An idea (authentic leadership)
I didn’t plan to write about this.
But what I observed this week changed me.
I serve as Vice Chair of the Leadership Department at the Army JAG School. A core part of our curriculum is authentic leadership. We tell our students that character and standards are the floor, but leadership requires something deeper:
- You must know who you are.
- You must understand how you’re wired.
- You must identify your values.
- And then you must lead from that place.
We often reference The Leadership Challenge and its emphasis on “finding your voice.” Early in your career, you copy. You borrow. You imitate. But eventually, to be effective, you must find your own voice.
This week, I saw that embodied.
No Slides. Just Presence.
I invited my friend and mentor, Colonel Chaveso “Chevy” Cook, who currently serves on the Joint Staff, to speak to over 120 students. The day before, I texted him:
“Do you have slides?”
“No.”
That surprised me. In the military, everyone uses slides. He had two hours to fill. No deck. No script. Just presence. What followed was one of the most powerful leadership sessions I’ve ever witnessed.
The Failure Resume
At one point, Chevy shared something that immediately shifted the temperature of the room: His failure resume.
Not his awards. Not the badges he wears on his uniform.
He listed the schools that rejected him -- Harvard (twice), Stanford, Cornell. He described being removed from a leadership position early in his career and nearly receiving a career-ending reprimand. He spoke candidly about repeating survival school and his personal struggles as a father and husband.
There was no drama in it. No performance. Just ownership.
He explained that integrity comes from the root word integer -- meaning whole.
“I want to be whole,” he said. “So I want to show all.”
That’s authenticity. Not polished. Not curated. Whole.
When Theory Becomes Embodied
For years, I’ve tried to teach authenticity as a concept. But Wednesday reminded me that authenticity is actually a felt experience.
You can sense when someone is not performing or managing impressions. You can feel when someone is deeply aligned -- with their values, their story, and their limitations.
There is a groundedness in that alignment that is hard to fake and even harder to ignore.
Students came up afterward and said, “That was life-changing.” Why? Because something abstract finally became visible.
What Makes a Leader Authentic?
Based on what I observed, here are five markers of the authentic leader:
- They’ve done the inner work. You don’t get that level of calm without wrestling with your own story.
- They own their failures. A failure resume isn’t a sign of weakness; it’s a sign of security. It gives others permission to be human.
- They know their "wiring." Self-awareness creates a steadiness that isn't easily rattled by criticism.
- They aren’t trying to "win" the room. Ironically, that’s exactly why they do.
- They are fully present. Not rehearsing their next line, but fully engaged with the person in front of them.
Authenticity isn’t softness. It isn’t oversharing for the sake of it, and it isn’t abandoning standards. It is the alignment between who you are privately and how you lead publicly.
When you see it embodied, it changes you. It changed me this week.
A question for you this week:
If you had to present your "failure resume" to your team tomorrow, which entry would be the hardest to share -- and what would it reveal about your strength?
With you on the journey,
Cal
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