Articles
No One Warned Me About This Part of Leaving the Military
By Joe Byerly Before I retired from the military, everyone told me the same few things: “You’ll struggle with purpose.” “You’ll miss the mission.” “You’ll miss the people.” And they weren’t wrong. I’ve felt all of that to some degree. As I’ve...
Power and the Popularity Trap
This is Joe’s latest series on Power. Check out his first post here! By Joe Byerly The need to be liked is something many leaders wrestle with. But when the desire for popularity is mixed with the desire for power, it creates a toxic brew—one...
Ep 140- “Maybe I’m the Problem”: Leadership and Self-Deception with Victoria Trammel
Send us a text In this episode, Joe sits down with Victoria Trammel from the Arbinger Institute to explore the life-changing insights from the newly revised edition of Leadership and Self-Deception. Together, they dig into the patterns of...
Insecurity, Power, and Tyrants
By Joe Byerly Why do people chase power? Many of us fool ourselves into thinking our pursuit of power is noble. We want to make a difference. We want to bring about change. We want to make things better. But lurking just beneath those reasons is...
Judgment Comes Full Circle: I’m the Major Now
By Sara Roger Chaos, uncertainty, deadlines, endless meetings, new guy syndrome. You might call these facts of life, but for me, they were the ingredients in this week’s signature dish: “Fill the Gap for the Brigade Operations Officer.” For the...
Why FightCamp Is the Perfect Garage Gym Setup for Veterans Getting Back in Shape
By Joe Byerly After 20 years in the military, staying physically fit is hardwired into who I am. But I’ll be honest, my body doesn’t bounce back the way it used to. My knees aren’t fans of long runs or high-impact workouts like CrossFit anymore,...
What George Marshall Would Tell Today’s Leaders
by Aaron Childers The military places a large amount of responsibility on young leaders from the moment they assume their positions. This can be overwhelming at times, but it isn’t a modern problem. In fact, some of the struggles that...
Why Every Leader Needs to Create a “Me Manual”
By Joe Byerly One of the first pieces of advice I received when I joined the Army was to create an “I love me book.” This binder became a repository for all my awards, evaluation reports, orders, and even handwritten notes from senior leaders. I...
Silent Sacrifices, Powerful Impact: The Truth About Military Spouses
Albert D. Keever Jr. In the military, the term “dependent” usually refers to someone who relies on a service member for financial and medical support, such as a spouse or a child. It’s a label that, on the surface, appears...
Power is the Great Auditor
By Joe Byerly Do you believe you have a strong character? Do you think you’re a highly competent leader? Do you think you understand the full extent of your faults? Do you think you can do a better job than the guy or gal currently in the role you...
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Do What You Say You Can Do
By Jacob Loftice The best training guidance I have received is “be able to do the things you say you can do.” Having the capability to execute your assigned mission is central to a unit’s readiness. It can be tempting to treat aspirations as facts...
Leaders Shoot First – the Value of Leader Live Fires
by Reed Markham Have you ever felt that the more you teach your Soldiers with words the less they get it? Or even listen? I have witnessed brilliant and experienced leaders struggle to train their teams over the years, and...
Harnessing the Power of Knowledge Management
by Jakob Hutter Reinventing the wheel is often discouraged. But COL Schmidt, the Director of Army University Press at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, argues it’s crucial for leaders to make impactful decisions and drive meaningful change in their...
Diving with Death: Navigating Scary Conversations in Mental Health
By Stein Thorbeck I want to tell you a story to make you better at supporting people in pain. I was glad to be there when it happened, despite the difficulty. Further, I was thankful to know something about struggle. My experience with depression...
From a Company Commander to Platoon Leaders: Relax—and Check Your Ego
by Michael Everett Relax. Be where your feet are. Be yourself. Learn how to Army. Read, write, learn. Own being the leader of your platoon. You are about to be handed the keys to a platoon and officially begin your time as a platoon leader...
Wayne Gretzky and Coup d’oeil
by T.G. Bradbeer In his classic work, On War, Clausewitz describes the concept of Coup d’oeil as “an intellect that, even in the darkest hour, retains some glimmering of the inner light which leads to truth.” This ‘inward eye’ refers to the ability...
How To Be a Data Literate Leader—And Why It Matters
Photo by Stephen Dawson on Unsplash by Justine Meberg As the Army shifts focus from asymmetric to peer threats, modernization involves significant change. New hardware and software will gather and process increasingly more information across a vast...
It’s Not Innovation Versus Readiness—Innovation Is Readiness
By James Ashworth, with Rebecca Segal The U.S. Army has been charged to transform in contact, using deployments and exercises to stimulate innovation. To do so successfully, while still training your tactical mission, requires a conscious approach...
Evaluation is Key. But So Is Training Without It
By Tom Sujack Smoke and I agreed the platoon should practice one more hip shoot before chow. We would start platoon qualifications early the next morning, so this would be our last chance to get this normally chaotic evolution right. When the fire...
From a Staff Sergeant To Future Platoon Leaders: Own Your Roles and Responsibilities
by Cindy M. Lopez As you senior Cadets approach Commissioning, I hope that you are all as excited as I am for you. As a Non-Commissioned Officer, I do have a few requests from you. When I first pinned the rank of Sergeant (SGT), I had only...
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