Personal Statement

HBS Personal Statement -- What more would you like us to know about you? I distinctly recall the leather hatbox where my dad saved reminders of our family’s service in the Army. I was fascinated by the adventure each medal, dog-tag and faded photo held. Over time, as I learned more about others who served before me, my fascination was rooted in becoming a leader. Along this journey, I learned that servant leadership is about self-awareness, humility, inclusion and above all, people. HBS will provide the interactive, case-based environment to continue learning, reflecting, and developing.

In high school, a story from my grandfather’s service as a Special Forces Team Leader during Vietnam fueled my desire to become a leader. One mission during Vietnam was coined Recon by Fire – a tactic designed to find the enemy by shooting without provocation into suspected areas. On a specific Recon by Fire mission, he couldn’t justify the high potential for collateral damage. Despite dialogue with superiors on the unnecessary risk, the order stood. He decided to disobey; he took his team out, helped in a village, set up security for the night, and reported completion. I recognized the power of this even at a young age; leadership, and ultimately life, isn’t about simply following orders, it’s about understanding your values and acting in accordance no matter the situation.

I can only imagine the self-awareness and humility it took for my grandfather to make that decision. These critical qualities are only honed through experience. I didn’t fully embrace this until my first failure at Ranger School. This 62-day leadership course tests your ability to lead in a simulated combat environment. In the second, most physically challenging phase, I failed what is called “peers”; essentially a peer-review of your leadership style. I felt crushed: for the first time in my life, I thought about quitting. Debating whether to try the phase again, I got a letter from dad with some motivational thoughts. He closed the letter with a clever acronym he had almost jokingly developed for harder times: STOP-P … Smile, Think, Observe, Plan, Pray. I realized I failed because I was trying to be someone I wasn’t; being stereotypically loud, cocky, authoritative, and aggressive isn’t the only way to lead. The next week, I restarted with a smile on my face and a mental cue to remember who I was.

The world has changed a lot since my time at Ranger School, but the timeless lessons on leadership remain: know yourself, be humble and build relationships. I saw the power of this equation when I deployed to Iraq in 2015 as the Executive Officer, or second-in-command, of an Airborne Infantry Company, retraining the recently defeated Iraqi Army. Our Company Commander, or leader of the 130-soldier organization, struggled to build consensus and communicate his vision. I saw this issue and started taking significant responsibility for the main training operations. I quickly brought in all of our experienced Drill Sergeants, who had trained US Army new recruits, and was up front that I didn’t hold the key to what the best training path looked like. I empowered this ad-hoc task force to analyze the current Iraqi shortfalls and build a plan to prepare them for combat. Simultaneously, I built relationships with our Spanish Legion partners to leverage their unique strengths. As I back briefed our Commander on the way ahead, he said, “Wow, you built and planned all this?” My response was automatic, “No sir, we built this.”

The challenging, interpersonal nature of my Iraq deployment inspired me to stay in the Army past my initial obligation. It also gave me the unique opportunity to transform an organization as an Infantry Company Commander. I took command of a 130-soldier team from an authoritative leader, whose leadership style was alienating the team. The first thing I did was engage all the key leaders to build a vision, a tailored picture of who we wanted to be. Our weekly all-hands meeting shifted from dictating tasks and identifying shortfalls to a participative structure; I talked less, subordinates talked more, in a safe, inclusive environment. During each meeting, I provided broad intent and assigned responsibility for the upcoming training operation. Platoon leaders then presented key milestones for shorter-term operations and garnered input from our whole team. The dialogue and ideas that percolated from this small change were astounding. This set the tone for how we would work together under stress. Two months after these changes, we were praised for our performance in a 36-hour training operation to secure a hypothetical enemy-held village. After the operation, my boss asked why I thought we succeeded. I pointed to my subordinate leaders who took initiative, thought creatively, and didn’t simply wait to be told what to do.

The impact of leadership outlasts your tenure in a job or in life. I never even met my grandfather - he passed away before I was born. Yet, he inspired me to know myself and think freely even in a hierarchal environment. As I transition to the civilian world, I’m proud to add a fourth generation of medals, dog-tags, and photos to that leather hatbox. My experiences, and mantras like STOP-P, remind me that leadership, much like life, has no perfect equation. But, if you properly weight some critical variables along the way, it is truly rewarding.