654 Business Strategies

I was talking with a leader recently who said, “My second in command is amazing, but I do not know how to support them.”

Honestly, that is more common than most people realize.

Second in commands live in the tension between leading and following. They are not the CEO, but they are expected to think like one. They are not frontline staff, but they feel the ripple effects of every decision.

They need clarity.
They need training specific to the role they are in.
They need connection with people who understand the pressure they carry.

And most importantly, they need a place to talk through the unique challenges that come with being the person everyone relies on.

When second in commands get what they need, the entire organization becomes healthier.

Sometimes ingenuity looks less like a grand plan and more like working with whatever is within reach.

Wyatt and I were setting up our obscenely glittery and flock filled Christmas tree, spreading out the branches, when a bunch of glitter and flocking fell straight from the top into his face. There was sputtering and gagging on his part..... and a lot of laughter on mine.

After a quick recovery, he disappeared for a moment and came back with the only solution he could find. A hat and pair of sunglasses. Problem solved.

Ingenuity is about being adaptive, creative enough to try something new, and confident enough to move forward even when things do not go as planned. Even if you don't have the perfect tools.

The leaders who make the most progress are not always the ones with the biggest budgets or the cleanest plans. They are the ones who can look around, assess what they have, and say, “We can figure this out.”

Progress is sometimes about using what is already in front of you in a smarter way, not about doing more.

And sometimes, it starts with a hat and a pair of sunglasses.

One of my clients "Amanda" owns a service based business here in town, she felt like she was working from sunrise to sunset.

Her days were filled with decisions, conversations, and expectations. People admired her drive, yet she carried a quiet exhaustion she rarely shared.

She kept saying yes.
She kept pushing.
She kept filling her days until everything felt urgent and nothing felt clear.

When we first started working together, she described her week as “running without ever arriving anywhere.”

Her effort never slowed, but her sense of direction had faded.
During one of our sessions, she walked through everything she was carrying.

After she finished, I pointed out,
“You have been moving so fast that you have not had a chance to see what actually matters. Let’s slow the pace so the path becomes visible again.”

That became our turning point.

We took one focused hour.
One hour to sort through what truly moved her organization forward.
One hour to separate urgency from importance.
One hour to reconnect her decisions to the outcomes she cared about most.

In that hour, her overwhelm softened into clarity, her energy became focused rather than frantic. Her team felt the difference, because when she found alignment, the people she lead found it too.

Amanda was never as far from breakthrough as she feared.

She simply needed space, perspective, and a coach who could help her see the road she was already walking.

A few aligned decisions changed everything.

I have been working with an amazing leader for the last year.

When we first met, she had the skill, the experience, and the instincts. What she did not have was confidence in her own voice.

She second guessed decisions she was fully capable of making. She hesitated to share her new ideas even when they were exactly what the team needed. She led quietly, almost apologetically, even though the people around her trusted her more than she trusted herself.

The turning point came when she began building confidence in herself, in her decisions, and in her ability to lead. As she grew more grounded, everything around her began to shift.

Leaders who trust themselves help others feel safe.
Leaders who speak with clarity create clarity for their teams.
Leaders who stand firm make it easier for others to follow.

Harvard Business Review found that employees are far more likely to trust and follow leaders who show consistent confidence in decision making. Confidence is about steadiness and self trust, not volume.

And that is what happened for her.
As her confidence grew, her team became more aligned.
Communication improved.
Ownership increased.
People leaned into her leadership because she finally leaned into it herself.

There is also a practical advantage. Teams led by confident leaders are more productive because people are not spending energy guessing at expectations. They know where they are going, why it matters, and how to move forward together.

Confidence is a leadership tool that strengthens entire organizations.

Lately I have been thinking a lot about the people who sit in the second in command seat.

Because if you know one, you know this: they are the glue.

They are the person everyone turns to when something needs to get done, figured out, or quietly solved behind the scenes. They carry a lot of weight, and most of the time, no one realizes how much they actually hold.

They manage the details the visionary forgets.
They steady the team when things get chaotic.
They carry expectations that are not always clear.
And somehow, they keep everything moving forward.

It is one of the hardest roles in any organization and one of the least supported.

If you have a strong second in command, you have someone who makes your entire organization better every single day.