My Leadership Journey — From the Small Florida Town to Special Operations to The Boardroom!

Growing up in a small citrus and cattle town in rural Florida, leadership wasn’t a concept anyone needed to explain — it was something you watched, something you learned through living. I didn’t hear terms like “servant leadership” or “paternal leadership” until much later in my professional life, but I was surrounded by them long before I ever put on a uniform.

My father was the first leader I ever studied. He was a hard-working country man, but more importantly, he was a relationship builder. He didn’t lead through fear or authority — he led through connection. Whether we were talking to neighbors in town, sharing a meal at a family get-together, or working side by side on something around the house, he taught me that strong relationships are the foundation of strong leadership.

It wasn’t about tasks — it was about people. It wasn’t about control — it was about trust.That became my first blueprint for leadership.

The Foundation: Leadership Learned Outdoors

Some of my earliest lessons came from time spent outdoors — hunting at first light, walking pasture lines, fishing quiet waters where a boy has time to think.

My father didn’t just teach me how to do things; he taught me why we do them together. He showed me that leading someone begins with acknowledging their value, listening before correcting, and respecting the relationship more than the mistake.

Those early years built my understanding of paternal leadership long before I knew the term.It was guidance without ego, correction without shame, love with expectations.

That became the backbone of how I see leadership today.

Football, Tough Coaches, and the First Glimpse of Team Culture

High school football sharpened those lessons. I had coaches who were loud, quiet, encouraging, strict — the whole range. But the ones who had the greatest impact were the ones who made you feel like part of something bigger than a scoreboard.

They didn’t just run drills; they invested in their players. They held us accountable but cared about who we were becoming off the field too.

That’s when I began to understand a truth I still believe today:

Leadership isn’t about authority — it’s about influence.

The coaches who led paternally weren’t soft; they were committed. They knew the power of building strong relationships and earning trust.

The Army and the Moment Servant Leadership Became Real

It wasn’t until the Army—especially in the 160th SOAR—that I finally heard formal discussions about “servant leadership.” But by then, it felt familiar, because I had lived elements of it all my life.

The best leaders in Special Operations aviation weren’t the ones barking orders from behind a desk. They were the ones working shoulder-to-shoulder with the team in the hangar, on the flight line, or during long nights preparing for a mission.

Two leaders in particular crystalized this for me: my Special Forces shop Warrant Officer Mr. Liner and my First Sergeant BA.

Both were cut from the same cloth as the men I grew up around. Both led from the front, not the back. Both saw leadership as service, not status.

Mr. Liner would grab tools, help troubleshoot, teach, guide, and never act above the work. First Sergeant BA would check on the young soldiers before checking on himself — making sure their morale, their families, and their well-being were solid.

They never asked a soldier to do something they wouldn’t do themselves.

Watching them was like seeing my father’s lessons amplified in a military environment:

• Serve first.

• Teach patiently.

• Protect your people.

• Build them strong enough to lead someday.

  
  

That’s when servant leadership stopped being a concept and became something I recognized as the only kind of leadership worth following.

Why Servant and Paternal Leadership Fit Who I Am

Across my life, I encountered every leadership style — autocratic, democratic, transactional, transformational, laissez-faire. Each has a place. Each can work in the right moment.

But the styles that consistently build:

• stronger teams

• deeper trust

• more loyalty

• more accountability

• and ultimately, the next generation of leaders

…are servant and paternal leadership.

Because both ask the same question:

“How can I help you become who you’re capable of being?”

Not “How can I get more out of you?”Not “How do I stay in charge?”Not “How do I look like the leader?”

But simply — how do I build you?

Those lessons came from my father, my coaches, my Warrant Officer, and my First Sergeant. They weren’t perfect men, but they were the right kind of leaders: the kind who shaped people.