Hey Reader,

Nineteen years ago today, my life changed dramatically.

It’s not my oldest child’s birthday, or the anniversary of the day I met my One and Only (as my Mom-Mom would say).

Nope, it was my first Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band show. I went to that show as a dejected and deeply frustrated sixth grade English teacher. I left with a new core belief slowly forming: everything you need to learn about leadership you can learn from Bruce Springsteen.

To be clear, while I am a total nerd, I did not walk out of that concert thinking I had stumbled upon a new theory of leadership…. but as Bruce says “you can’t start a fire without a spark.” 🔥

The concert that night sparked an enthusiasm for seeing Bruce that has led me to 25 E Street Band shows, seeing Bruce three times in his Broadway show, and once at Stand Up for Heroes in the last 19 years. (In honor of my Bruce-a-versary today, the full story of that first show is on my Substack here.)

While I’ve been pursuing this new obsession interest, I’ve been working in roles where I’m leading through layers: just like Bruce has to get his band to bring it in order for the audience to have the experience he wants–

so too did I need to work as a leader through others to get the results I wanted.

For example, from 2008-2011, when I seeing shows #3-7, I ran the Teach For America Institute with my “band” (a full time staff of five and the 100-ish summer staff we brought on board) in order to get the results I wanted for my “audience” (kids in LAUSD gaining summer school credits they needed and new teachers fired up and equipped with the fundamental skills they needed to teach).

Every time I left a concert, I had scribbled notes on my phone or on a napkin about the constant communication between all members of the band, the way Bruce carried himself and was The Boss unapologetically, and the fun this group of people were having at work. I’d leave inspired with an idea to try at work the next day. 💡

Fundamentally, it always came down to admiring how clearly Bruce led. Over time, those next-day experiments, practices I adapted from watching him (and too many lessons I learned the hard way that I wanted others to avoid) became a leadership framework.

The four domains are:

• Define What Matters. This creates clarity for you and your team.
• Align Your Team. This creates unity.
• Build your People Systems. This creates predictability.
• Strengthen Steady Excellence. This creates sustainability.

It’s a circle because you’re constantly working through this cycle, as your context changes, as your people evolve and as circumstances change.

(Every time I share this, leaders immediately ask me the same question. I’ll get to it in a sec, because it’s a good one.)

Yesterday I talked to a leader (Hi Jen!) who I worked with several years ago to build an awesome goal dashboard.

While it’s only been a few years, what she has now done with it with the help of Claude is incredible—and those automations were not an option when we built it. The tech did not exist. The world is (rapidly!) changing–so we as leaders are always going working this framework as we lead through layers.

Which brings me back to that question. No matter what’s happening in the world, leaders always ask: “Given what you know about my situation, where should I start?”

Knowing where to focus your limited time and energy is key as a leader.

The word "serve" is my North Star for working with leaders, so in that spirit I designed a Leadership Systems Diagnostic--a free, 60 minute 1:1 call where I listen to what's going on, ask a ton of questions and help you see where in the framework on how to lead through layers to focus. To make it extra useful in your daily life, I created a short, skimmable report summarizing the call and explaining exactly where to focus and send it after.

In honor of my Bruce-a-versary, I want to share the short application—

Because maybe you’re where I was 19 years ago: deflated, dispirited and discouraged.

Let me help you like Bruce helped me. (Not exactly—there will be no live singing, which, trust me, is good for both of us!)

You will get an expert's perspective, a listening ear and a synthesized report so you can hit the ground running.

If you are looking for some help with these challenges and it seems like a place I can assist, we can talk about what it might look like to work together--but this is not a sales call. The Leadership Systems Diagnostic stands alone, adding value to leaders and making the hard work of leading a little easier, a way for me to give back to the world.

If you are interested in a Leadership Systems Diagnostic, fill out this short four question short application (and two of those questions are easy: name and email!) and I'll be in touch within 2 business days. 😀

I can't think of a better way to celebrate my Bruce-a-versary.

Questions? Reactions? Hit reply and let me know. You know I love hearing from you!

Take care,

Beth

ps. Curious about the Leadership Systems Diagnostic, but not sure if it's for you? Hit reply and tell me your hesitation--and I'll let you know if you should fill out the short application.