I’ll be upfront: this article is about politics. It’s about leadership, too. And it’s also about politics. Why are we settling for chaos when we can have calm?

“If you don’t stop that, you’ll have trouble walking in your forties.” 

“I’m not going to live past 25 anyhow,” I said glibly and continued to beat my shins violently with bamboo reeds.  He was right. But there were reasons I bypassed his sincere warning. There are always reasons. 

It’s not unreasonable that people in companies all over America ask for transparency from their leaders, even when leaders have operated earnestly. It’s also not generational. Americans of all ages cry for transparency because we're swimming in spam, fake accounts, and various other forms of trickery, creating an undercurrent of suspicion. It’s worth considering that undercurrent of suspicion and skepticism today. Trickery abounds.

I often consider myself an accidental sociologist because, while I actually have a bachelor's degree in sociology, I came upon it by choosing the degree I could finish fastest and found that I connected with it deeply. Sociology is the study of people and group behavior and shares concepts with psychology and anthropology. It gleans human insights from analyzing large group patterns applicable to small interpersonal relationships. 

One of those insights is a concept called “the looking-glass self” by Charles Horton Cooley for child development. It states that our identities and how we perceive ourselves are a combination of our internal awareness and the external feedback from our environment.

We think a lot about useful practices that help us stay focused and productive. In many ways, this lies at the core of our business proposition, to help leaders increase effectiveness for the long haul. One of the most insidious parasites on our focus is screens of all types–cell phones, laptops, and tablets, oh my! Here are three simple words of wisdom to set your day off well: sunrise before screenrise. 

Rangers are experts in advanced rifle marksmanship. Proficiency with your weapon system is part of the job. One of the principles we learn when spending so much time sending lead downrange is that you can only move as fast as your shot group dictates. Sometimes, I wish people could see their shot groups out in the world because it would force most of us to slow down. Many of us need to slow down.

They is the most corrosive word in business. It suggests there is actually a fundamental split in the team. A division between people, departments, functions, projects, and ultimately goals. They kills team unity and shirks responsibility.

I gotta admit, the mountain top is a beautiful place to be. The view is great, and the beers always seem colder (though they’ve been sitting in a pack for hours getting warm). If we linger too long, we lose the will to drive on. We run out of beers, food, light, and motivation and get blown off the backside by the wind. That’s why we have to change our socks and move out towards the next objective. But what the heck does “change your socks” actually mean? Well, I’m glad I asked 🙂…

We often say that leadership does not have to be a lonely place. We connect with other leaders doing great work in our organizations, family, friends, and teammates we work alongside. One of those teammates, inevitably, can be our team captain. And team captains are a force multiplier for any team. Find your team captains and empower them to lead. 

The drama triangle occurs in relationships when there is a victim, a villain, and a hero. It’s a psychological construct introduced in the late 1960s by Dr. Stephen Karpman and is commonly used in Family Systems Therapy. An awareness of this theory is helpful in leadership because drama triangles pop up all over the place. We see them in poor performers, rock stars, and others in between. We see them in business, in families, and in friend groups. At times, we find ourselves in the midst of a drama triangle without even knowing it!

Let’s just name something from the start. Firing people sucks. It’s a terrible feeling and a circumstance we all wish we could avoid, but inevitably, if we are leading teams aimed at big goals, it will happen. And if you hate it as much as every leader we know, good! This makes you normal! 

BRANDON - DON’T GET INTO A FIGHT TODAY. WALK AWAY! 

These words were written on a white poster board that hung above my bed when I was ten years old. A response to the last straw, when my elementary school principal met with my mom and me, pulled a binder off the shelf that was dedicated to my write-ups and explained that one more infraction would result in expulsion.