with us.  We have editors standing by to help you.

This website is a personal blog and all writings, podcasts, opinions, and posts are the authors’ own and do not represent the views of the United States Army nor any other organization.