“Sharks eat fish that swim funny. Don’t swim funny at the Academy.” This was the advice one of the more savvy instructors gave to incoming classes of new FBI special agents at the FBI Academy in Quantico, Virginia. Smart, motivated, and raring to go, these new agents wanted to succeed and, more than anything else, to make a difference. All leaders, by their very nature, want to make a difference. And all leaders, even the most successful ones, hit bumps along their leadership journeys.
I swam funny more than once as an FBI agent. Along the way, I was slow to learn some lessons and consequently had more than a few “shark” bites taken out of my hide—a number of which I deserved! Ultimately, my study, practice, and teaching of leadership ...
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