KTHQ · Leadership essays
The Working Theory of Leadership
What we think we know about leading people.
Short pieces for people leading for the first time. Some concepts have links to amazing leadership books, which military members can typically get for free from Libby. Click the links to read those books.
Start here
What I’ve learned over the years that you can learn right now
Fourteen years in five minutes: the short version of everything in this section.
Leadership for People Who Just Got Handed It
Nobody starts out good at this. The cycle almost every new leader falls into, and what it took me to get out of it.
Stop Controlling People, Change the Culture
A sergeant major’s answer to a staff sergeant’s question, and the squadron that proved him right.
Dropping the Hammer
The few times I’ve had to drop it, and the two times it should have dropped on me and didn’t.
Blame
When something breaks, somebody’s going to ask whose fault it is. Raise your hand.
Everything Is Priority One
If everything’s a priority, nothing is. And if your priorities change every month, none of them ever were.
The New Rule After One Mistake
Every new rule, process, or priority is a tax on the people below you. Make sure you’re buying something with it.
We’re Not Curing Cancer
If you’re writing the contract that cures cancer, be stressed. The other 99 percent of the time, breathe.
Why the Air Force Is Bad at Creativity
We push books on communication, teamwork, and leadership. Then we say we want creativity, and build a place where it can’t breathe.
Make Rank Because of the Work
Do the work because it matters. Let the promotion be the side effect.