The Veteran Edge Leadership Playbook: Lesson 1
Leading Under Pressure: Decision-Making in High-Stakes Environments
In the Army, pressure wasn’t the exception — it was the norm. Missions had to be executed with limited information, shifting conditions, and no room for hesitation. Leaders learned quickly that making the right call under pressure wasn’t about having perfect clarity — it was about acting decisively with the best information available, and then adapting as conditions changed.
That principle carried over directly into my civilian career when I managed a global platform that provided network services to the Army. Outages on this system weren’t just technical hiccups — they had real-world impacts on mission readiness and thousands of users across the globe.
What Leading Under Pressure Really Means
When the network went down, hesitation was not an option. My team and I knew that the most important thing we could do was act quickly, rely on the processes we had already established, and restore services without delay.
Calm clarity: Leaders separate facts from noise and focus on what matters most.
Decisiveness: You make the call with the best information available — waiting for 100% certainty can cause more damage than a fast decision.
Empowerment: Trusting your team to make decisions at their level ensures faster, more effective responses.
Those processes we built weren’t paperwork exercises — they were frameworks that gave us confidence in moments of chaos. And when paired with empowered decision-making, they became the difference between prolonged outages and rapid restoration.
Why It Matters in Business & Programs
High-stakes pressure moments don’t just happen on the battlefield or in IT operations — they happen in every organization:
A system outage impacting a customer’s operations.
A proposal deadline with millions on the line.
A sudden shift in client priorities mid-contract.
In each case, leaders who communicate clearly, empower their teams, and act decisively keep momentum moving forward. Those who hesitate risk missed opportunities, lost trust, and compounding problems.
A Veteran Edge Perspective
On one particularly challenging day, a major outage rippled across our global Army network. The situation was urgent, and everyone was waiting to see how leadership would respond.
Instead of waiting for every detail, we immediately activated our restoration process. Teams shifted into their roles, communication channels opened, and the priority was clear: restore services as quickly as possible.
I empowered my team to make the calls they needed at their level, without waiting for approvals to move forward. Because of that trust and structure:
✅ Services were restored faster than expected.
✅ The team performed with confidence, knowing they were supported and empowered.
✅ Stakeholders gained trust — not because problems never happened, but because they saw how effectively we responded under pressure.
That experience reinforced a lesson I carry into every program: when the pressure is on, decisive leadership and empowered teams turn disruption into restoration.
Practical Applications of Decision-Making Under Pressure
So how does this apply beyond a global Army network?
In IT programs: When systems fail, decisive leadership coordinates response teams, prioritizes fixes, and communicates with stakeholders in real time.
In capture & proposals: High-pressure deadlines require quick prioritization of resources and confidence in the proposal strategy.
In leadership: Pressure moments are when leaders earn trust — not by being perfect, but by being present, calm, and accountable.
“When the pressure is on, decisive leadership and empowered teams turn disruption into restoration.”
Closing
Whether on the battlefield, in a global IT operation, or in a boardroom, leaders are judged not when conditions are easy, but when they are toughest. Leading under pressure isn’t about perfection — it’s about clarity, decisiveness, and empowering your team to act.
👉 Explore my Case Studies to see leadership under pressure in action.