Leadership Lessons From a Co-Pilot Named Dublin

If you have ever been on a call with me, you have probably met Dublin.

Not formally.
Not intentionally.

Usually just out of frame.
Sometimes suddenly very much in frame.
Occasionally offering unsolicited commentary at the exact wrong moment.

Dublin is my co-pilot. And without realizing it, he has been part of more leadership conversations than most people with titles.

As the year winds down and calendars finally slow, I have been thinking about what actually sustains leadership through long stretches of pressure. Not strategy. Not systems. Those matter, but they are not what gets you through the hard middle.

Consistency does.

The Unspoken Side of Leadership

Leadership is often described in moments of visibility. Big decisions. Hard conversations. Public wins.

What rarely gets discussed is the quiet stretch in between.

The long days.
The back-to-back meetings.
The decisions that feel heavy but uncelebrated.
The weeks where progress is real but invisible.

That is where most leaders actually live.

And that is where presence matters more than performance.

Dublin has been there for all of it. Not because he understands strategy or operations. But because he understands something simpler and more important.

Showing up counts.

Consistency Beats Intensity

Dublin does not have good days and bad days in the way people do.

He is just there.

Same posture.
Same loyalty.
Same calm presence whether the day went well or sideways.

That consistency is a quiet leadership lesson.

In organizations, we often reward intensity. Big pushes. Hero moments. Crisis response. Those moments matter. But what actually builds trust over time is predictability.

Teams trust leaders who are steady.
Who show up even when things are messy.
Who do not disappear when pressure increases.

Consistency is not flashy. But it is foundational.

Support Does Not Always Look Like Advice

One of the most underrated forms of leadership support is non-judgmental presence.

Dublin does not offer solutions.
He does not question decisions.
He does not need updates or explanations.

He just sits nearby.

That is a reminder worth carrying into leadership roles. Not every moment requires direction or correction. Sometimes people need space to think without being evaluated.

The best leaders know when to guide and when to simply be present.

The People Who Walk With You Matter

This time of year has a way of pulling focus back to what actually sustains us.

Behind every leader is a small circle of people and companions who absorb more than they are credited for. Partners who listen. Friends who ground us. Colleagues who steady teams quietly. Pets who remind us to pause.

They see us when the work is not polished.
When confidence dips.
When decisions linger.

And they stay anyway.

That kind of loyalty shapes leaders more than most training programs ever will.

Leadership Is Still Human

There is a tendency in professional spaces to over-polish leadership. To make it look more composed and less human than it actually is.

But leadership is lived in homes, on screens, in quiet moments between calls. It is influenced by routines, relationships, and the things that keep us grounded.

Dublin has been part of that grounding for me. A reminder that leadership does not require perfection. It requires presence.

A Holiday Pause Worth Taking

As the year closes, it is worth pausing to acknowledge the people and companions who walk alongside us through the ups and downs. The ones who make the grind lighter and the wins sweeter.

Not because they fix everything.
But because they stay.

If you have a Dublin in your life, human or otherwise, take a moment to appreciate them. Leadership is rarely a solo act, even when it looks that way from the outside.

Wishing you a Merry Christmas, a happy holiday season, and a New Year filled with clarity, gratitude, and steady forward momentum.

Sometimes the best leadership lesson is sitting quietly at your feet.