Dear Warrior,
I write this letter as a guide, a beacon for leading in our complex and rapidly changing world. As someone who has navigated these challenges and witnessed firsthand the power of leadership, I am compelled and honored to share these insights with you.
Forewarning: Your journey will be arduous, perilous and humbling. Be prepared to navigate diverse environments, including interconnected ecosystems, unfamiliar territories, paradoxes and difficulties. You also will encounter other humans, each with their own challenges. This path is not navigated by accident, but through deliberate decisions and actions, and the impact of your actions will surpass that of your words.
The first step toward fulfilling your leadership purpose is accepting that you are a leader. Embrace it wholly. Life will present you with opportunities to lead, whether by guiding a family, a group or an event. Leadership comes in various forms—from steering a meeting to pioneering innovation, and it is not just for personal advancement, but for the betterment of others. Remember, leadership involves others. Without their involvement, you are merely walking alone.
Nothing to Fear
The second step is accepting that leadership entails sacrifice. Given this reality, many shy away from it. However, as a warrior, you comprehend its daunting nature. Equipped with courage, humility and a truth-seeking spirit, you find fulfillment with what Michael Thompson in his 2015 book, The Heart of a Warrior: Before You Can Become the Warrior, You Must Become the Beloved Son, termed “a settled heart”: nothing to hide, nothing to prove, nothing to fear. Embrace the sacrifices demanded—of time, resources, talents and, ultimately, of oneself.
This path will never be sacrificial of other people, only of self. Love, synonymous with sacrifice, is imperative on your walk. Dr. M. Scott Peck in his 1978 book, The Road Less Traveled: A New Psychology of Love, Traditional Values, and Spiritual Growth, described love as “the will to extend oneself for the purpose of nurturing one’s own or another’s spiritual growth.”
After accepting the two steps toward executing your mission, you must master three leadership fundamentals: knowing yourself, understanding and valuing people, and coping with change. Relentless pursuit of mastery in these areas is indispensable throughout your leadership trajectory. Notably, these fundamentals transcend gender, race, culture, creed and time. They are universal and timeless.
I will elaborate on these essentials so you can prepare yourself for excellence as you embark on your leadership journey.
Knowing Yourself
Your leadership journey begins with deeply understanding yourself, recognizing your spirit, darkness, strengths, limitations, idiosyncrasies and biases. You can only effectively navigate your distinct path by knowing yourself.
Although leadership does not end with you, it starts with you, and you often will be your biggest hindrance. Fifteenth-century French heroine Joan of Arc said, “All battles are first won or lost, in the mind.” Considering this reality, recognize and resolve your personal and internal strife, particularly any fears that may be hindering you. Distinguish both your spirit (the essence of who you are) and your darkness (anything inhibiting your spirit, most notably your ego) as early as possible.
Mastering your darkness is essential. You must take sole ownership and command of your ego. Endeavoring to control others’ egos is futile. Management professor and author Debashis Chatterjee in discussing his 2012 book, Timeless Leadership: 18 Leadership Sutras from the Bhagavad Gita, astutely said, “A fighter fights with the other. A warrior fights with himself or herself.” Therefore, you will experience internal warfare between your spirit and darkness. Although darkness is bound to win some battles, strive for your spirit’s victory in the war.
Effective communication, a critical component of leadership, begins with how you communicate with yourself. German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche once said, “The strength of a person’s spirit would then be measured by how much ‘truth’ he could tolerate.” Speak truthfully to yourself, then extend that candor to others. Your words hold power, especially those spoken to yourself.
Valuing People
Leadership is a people business; therefore, your self-awareness must translate into a deeper understanding of people. Be a student of people. Recognize and accept human nature in yourself and those you lead. Anticipate that people are neither inherently good nor bad; they simply are. Some engage in virtuous deeds while others falter, with most oscillating between the two.
Embrace the reality that irrationality is part of human existence. Self-help author and lecturer Dale Carnegie wisely reminded us, “When dealing with people, let us remember we are not dealing with creatures of logic. We are dealing with creatures of emotion.” Increase your emotional intelligence by better understanding feelings and how they impact your and others’ behavior. Acknowledge your emotions and command your responses, for these are the few things you have control over. Allow space for human nature, embrace imperfections and offer grace, especially to yourself.
Autobiographer and poet Maya Angelou said: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Warriors understand that they must be cautious and intentional with how they make people feel, as they have proficiency in both piercing hearts and protecting them.
We associate feelings and love with the human heart. Author Daniel Coyle in The Culture Code: The Secrets of Highly Successful Groups, published in 2018, concluded that a high-performing team feels safe, valued and purposeful. Strive to instill these feelings in those you lead. However, it is not enough to merely know or tolerate people; you must genuinely care for them.
Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer captured this idea with what he calls “a caring factor,” identifying it as the hallmark of exceptional leadership. Leaders must care about the problem and the people involved, meeting people where they are and rallying them to address the challenge. Love encompasses this care for growth and development, underscoring its indispensable role in effective leadership.
Coping With Change
An inevitable and profound force shaping your journey is the law of change. Change touches everyone and everything. While change is often perceived negatively, leadership experts Ronald Heifetz and Marty Linsky suggested in their 2017 book, Leadership on the Line: Staying Alive Through The Dangers of Change, it is not change itself but the associated loss that people struggle with. Leaders must acknowledge this loss and the pain it entails.
In her 2021 book, Atlas of the Heart: Mapping Meaningful Connection and the Language of Human Experience, professor, podcaster and author Brené Brown writes, “People will do almost anything to not feel pain, including causing pain and abusing power.” In your journey, grasp the complexities of confronting loss, both for yourself and others, encompassing various aspects such as loss of control, comfort, power, resources, relationships and even life itself.
Leaders cope with change. Therefore, embrace continuous learning and growth; evolution and adaptation are imperative for all living beings. To cease evolving is akin to stagnation and, ultimately, death. The Buddhist Four Noble Truths state that life is inherently filled with suffering due to the impermanence or change of all things. Similarly, to transcend suffering, we must come to terms with the transient nature of existence. Echoing the words often attributed to Indian nationalist leader Gandhi, “Be the change you wish to see in the world,” you too must not only manage change, but become it.
Embrace the inevitability of a changing landscape. Equip and enable those you lead to succeed with tools to go through transformation and thrive. Remember the timeless wisdom of Chinese strategist Sun Tzu in The Art of War: “Those who are able to adapt and change in accord with the enemy and achieve victory are called divine.”
Leadership involves mobilizing people from their current state to a desired end state, which inherently entails change. In essence, leadership is about taking people, including yourself, through the journey of change, sometimes into the unknown, ensuring that they emerge on the other side stronger, standing within a more ideal future.
Your Journey
My perspective arises from both theory and practice. While I embrace the wisdom of Greek philosopher Socrates’ axiom, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing,” I still desire to share these insights and amplify diverse and prudent voices in this message. You deserve to ponder and think critically about how this understanding applies to your journey. You are the sum of every decision you have made and those you will make along your path. Therefore, your choices matter; your actions matter; you matter.
Embrace the call to lead with courage, humility and resilience, for it entails a sacrificial journey that will test your resolve. Own it. Master knowing yourself, understanding and valuing people and coping with change. For within it lies the solution to all problems: love.
Echoing the words of American labor leader Cesar Chavez, “It is my deepest belief that only by giving our lives do we find life.”
Godspeed on your journey ahead.
Sincerely,
A Fellow Warrior
Lt. Col. Bobbi Snowden is the executive officer to the commanding general for U.S. Army Medical Readiness Command, East, and Defense Health Network East, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. Previously, she was a U.S. Army Interagency Fellow assigned to the U.S. Agency for International Development. She has a master of public health from the University of Maryland and a doctor of public health from George Washington University, Washington, D.C. She teaches leadership to doctoral students at George Washington University.