Muddy Boot Leadership, LLC

04/01/2026

Good morning guys, I hope you are having a great week. A friend of mine from church shared this article he wrote and I think is something we should read and share with our teams. Mental health for first responders has carried a stigma but I do believe that is changing for the better. Keep checking on your folks and act in love. GET BETTER EVERY DAY!

Thrive Why high-functioning first responders carry hidden trauma.

03/31/2026

Muddy Monday #38

I hope you guys are having a great week. We had fi****ms training today and it made me ponder a phrase we use in training, "did I hit it, did it work?" There is more to that than just marksmanship training. In the military, we talk about "measures of performance" and "measures of effectiveness". Both ideas state the same reality...did I perform the task properly and did it accomplish the desired goal. Often we select a course of action and the outcome is not what we want. We are confident that we executed the course of action according to plan, so it should have worked. Sometimes we simply select the wrong solution. When evaluating a solution, first ask did we complete the task properly and then ask, did it work. The answer to each one of those questions is critical to truly solving the problem. It reinforces accountability and responsibility at the leader level and aids in avoiding the blame game. GET BETTER EVERY DAY!

03/23/2026

Muddy Monday #37

We enjoyed a great training session last week with Eaton Fayetteville. We spent two days with leaders that were full of passion and seeking to improve their teams. Leaders provide passion and purpose to their teams...their behavior is contagious. As addressed by these leaders, look for ways to make improvements daily, regardless of how small they may be, it is still improving your team. Make the time to engage with your folks and make each engagement matter. Seek opportunities to cross the divisional lines inside your organization to build UNITY OF EFFORT. Ask the questions, what do you need and how can I help? These leaders used this time to get out of their silos and reach out to peer leaders. That's humility and looking out for the entire organization...great job guys. GET BETTER EVERY DAY!

03/16/2026

Muddy Monday #36

Lt. Shuping was teaching me relational leadership before I was smart enough to be paying good attention.

"Lt, thank you for all those lessons by example. I'm still missing you but I'm still hanging on to the wisdom you left behind. RIP sir."

Stay Muddy Everyone. And if there is a leader in your circle that makes a positive difference in your life. Let 'em know. Or you might find yourself making facebook posts about them after they are gone to say the things you should have said earlier.

02/26/2026

Good morning Muddy Maniacs

I hope you are well. I wanted to let y'all know that we have finally launched our website at www.muddybootleadership.com

Check it out, share it with others, let us know how we can help your team.

We help leaders build trust so their teams commit to each other, the mission, and the work in front of them.

02/23/2026

Muddy Monday #35

I hope you are having a great start to your week. I'm going to brag on my son a little bit but there is a lesson to learn here. He was wrestling in the state dual team finals and his match was going to clutch the victory. He was extremely nervous before the match and his biggest fear was he would lose it for the team. We talked briefly before the match and I told him that, of course, this is the biggest match of his high school career to date. There was a lot riding on his performance and anyone would be feeling the stress. I told him that all he can do is his best, give it all you have and there are no regrets. Before I walked away, I simply asked him to stop being scared. Stop fearing the possibility of losing. If you only think about losing, you are paralyzed by fear and it's harder to "wrestle free". I wanted him to wrestle free of fear and just wrestle his best match. He won by second period pin and they are the 2026 state team dual champions. I stood in the bleachers speechless in what I saw. We witnessed a young man set fear aside and give it his best. After the match, I told him that I was happy they won, but I was filled with JOY that he overcame his fear regardless of the outcome. As you can see in the photo, he was overjoyed after the victory. He felt the passion, the risk, and the reward.

As leaders, we are often fearful of failing. That fear can hold us hostage to remain "safe" and never take a risk. Leadership, like any other relationship, is risky. Without the risk, there's little true reward. Go out there and "lead free". Of course, we need to manage risk and be thoughtful...not fearful. It's ok to fail. Just give it your best and GET BETTER EVERY DAY!!!

02/17/2026

Remember the "Y" in Muddy stands for "You Are Last". But........not never. As Servant Leaders, we put our people's needs ahead of our own but that doesn't mean that we neglect ourselves. Sometimes our "cups" need refilling. So take the time to refuel your spirits. That's what we did. Get Better Every Day!

02/12/2026

Muddy Monday #33 (a little late)

If you don't know who this coach is...shame on you. This is Cael Sanderson, the head wrestling coach at Penn State University. During his wrestling career, he won four Utah state championships, four NCAA championships, had a collegiate record of 159-0 (the only undefeated wrestler in NCAA history), and an Olympic gold medalist. As a coach at Penn State, he has led the team to 12 team national championships out of his 14 seasons. He is a winner. Not because he sets out to win, he sets out to get better. He commented in an interview that wrestling is just a game, one he loves, but just a game. He is more interested in building great men than building great wrestlers. His humility is unbelievable. His goal is that his wrestlers are happy and successful. Let's be the leader that focuses on the team, the long game of life, and GET BETTER EVERY DAY!

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02/03/2026

Muddy Monday #32

Good morning y'all, I hope you are doing well. During our last staff meeting, we watched a video from Ryan Dunlap and I began watching others. He brings a lot of wisdom in his words. This video touches on conflict resolution, but focuses on our responsibility in the conversation. Take a listen and GET BETTER EVERY DAY!

https://youtu.be/kfHhMPpt48o

Ryan reveals how every conflict is really a negotiation between your refined and reactive selves—and how mastering that inner dialogue changes everything.htt...

01/19/2026

Muddy Monday #31

Good morning Monday Maniacs! I posted a few weeks ago about the "Captain's Jar" that my team gave me as a Christmas gift with personalized notes inside. I'm supposed to pull a note each day and this was today's note... "The two most important days in your life are the day you are born and the day you find out why". This quote from Mark Twain gets to the point of finding your purpose in life and reinforces our last core value of YOU ARE LAST! As a leader, your team is the reason why you are here, not the results you produce at your organization. I heard Penn State's wrestling coach, Cael Sanderson, say in a press conference recently, "we aren't defined by wins and losses, we define ourselves by something bigger, getting better." He is the most successful college wrestling coach in the country and his stated goal is to, not build great wrestlers, but to build better men. Its the pursuit of their greatness as humans that drives him...that's his purpose. Leaders, that's why you are here...make your team better people. GET BETTER EVERY DAY!

01/14/2026

Muddy Monday #30 (a little late)

Good morning guys, I hope you are having a great week. I'm sure we all remember when we were the Rookie...you knew nothing, you felt out of place, the old-timers wouldn't talk to you, you had to earn your reputation. It seemed like everyone else knew everything, didn't make mistakes, and had it all together.

Well last week, I had a conversation with a rookie on my team and it made me think about DEVOTION TO TEAM. Most of the time, veterans tell the rookies how easy they have it, how it was much wilder years ago, and how much harder we all worked when we were younger. What I realized is that we don't tell the rookies what to expect to happen to them. How this job can change them.

Our conversation regarded a call that night where we were powerless to help someone that really needed help. We all know that feeling where for whatever reason, we can't find justice for a victim. The rookie was obviously bothered by this but didn't want me to notice. I know that this is the first time he has felt this helplessness, but I also know it won't be the last. This was his first time, it was my 1,000th time. I took this opportunity to listen to how he felt, often some encouragement, and then give some long term advice. Seek positivity outside of the job. Dive into your faith, spend quality time with family, get a hobby, exercise regularly, do something positive and do it routinely. Leaders and veterans, the rookies hang on your every word. Take the time to invest in the future of their hearts and minds. Train them to protect those as well. GET BETTER EVERY DAY!