How I Lead
Leadership & Team Culture
Leadership & Team Culture
Real leadership isn’t about proving anything—it’s about building something meaningful with people you trust and respect.
After more than 30 years of combined service to the people of the United States and in defense of our Constitution, I’ve learned that the strongest leaders are those who were first built up by others and then paid that kindness forward.
My journey began as a basic trainee, a Private First Class who didn’t know jack about the Army and not much more about life. I was shaped by exceptional leaders who taught me that in order to learn how to lead, you must first learn how to take orders. More importantly, they showed me that real strength is shown through empowering others to discover their own potential.
As a Drill Sergeant, I discovered the most rewarding part of leadership: taking what amounted to children full of self-doubt and building them into confident, capable young men and women ready to excel. Later, as an instructor at various Army leadership courses, I had the privilege of helping junior and senior noncommissioned officers develop into leaders who could inspire others to follow independent of rank and position.
These experiences taught me that leadership is both an art and a learnable skill–one that can be developed in anyone willing to put in the work. But the real breakthroughs came through mentorship, belief, and helping people recognize strengths they never knew they had. Turns out, building people up works a hell of a lot better than tearing them down.
These lessons continued through my 17+ years as a Special Agent with Homeland Security Investigations, where outstanding mentors further shaped my understanding of authentic leadership.
My undercover work—living among outlaw bikers, arms dealers, and others in high-stakes environments—taught me about real pressure and decision-making when everything is on the line. And that perspective makes it obvious to me that what we do in our professional work, while important, isn’t life-or-death, so I’m not here to turn the workplace into a stress factory.
But more importantly, working with the victims rescued during my human trafficking investigations showed me that behind every mission are real people with real stories that matter.
During those years, I learned that strength and compassion aren’t opposites – they’re partners. The toughness I developed proved everything I needed to prove to myself, so I don’t feel compelled to prove it to anyone else. Now it serves as a foundation that allows me to be genuinely supportive without being soft on standards.
Now, in my role as National Program Manager for Victim Protection at the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking, I bring that people-first approach to everything I do. I’ve seen what happens when leaders rule through intimidation instead of inspiration. That’s management, not leadership, and it’s not the culture I build.
Having proven to myself what I’m capable of in challenging environments, I no longer need to prove anything to anyone else—that need to prove oneself is a sign of nothing but a fragile ego. Instead, I invest that energy into bringing out the best in others.
Some of my most successful team members and subordinates throughout the many stages of my professional life started uncertain, questioning whether they belonged. My role is to see potential where others see problems, to invest in people’s growth, and to create an environment where they can surprise themselves with what they accomplish.
The lessons from my military and law enforcement background aren’t about creating a rigid hierarchy but rather about the power of teamwork, clear communication, and mutual support. The strongest teams are built when everyone understands their role and feels empowered to execute it with confidence.
Just as the best military units operate on the principle that everyone knows the jobs above and below them, team members here develop leadership capabilities regardless of their formal role. Whether you’re interested in leadership positions or not, you’ll learn these skills because understanding how to lead makes you more effective in everything you do.
As team members or contractors, your focus is on delivering exceptional results. As a leader, my focus is on ensuring you have everything you need to succeed—the resources, support, guidance, and environment that allows you to do your best work.
I don’t just review your work, I help you understand the “why” behind it and guide you toward mastery. Senior team members mentor junior members because we know that everyone succeeds when knowledge flows freely.
I’ll advocate for you, remove obstacles from your path, and ensure you have what you need to excel. Your success is my success, and I take that responsibility seriously.
You’ll hear me say regularly that I want you to become too good for us and hope you stay anyway. By this I mean that my goal is to give you the space and support to develop to a level where you could succeed anywhere and hopefully create an environment so positive and growth-oriented that you choose to stay and continue building something great with us.
Regardless of your role, you’ll develop strategic thinking, decision-making skills, and the ability to guide and support others. These aren’t just management skills, they’re life skills that make you more valuable in everything you do.
You’ll always know where you stand, what’s expected, and how success is measured. I don’t do corporate speak or sugar-coat feedback. If you’re taking 40 words to say what 4 will accomplish, I might snap my fingers to signal “get to the point.” It’s not disrespect—I probably already know where you’re headed and we’re burning time we don’t have. I subscribe to the 15-minute meeting philosophy. Some people find this rude. I find unnecessary verbosity rude. We’ll figure out if we can meet in the middle.
I will definitely curse to you, I will rarely curse at you, and I will never curse you. Difference: “That fucking deadline is tight but we’ll hit it” versus “You fucked that up” versus “You’re a fuckup.” One is colorful language in a tough situation, one is frustrated feedback about an action, one is an attack on you as a person. The first is daily, the second is rare, the third never happens.
Confusion is a leadership failure, not a team member failure. I’ll mentor you, guide you, and celebrate your wins while maintaining the standards of excellence that make our work meaningful. Growth happens when support and expectations work together.
I’m direct. Sometimes blunt. I move fast and expect you to keep pace. In American military and law enforcement culture, this is normal. I know that in many cultures, this directness might feel aggressive at first. It’s not.
Here’s what I need you to understand: If I’m working with you, I already respect you. The snap fingers thing? The interruptions when I know where you’re going? The quick-fire questions? That’s me treating you like a peer who can handle the pace, not like someone I’m trying to intimidate.
I will never embarrass you publicly. I will never question your intelligence. But I will push you to get comfortable with speed and brevity because that’s how we serve clients exceptionally. If something I do feels disrespectful, tell me. I can’t adjust what I don’t know is landing wrong. But I also can’t become someone I’m not. We’ll figure out how to work together effectively—that’s what good teams do.
Having spent decades in environments where negativity and intimidation were sometimes present, I’m committed to building something better. We have zero tolerance for toxic behavior, demeaning treatment, or fear-based dynamics.
The grit and edge my background has required of me in the past taught me that real strength comes from building others up, not tearing them down. We lead by example, communicate with respect, and create an environment where everyone can become the leader they’re capable of being.
That said, this isn’t a participation trophy kind of place. We’re building something meaningful here, and that requires people who give a damn about excellence.
“I’ll be honest—I was scared of everything when I first met Drill Sergeant Dunnigan. I had zero confidence in myself. But he had this way of giving you responsibilities that you never thought you could handle, convincing you that you could, and somehow you’d find yourself succeeding at things that terrified you a week earlier. He pushed me past the fear, not just of him and his scary hat but also of my own limitations. What really got me was watching him do the same thing with soldier after soldier around me. He had this gift for seeing what you were capable of before you ever saw it yourself.”
“I remember thinking Clancy was crazy when he told me I should start teaching other investors what I was doing. I mean, who was I to mentor anyone? I was just figuring things out myself. But he kept insisting that I had expertise others needed, and he wouldn’t let me talk myself out of it. He practically pushed me into starting that first mentorship program. Now here I am, managing multiple properties, hosting calls for hundreds of investors, and getting invited on podcasts as some kind of expert. Funny thing is, he was right all along…I just needed someone to believe in me loudly enough that I couldn’t ignore it anymore.”
“He’s tough on the work, easy on the person. Clancy doesn’t just tell you what to do—he shows you why it matters and helps you figure out how to do it better.”
I will never ask you to do something I wouldn’t do myself. I will communicate clearly, support your growth, and hold both of us accountable to standards that make this team exceptional. I will celebrate your wins, learn from our mistakes together, and ensure you have what you need to deliver work you can be proud of.
I won’t scream at you, threaten you, or belittle you to get results—this isn’t the movies and you aren’t enlisting in the army. Respect comes from clarity, follow-through, and always doing your best.
I also won’t pretend that all approaches are equally effective or that mediocrity serves anyone well. There’s a right way to serve our clients, support our mission, and build a culture worth being part of. We’ll get there together, as a team, but we’re definitely getting there.
If this resonates with how you want to work and the type of leader you want to follow and/or one day become, let’s explore whether we’re a mutual fit. If it feels too demanding or doesn’t align with your working style, I respect that…and it saves us both time and frustration.
If you know you’re easily irritated by coworkers, prone to speaking in ways others find disrespectful, or the type who claims to be “brutally honest” when really you’re just being kind of a dick — this won’t be the place for you. Our culture demands respect in how we speak to and about one another, even when we disagree.
The best teams are built on shared values and mutual respect. I’m looking for people who share mine.
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