A couple weeks ago I provided you with my thoughts about how to kick off 2023 with a different and fresh perspective on New Year’s resolutions: a focus on behaviors over checklists.
The question you may have now is, “Who is this guy Errol Doebler and why should I listen to his views on leadership? Why should I care about leadership at all?”
Everyone has a different notion of what leadership is. In my view, leadership is problem-solving. How do I hire the right people? How do I scale my business? How do I create a great culture at work and at home? How do I help my child navigate bullying at school? How do I deal with the people who are looking down their nose at me? How will I get the courage to finally hike up and ski down the Highland Bowl?
All different challenges and problems, but challenges and problems, nonetheless. Based on my experience, every problem or challenge — regardless of the degree of severity, depth of scope, or potential consequence of outcome — is addressed the same way.
Skeptical?
I began seeing that the approach to any challenge, personal or professional, should be the same back when I was a new Naval officer in 1991. As an assistant operations officer on the USS Monongahela, I learned how addressing the challenges of being the first U.S. Navy ship to integrate men and women and how to respond to an at-sea, ship-to-ship collision were strangely similar.
The speed at which I learned to make decisions and clearly articulate direction related to these two examples could not have been more different. The process of how to make the right life-saving decisions as two Navy warships collide in the middle of the night and how to keep 18-year-old men and women focused on work while cooped up on a ship for months at sea with no social release are the same.
My leadership process crystallized as I moved on in my naval career as a Navy SEAL platoon commander. It seemed every decision I had to make had some sort of life-or-death consequence, whether it was in the planning phase of an operation or the actual execution of the plan in the field. However, the process I went through to solve any problem or address any challenge remained the same.
After suffering a near-death injury while operating as a Navy SEAL I was medically discharged from the Navy. I went into the private sector and tackled the Vietnam of sales … selling copiers. I was promoted to sales manager in the company’s New York office and, once again, began to see how a completely different problem set (selling copiers vs. fighting the enemy) was addressed in the exact same way.
Fast forward to operating overseas as an FBI special agent and gaining access to terrorists no American had ever spoken to in a place no American had ever operated before. Fast forward to seeing sustained combat operations in Afghanistan while attached to the 75th Ranger Regiment. Fast forward to trying to be the best father and husband I can be and all the challenges that come along with that.
Now, I earn my living teaching people my leadership philosophy, through my company Leader 193, which involves a combination of leadership process and wellness techniques. I work with C-Suite executives of all industries, individual contributors, professional, high school and grade school athletics, mothers and fathers, etc. They all have benefited.
“But wait, Errol, how can you help me tackle the Highland Bowl?! What is this process? What are the wellness techniques!? How is that a leadership challenge? Tell me now!!!”
My name is Errol Doebler and I help people get better at every aspect of their lives through my tried and true, battle tested leadership philosophy called “The Leader 193 Way: Leadership Through Process and Wellness.”
So, if you want to finally tackle that great challenge of the Highland Bowl, or any other personal or professional challenge, look out for my upcoming columns.
Get ready because I speak plainly and unapologetically. My methods are not always for the faint of heart … but they can be if you are no longer looking to be faint of heart.
I’m looking forward to sharing my stories to not only entertain you but also to inform you and bring value to every aspect of your life.
Article published in the Aspen Daily News on Feb. 4, 2023
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