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Everyone Has a Plan… and then, Boom.

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Before his bout with Evander Holyfield, a reporter asked Mike Tyson if he was concerned about his opponent’s plan for the fight.  Mr. Tyson famously responded, “Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”  Everyone chuckled.  I chuckled and went about my business.  Then I got “punched in the mouth.”

I was in my second semester senior at the Air Force Academy. I was at the top of my game and the pinnacle of my fledgling career in the Air Force. I was a deputy group commander and it felt great; I reveled in my position and authority as the quintessential upholder of standards.

Things were going well until about halfway through that last semester, when my cadet group commander decided we should do a 360-degree evaluation. I thought it was an interesting idea and had no problem sitting in judgment of my peers. I measured cadet worthiness in terms of compliance with standards, and coldly evaluated my fellow cadets accordingly. The results of my evaluation came back a week later — and it was brutal. In short, the evaluation said that I was self-righteous and authoritarian, with a tendency to rely on my position to compel compliance.

Ouch.  Now what?

When confronted by such an assessment, a person basically has two choices: reject it, or accept it. After reflecting for a couple of days, I decided the assessment was accurate and that I did not want to be the kind of person or leader it described. A few days after that decision, we had a staff meeting. I sat silently until the end when my commander went around the room and asked if any of us had anything to share with the group.

I raised my hand, stood up, and with eyes cast down at the table, apologized to everyone in the room for my behavior up to that point and vowed to do better. Instead of ostracizing me, nearly every person in the room approached me privately to express support or to praise my courage for owning my mistakes. I began my journey to becoming a better person and leader that week. I occasionally lost my way, but I always found my way back on track. I am thankful I learned that lesson as a cadet so I didn’t inflict that horrible “leadership” style on any airmen.

Sure, Holyfield got punched in the mouth, but he ultimately won that fight.  I’d like to think that I’m still winning my fight but there are several rounds left and I don’t want to get cocky.  Don’t be afraid to get punched in the mouth.  If you’re out front leading the way you should, it’s going to happen sometime.  Learn from it and do better—your team is counting on you.

Authored By: Jason Lamb, Managing Director

Jason Lamb

Jason is the United States Space Force's Talent Strategist. In this role, he is actively involved in crafting and executing the United States Space Force’s human capital strategy and plans. A nationally recognized thought leader in leadership and talent management, he advises Space Force senior leadership on how best to acquire, develop, engage, assess, promote, and employ its military and civilian members. Prior to his current position, Jason served over 25 years in the Air Force as an intelligence officer and retired in the rank of Colonel.

In uniform, Jason served with distinction in a variety of intelligence, staff, and command assignments in deployed combat environments, geographically dispersed organizations across the globe, and in the United States. As an intelligence group commander, he led over 650 personnel in eight units spread across four continents supporting everything from national decision making to time-sensitive tactical operations.  Jason has deployed in support of Operations SOUTHERN WATCH, IRAQI FREEDOM, and ENDURING FREEDOM. During his career, Jason was recognized as the Air Force’s Intelligence Officer of the Year, graduated number one from his Air War College class, was awarded the Bronze Star in Afghanistan, and twice awarded the prestigious Legion of Merit.

While those accomplishments are noteworthy, he is perhaps best known for leading a significant culture shift in the Air Force and across the Department of Defense beginning with a series of articles he published under the pseudonym “Col Ned Stark.”  In those articles, Jason highlighted significant organizational culture and leadership alignment issues, provided root cause analysis, and offered innovative solutions resulting in the Chief of Staff of the Air Force offering him a senior position on his staff.  To the surprise of many, Jason chose to end his fast-track career and retire instead so that he could coach and engage with broader audiences.  The Space Force reached out to Jason to architect an innovative new approach toward talent management and leadership development that would ensure the long-term alignment of the newest armed service’s mission and values.  The result was The Guardian Ideal, described by the Chief of Space Operations as the single most important accomplishment of the Space Force to date.

Jason understands how to create and develop high-performing teams of teams.  He knows how to uncover organizational misalignment and dysfunction to craft tailored solutions that improve workforce retention and performance.  Jason is a proven leader and solver of wicked and complex problems.

Jason graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a degree in International Relations with a minor in Japanese.  He holds four advanced degrees in organizational management, national security policy, and strategy.  Additionally, Jason is an International Coaching Federation-certified professional coach with an additional certification as an Energy Leadership Index Master Practitioner.  He resides in Colorado with his wife and daughter.

Victory Strategies is a Veteran Owned Business.