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What is
'Lead from Within"?

I started using thephrase when I wasin high school...

but it didn't really take it's true meaning until a few years into my Air Force career. I was working in a toxic environment and there was a very real pressure to become what some people think of as the stereotypical military leader - a bolstering yeller that don't take no nonsense from nobody. I'm kicking names and taking ass and asking questions later, if at all. That wasn't me, and it wasn't many of the people I worked with either, so we started teaching others to lead from who they are, not who they think they should be. To show vulnerability instead of becoming a zipper-suited sun god. To meet people where they are from where you are. To never stop trying to understand and improve yourself so that you can be the best possible leader you can be at the time that your Airmen need you the most.

Leadership Quote from Ken Blanchard

I commissioned in the Air Force in 2013, at the valley of Sequestration. Morale was low, funding was low, and toxic leadership seemed to be at an all-time high. Indiscriminate  cuts to personnel based off seemingly random metrics that didn't consider leadership availability not only meant that the percentage of bad leaders was high, they were also thrust into positions they never would have before. In that context, I was rotated through under-performing and miserable units time-and-time again. But after a few months, we'd see some improvement in the climate and culture, and by the end of 1 year's time, we'd be high performers. Two of the teams were even named as Air Force -level winners for being the best units in the service for that year. This certainly isn't all, or even mostly, due to me; however, they all shared one similarity-a shift toward empathic leadership that considered our people's well-being and not just the bottom line. Over the next 10 years I formulated my own leadership philosophies and teachings I used to mentor my teams. This company is the result of that, and our goal is simple - create more leaders who actually give a damn. We don't want others to endure the same experiences.

Our 
Story

picture of large military unit in front of F-16s, F-35s, and F-22s
black and white photo of a military unit around an A-10. I'm standing in the cockpit with my arms out

"I'm king of the world!!" (like Rose form Titanic). I swear this wasn't my idea.

Lead from Within's logo

Our Logo

The logo in our insignia is meant to be a reflection of who we are in our authentic selves. The starred wings beckon back to our Air Force specialty badges with pilot wings and maintenance eagles. Where the shield should be, we replaced it with a spherical shape to make the entire design share similarities to a particular gold-metal-colored tattle-tale from a world of magical beings to share our nerdy, vulnerable side. My law team tells me to not say more than that.*

*It's me. I'm the "law team." Don't sue me, owner of the spherical gold-colored tattle tale!!!*

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