BE THE LIGHT!
HEY THERE! I know this looks like a long read, but I promise it’s worth your time. In fact, I hope you will realize there are tools here, and maybe some you might be willing to share with others, and even one you would be willing to give back to me if we have the honor of meeting while at Adobe Summit. Hope to see you there!
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WHAT IT’S ALL ABOUT
As Adobe Summit approaches, I’ve been thinking less about the sessions—and more about the people I can’t wait to see again.
More specifically, I’ve been thinking about what it feels like to be part of something special—and what that experience taught me about leadership.
Because if you’ve ever been part of the Adobe Champions community or a strong user group, you know exactly what I mean when I say this:
It’s not just a network.
It’s a tribe.
A unique and my crazy-intelligent-weird-(hey did I miss anything)-amazing-beautiful-the-best-kind-of-really-cool-extended-family of incredibly smart, talented, passionate (yeah, redundant, but I really don’t care at this point) people who genuinely want to see each other succeed. (YEAH THIS!!!)
And once you’ve experienced that kind of environment, it changes you. (FOR THE ABSOLUTE BESTEST!)
--- Was that over the top? It was probably over the top, but over the top is just scratching the surface ---- so MOVING ON!!!
THE CULTURE THAT CHANGES EVERYTHING
In most professional environments, there’s an undercurrent of competition.
People protect their ideas.
They guard their position.
They measure success individually.
But in this community, it’s different.
We lift each other up.
We share knowledge freely.
We celebrate each other’s wins.
We step in when someone is struggling—not because we have to, but because that’s just what we do.
I remember a moment when someone took time out of their own packed schedule to help me work through an issue they didn’t have to own. No recognition, no credit, just a genuine desire to help. That stuck with me.
There’s no ego in it.
Or at least, ego doesn’t drive it.
What drives it is something much more powerful:
A shared belief that we are always better when we stand together.
[invoking a certain superhero movie when they all had to fight evil villains invading from space – and one of them tried to wipe out half of the universe– yeah, that one!]
A Different Kind of Leadership
Being part of this kind of environment reshapes how you see leadership.
- It moves you away from questions like:
- “Why didn’t this get done?”
- “Who’s responsible for this?”
- “What went wrong here?”
And replaces them with behaviors far more productive:
“How may I help you so we ALL cross the finish line together?”
That one shift changes everything, and.
Turns leadership into partnership.
Replaces blame with curiosity.
Creates space for people to do their very best work.
And most importantly— builds trust.
- In other words, psychological manipulation is reduced to the potential
possibility of a micro anomaly, folks!
(Okay, yes, I know that depends entirely on context, just go with it!) 😉
People Over Ego
One of the most important lessons I’ve taken from this community is this:
Leadership is NEVER about protecting your ego.
It’s about protecting your people.
[Can I get an AMEN, somebody? Eh? I said… CAN I GET AN AMEN?!]
[AMEN, LORD!!!]
When leaders prioritize ego, you see it immediately:
- Blame gets pushed downward
- Mistakes get magnified
- Feedback becomes criticism
- Fear replaces trust
But when leaders prioritize people:
- Problems get solved collaboratively
- Growth becomes the goal
- Feedback becomes coaching
- Trust becomes the foundation
And the results follow.
They always do.
From Blame to Building
In the best environments, when something breaks, the conversation doesn’t
turn into an investigation.
It turns into a collaboration.
Not:
“Why did this fail?”
But:
“What happened, and how do we fix it together?”
That shift creates psychological safety—the kind of environment where people aren’t afraid to speak up, try new ideas, or admit when something isn’t working.
That’s where real progress happens.
Why This Matters So Much to Me
I’ve worked for many companies and many managers and seen both sides of the coin.
I’ve experienced environments where collaboration and respect are the norm—
…and I’ve experienced environments where THEY. ARE. NOT.
The constant and unfortunate truth is:
- It only takes ONCE for you to benefit by participating as a member of a
team whose members truly support each other.
Pardon the veiled cliché, but anything close to something out of the ordinary that hints at lesser quality should immediately stand out like the sorest thumb you have ever experienced!
Trust me, I’ve been there, and I have first-hand, on-the-job experience that if I exposed all of the gory details – not happening anytime soon or on this platform, not sure even how or when that would even happen – but I can honestly tell you, the accounts would make seasoned veterans attempting to pick their jaws up off the floor for weeks.
The sad story is this I haven’t encountered this kind of behavior just once.
No, not even twice.
If you think it was three times, you’re being generous, but you are getting
closer.
No. It even shocks me, but if I’m perfectly honest with you, when I look at what I have witnessed since my professional career when I walked in the doors of Sentry Insurance as a wet-behind-the ears Sales Rep back in 1997… I mean can you believe I have actually experienced this absolute ridiculousness for a total of FOUR TIMES in my career?!
I’m sorry, but each time it happens, one would think this crazy behavior would be easier for me to suss out, but it always starts out just the same, with one tiny little comment here, or another little nitpick there. The only fortunate thing that’s been different on my end is I gained experience over time and was finally able to pick up on some of the hallmarks and nuances just a slight bit earlier each time. Of course, this is something I plan to write a WHOLE lot more about in greater depth at a later point in time. I have yet to determine that point in time, but we’ll all just have to wait and see.
Meanwhile, we can, at the very least point out the obvious differences
between:
A. The type of leadership that build people vs.
B. The dark and “evil” menacing leadership (I say dictatorship) that manages through pressure (shall we say a certain Dark Lord??) MWahahahhahhahhh!
[Can somebody turn on some lights – that’s scary!!]
Anyway, you start to feel the weight of certain, icky environments that simply don’t allow people to thrive. ICK – YUCK – BLAHH!! GET AWAYYYY!
The best leaders don’t create followers. Nor do they have magic wands - much as they would probably just love to sprinkle spritely little sycophants to go bouncing around everywhere they go. Ever hear the phrase,
“Everywhere I go, I’m surrounded by idiots!”? BOINKY – BOINKY!
[Somebody give me a fly swatter!]
MWAHAHAHAHHA!! SPLATTT!!!
TRUE leaders create environments where their teams can learn and thrive.
– PASS ON WHAT YOU HAVE LEARNED!
Then, you realize just how important it truly is to be intentional about the kind of leader you choose to be. That’s right, CHOOSE to be. Life is about choices, and every choice we make has consequences. Remember that!
Why This Matters So Much to Me
Remember what I just said about choices? This is where it all culminates for
me, as a leader, as a person, father, a husband, and most of all as a human
being who is trying to find his way like everyone else on this spinning, blue
little planet.
Take it from me:
Leadah-ship ain’t jus’ ‘bout ree-sults, PAD-NUH!
In fact, it ain’t ‘bout no dee-liv’ry, meh-trics, or pre-formance, nee-vah!!!
It’s ALL ‘BOUT IMPAYACT ---- SUH!!! 🤠
All kidding aside, although the message is still sound - It’s about HOW the people we interact with each and every day FEEL after you work with them.
Did they feel supported?
Did they feel respected?
Did they grow?
Did you recognize something about them, or simply take the time to get to know that person a little better? It’s that unique and personal human connection we sometimes forget to make that so may people in our
community choose to ignore or completely abandon. Why do we make it so hard? The person sitting across from us is not so different. We all have families, we all have lives, we all have problems, we all have hopes and
dreams and hopefully, we all have the desire to keep on living for the next day. We need more empathy, which needs we need to learn how to watch, listen, and be more sensitive! Loving your fellow human being is not
reaching out and giving him (or her) a hug, it’s talking a walk together, or having a drink together, or finding a spot where you can just talk or smiling at a stranger as you pass them on the street or in the hall. No matter who it is, when, how, what, when, or why, you might just learn something new, not just about them – about you!!
Did you leave the environment you visited just a little better than you found it? Remember what you learned in Kindergarten. Did you step outside and enjoy the sun, or the rain, or jump in a puddle? Did you catch your
reflection in the mirror and realize, “Hey, I can make a difference one person at a time?”
All of these lessons I have continued to pay forward, and they are everything I have attempted to model, whether for my family or my team, both they and I know these are core and essential behaviors we all need to perpetuate. Our survival depends on it!
The Adobe Champions community prides itself on educating its life-long inductees (whether current or alumnus) on these very same tenets, and this aspect is such an important component of key behaviors I want so many people to also learn and understand.
So, as we head into Adobe Summit, this is my challenge—both to myself and to everyone who reads this:
BE THE LEADER WHO LIFTS OTHERS UP.
BE THE PERSON WHO CHOOSES COLLABORATION OVER EGO.
BE THE SPECIAL SOMEONE WHO WALKS UP TO A STRANGER AND ASKS,
“HOW MAY I HELP YOU, OR WOULD YOU JUST LIKE TO TALK?”
BE---THE----LIGHT!! 🌞
That’s all folks! [Well almost. Heh heh! Hang on! ]
It’s really just that simple, because the darkness is pretty lonely for everyone else out there still waiting for us.
In fact, if just one of you, I’m just asking, please - JUST ONE - can do the simplest thing as just smile 😊 at the crabbiest person in the room.
Even if you witness no visible change at the time, you have already introduced more uplift than that crabby person had right up until that exact minute, that SECOND. And if that uplift results in some kind of change, later that day, that week, or that month or even that year, then what is stopping any one of us from attempting the same thing. What is the worst thing that can happen when we take the time to perform a simple act of kindness, be that person, the one who took the time to give another person just one human moment to genuinely tip the corners of your mouth upward plump your cheeks a little (maybe even look a little goofy – hey, who cares, you might be changing a life, right??) to make the life of that person one microsecond out of time that much better? JUST SMILE, DARN IT!! [OK, sorry, I got a little carried away there, but man, it sounds so easy, right?]
Think about what we do every day, we don’t have the potential to just improve outcomes --- we seriously have the potential to change the whole fluffin’ world, man! – ONE STINKIN’ PERSON AT A TIME.
Just let that sink in. Not domino effect, it’s much bigger than that. Right?
Think about it, and stay with me.
One simple action endures beyond everything else – YOUR LIGHT!
OUR LIGHT!
One person, two, two people, four people, sixteen, two-hundred fifty-six. I am NOT writing any more numbers - you better get the math, because this should be a no-brainer, right?! Just so I’m not making too many
assumptions, I’m assuming many of you are analysts, mathematicians, database people – I mean, this is an exponential return!
If the LIGHT we keep spreading were a visible, tangible…. for lack of a better word… THING..ISH…[whatever!!]….. we could potentially produce enough tangible light to outshine our own sun and become one of the brightest objects in the universe, in my very humble opinion.
Hyperbolic? Well… you tell me. How optimistic/cynical/realistic are you?
Well, I just gave you a slight hint with my opinion, but as a professional, I am a digital analyst, and I deal in real results every day, which includes behavioral analytics; and, the KPIs inform me that with proper stimuli, we should be highly encouraged. 😉
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I’m looking forward to seeing my tribe (my crazy-intelligent-weird-(hey did I miss anything)-amazing-beautiful-the-best-kind-of-really-cool-extended-family) at Summit so much I can hardly see past the tears of anticipation and excitement!
Let’s keep building each other up. See you all there. In fact, I may consider some darker sunglasses this time! 😅😎