America, we have a serious problem.

Leadership is at a deficit in our country, and it’s not just in politics. Business executives today are deeply concerned about their leadership bench -- 85% of executives say that they are not confident in their leadership pipelines. And that’s not all. The supply of leaders isn’t the only problem, the [lack of] leadership development in companies today are as well.

I went to the Army’s SERE C course (Survival, Evasions, Resistance, and Escape) in January 2010. It was extremely cold then, and I recall losing 20 pounds during our few weeks being “out in the woods,” but nonetheless, it was an incredible course that revealed exactly what you’re made of.

A Special Forces A-team (Operational Detachment-Alpha) consists of 12 Green Berets. Each member of the team is an expert in his speciality, whether it’s in weapons, communications, engineering, or medical (trauma) treatment. And for redundancy, there are two Green Berets who are trained in each of these specialty areas.

For nearly two decades, the United States has spearheaded the post-9/11 War on Terror throughout the world, and brave American men and women have volunteered to join our Armed Forces and defend our nation’s interests. Today, there are over 3.3 million veterans who chose to serve since September 11, 2001 and amongst them, an even smaller group of patriots who chose to lead.

Many of you have seen the study that Google launched called Project Oxygen, to prove that the quality of a manager didn’t impact a team’s performance. Their hypothesis was that some of Google’s mid-level managers and leaders are, “at best, a necessary evil, and at worst, a layer of bureaucracy” -- the study was supposed to help Google move towards a flat organizational structure without any managers.

Recently, I was having a conversation with a Private Equity client looking for Operators to run their portfolio companies. As a firm closing out its fourth fund and soon-to-be starting their fifth, they know who they’re looking for when it comes to Operators running their acquisitions.

This “gray” zone is an environment between black and white, where nothing is for certain and nearly everything is interwoven with each other and hence pretty complicated. There is no one right answer. Much like in war, or in business. Special Operators need to be comfortable with this uncertainty, as well as entrepreneurs and leaders of businesses.

Whatever the outcome the person has achieved, appreciation and gratitude is best exemplified when demonstrating the impact of their actions. It also provides positive feedback to the recipient, to better understand what your expectations are for future success!