What True Leadership Looks Like in Crisis (and Why Tommy Nails It)

Leadership is a vast, timeless topic—one I’m so passionate about I could fill a whole book. We’ve seen it explored in ancient China, India, Greece, and Rome, then evolving through Medieval Europe. Think diverse thinkers like Sun Tzu, Confucius, Plato, Aristotle, and even Niccolò Machiavelli. Over centuries, leadership has shifted from innate traits to behaviors and styles, then to models like transactional, transformational, and situational. Lately, we’ve added charismatic, authentic, emotionally intelligent, and servant leadership (with a modern revival), plus emerging ideas: inclusive, adaptive, evidence-based, AI-augmented, regenerative/sustainable, and hybrid/remote…

But strip away the jargon—what does it all mean? Do we really need dozens of models to understand what leadership does?

Management vs. Leadership: Tools Are Great, But They’re Not the Same

First, let’s clarify a common mix-up: management isn’t leadership.

• Management organizes and coordinates resources to hit specific goals—think efficiency, processes, and execution.
• Leadership inspires and guides people toward a shared vision—think motivation, influence, and direction.

Both are vital (and they overlap), but they demand different skills. Leaders can borrow management tools, like the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle (aka the Shewhart Model), or Modern Scouting’s EDGE method (Explain, Demonstrate, Guide, Enable). These are frameworks—invaluable, but not leadership itself. They’re the hammer; leadership is the vision for what you’re building.

Tommy’s Story: Leadership Revealed in Chaos

In my novel, The Long Walk Home: When the Power Dies, 14-year-old Tommy starts as an ordinary kid heading home from summer camp—1,200 miles away when all power vanishes worldwide. This apocalypse doesn’t create his leadership; it reveals it.

Can leadership be taught, or is it innate? In my experience leading leaders, I’ve seen both: naturals who glide into influence, and grinders who earn every win through blood, sweat, and tears. Both can become great—or fail spectacularly.

Even “naturals” need mentoring and must stay open to feedback. Without guidance or ruthless self-reflection, potential stalls. Future leaders grow fastest through honest introspection.

Tommy’s upbringing values volunteering, so to dodge boredom at Denver International Airport (DIA), he becomes a message runner in a now-powerless sprawl. Effortlessly, he recruits Bethany Brown (and later her dad, Jason) to join. This is subtle servant leadership—putting others’ needs first—which Tommy repeats throughout.

“We might think that, provided you did the right thing, it did not matter how or why you did it—whether you did it willingly or unwillingly, sulkily or cheerfully, through fear of public opinion or for its own sake. But the truth is that right actions done for the wrong reason do not help to build the internal quality or character called a “virtue”, and it is this quality or character that really matters.”
– C.S. Lewis Mere Christianity

Bethany works the first-aid station, facing medicine without power: no refrigerated drugs, no oxygen concentrators. She sees desperation up close and unloads the emotional toll on Tommy one night. As complementary leaders, they share the burden—and emerge wiser, stronger.

Vision, Tough Calls, and Building Trust (Even with Enemies)

Strong leaders hold a crystal-clear goal. Tommy’s? Get home. He discusses it with the Browns, voicing safety concerns at DIA. After grim news shared by Jason Brown, Tommy persuades the group—from a position of youth and weakness—to walk to Sacramento. En route, dangers mount; Tommy collaborates with Jason for safety, then finds refuge with the Browns’ family friends.

But comfort threatens his goal. In a gut-wrenching choice, Tommy leaves—abandoning budding family ties. He writes notes, then broods over the risk. Leadership isn’t easy; it demands sacrificing relationships for his greater vision.

Early on, he nurses a broken stranger… who turns out to be his bully, Charley. Tommy could walk away. Instead, compassion wins: he heals Charley’s body (and later, psyche) while grappling with his own homesickness. Charley learns to trust Tommy’s judgment, follows him to Salt Lake City, and reawakens as a resourceful leader himself. Tommy models authenticity, turning a nemesis into an ally.

The group—Tommy, Bethany, Jason, Amy, and Charley—constantly adapts. Decisions flex with new info; regret is rare, doubt occasional. Rigidity? That’s not their style.

Contrast this with Carl Albert at Heavenly Ranch and Farm.

The Dark Side: Positional Power vs. Organic Influence

Carl Albert inherited wealth and land, building a prescient survival retreat. Using John Maxwell’s 5 Levels of Leadership, he’s mostly at Level 1 (position) with hints of Level 2 (permission from volunteers) and twisted Level 3 (production via manipulation). He spots Tommy’s potential and tries fast-tracking him through control.

Tommy’s leadership is organic: built on trust, followership, and self-improvement toward a relational goal (not power). He leads from behind—sharing ideas despite his age, delaying at DIA, curbing impulsiveness, and forging alliance from enmity.

So, What About You?

Leadership isn’t a factory setting. It needs ingredients, serendipity, and willingness to shoulder responsibility. We can teach skills, but students must hunger to learn.

History’s greatest leaders sought self-betterment, uplifted others, and chased a bold future vision. Impose that vision? That’s authoritarianism. Share it, educate on its value? That’s your first step to real leadership.

Whether you’re 14 or 40, guy or gal—start today. Tommy led in apocalypse; you can lead in everyday life. Try these three micro-exercises this week. Do one, reflect nightly in a journal, then share one insight with a friend (text, coffee, DM—doesn’t matter). That’s leadership in motion.

Exercise 1: The 5-Minute Vision Sprint

Tommy’s north-star: “Get home.” Yours?

1. Set a timer for 5 minutes.
2. Write one sentence: “By [date 30 days from now], I want ______ because ______.”
3. Read it aloud to someone (or your mirror). Ask: “Does this excite you?” Revise until it does.
   Result: A shareable vision stronger than any mission statement.

Exercise 2: Servant-Leadership Volunteer Drop

Tommy ran messages to serve strangers.

1. Pick one place you’ll be this week (office, school, gym, grocery).
2. Spot one tiny friction point others ignore (e.g., messy coffee station, confusing sign-up sheet).
3. Fix it anonymously in under 10 minutes. No credit, no announcement.
   Result: You practice putting group needs above ego—the first step toward servant leadership distilled.

Exercise 3: The Charley Conversation

Tommy turned a bully into an ally through quiet compassion.

1. Think of one person you’ve clashed with (colleague, sibling, neighbor).
2. Ask yourself: “What might they be carrying that I don’t see?” Write a one-line guess.
3. Send a short, humble message (3 sentences max):
   • “I’ve been thinking about our last interaction and realize I could have listened better.”
   • “If you ever want to grab coffee or hop on a quick call to clear the air, I’m open—no pressure.”
   • “Either way, I wish you the best.”
     Result: You lead with vulnerability, not victory. Trust grows when you meet conflict with curiosity instead of conquest.

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One week. Three exercises. Zero excuses.
Post your insight with #LongWalkLeadership (I’ll retweet the best). Tommy walked 1,200 miles to prove leadership lives in action—your first mile starts now.