I Know a Great Leader (or Several)—Maybe You Do Too

Posting this on a Sunday morning, half hoping no one reads it. Buckle up—this might get cringy, you've been warned.

Military service grants a unique gift (or curse): the ability to recognize exemplary leadership. From the moment we put on the uniform, we become students of this notoriously squishy discipline. If studied correctly, leadership should instill a sense of humble inadequacy—the same feeling that often defines the best leaders.

Taking off the uniform brings a new challenge: civilian leadership. Suddenly, the fundamental skills and principles we took for granted—things that seemed like Leadership 101—are optional, ignored, or simply misunderstood.

Sales leadership, in particular, can be a minefield. The horror stories are endless:

• Great salespeople who should never lead but do, simply because they were the top performer
• Social climbers
• PowerPoint warriors
• Evasive political operators who master the art of shifting blame
• Micromanaging misers
• Talkative idiots (I fall into that one A LOT)
• CRM fascists—and, alternatively, laissez-faire loafers

But then I know a great leader (or several), and maybe you know them do too:

• Someone who sees their job not as a JUST a job, but as a tool to elevate both the company and the individual—and somehow manages to tie the two together
• A leader whose team members, when they move on, say their biggest regret is leaving that leader
• Someone whose vulnerability and humility match their capability
• A leader who sees potential in everyone they manage—and steadily works to shore up their weaknesses
• A leader who is both human and superhuman in their ability to diagnose problems and prescribe next steps
• Someone who is wrong sometimes—and admits it
• A leader who provides air cover for their team, never lets blame roll downhill, but quietly coaches and guides when needed
• Someone who assumes extreme ownership, even/especially when they did not need to
• A leader who understands and lives with the contradictions that leadership requires
• One of those rare silent pillars of a company, whose departure would be felt for decades and counted in the tens of millions
• Someone who gets the first call—both when tragedy strikes and when great news arrives
• A true servant leader

They are not saints. They are not perfect. But sometimes, they feel like it.

I’m honored to know leaders like this—and lucky to call some of them friends. I hope I can be one someday. I hope you know them too. Keep an eye out.

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