In the Seat

Some separation between what we personally believe and what we professionally do is probably necessary. But too much separation becomes dangerous. This episode explores the tension between personal conviction and professional obligation — especially inside an apolitical institution asked to execute decisions that come from political leaders. It also wrestles with the harder question: execution may...

People join the military for all kinds of reasons. Adventure. Family legacy. Money. Direction. Opportunity. But eventually those reasons stop being enough on their own. This episode explores the difference between why we join and why we stay — and how service can slowly shift from something transactional into something tied to identity, stewardship, influence, and purpose. It also wrestles with a...

What happens when your sense of legitimacy becomes tied to how much burden you can carry? This episode explores the relationship between suffering, capacity, and leadership identity. Not just the ability to endure hardship, but the desire to prove usefulness, competence, and legitimacy through carrying more than everyone else. The focus here is not on physical toughness alone. It is on the emotion...

What happens when reality stops validating the image you have of yourself? This episode explores the tension between confidence and honest self-correction. High performers often rely on belief in themselves to push through difficulty, but that same confidence can quietly become resistance to reality when performance no longer matches expectations. Using the experience of the E3B competition and th...

What happens when leader involvement starts creating dependence instead of growth? This episode explores the tension between staying engaged and letting go. Leaders are supposed to develop people, but it is easy to confuse access, responsiveness, and fast decision-making with actual leader development. The focus here is not on becoming absent or hands-off. It is on the difference between empowerme...

What happens when a leader’s presence starts affecting the outcome more than their intent? This episode explores the tension between staying engaged and knowing when to step back. As leaders become more senior, it gets easier to stay involved in the name of helping, guiding, or staying informed. But involvement is not always neutral. Sometimes it adds value. Sometimes it changes the room in ways t...

What happens when an organization says it wants innovation, but only rewards success? This episode explores the tension between mission accomplishment and risk tolerance. In high-stakes organizations, failure is hard to accept, but without some tolerance for failure, real innovation usually never happens. The focus here is not on excusing poor performance. It is on separating reckless failure from...

After a year in command, it might seem early to think about the next assignment. But the higher you go in the Army, the more those decisions start to shape the rest of your trajectory. In this episode, I wrestle with a tension I didn’t expect to feel this strongly. For most of my career, the assumption was simple: if you want to influence the Army, you climb as high as possible. More rank means mo...

In the Seat  is a series about the responsibility that comes with occupying positions of authority — the weight, the judgment, and the tradeoffs that aren’t always visible from the outside. In this opening episode, I wrestle with how we evaluate leaders inside a system that demands both excellence and sustainability. If I’ve structured my life around a particular model of command, is it fair to us...