Rich Garza

When everything keeps shifting, your job is to bring clarity.

People don’t need perfect plans.

They need to understand what’s changing, why it matters, and how it affects them. Explain the shifts and connect it to purpose.

Communicate clearly. Listen actively.
Then help them move forward.

You lead through change with clarity and direction.

If they don’t get why it’s happening or how it affects them, they’ll resist.

Your job is to make it make sense: What’s changing? Why it matters? What it means for them?

Repeat it until it sticks.
That’s leadership through uncertainty.

Your team’s stuck because no one’s solving problems.

They’re all covering their ass. Every doc, note, and update becomes proof it wasn’t their fault. And that’s bad leadership.

If blame moves faster than decision, people protect themselves.

If you want real progress, kill the fear first.

To handle office politics without losing yourself: stay grounded in your values while learning how the system works.

Pay attention to who actually holds influence, how decisions get made, and where the real conversations happen.

Act with integrity, stay consistent. It’s not a game to win.

Your work isn’t visible unless you make it.

But that doesn’t mean bragging.

It means being proactive, sharing progress when it matters, and showing outcomes.

Loop the right people. Build relationships with the ones who need to know.

Visibility isn’t luck. It’s built through communication.

Your documentation isn't neutral. Every meeting note, every project recap... it's not insight. They're fingerprints.

When things go wrong, it becomes evidence.
Your team is defensive, because they know it.

And if don't, you'll get blindsided later.

Wake up. Your system is prosecuting your people.

Your Leadership Training Is Completely Broken Walk into any corporate leadership training and you'll see the same setup that failed you in seventh grade. Chairs, slides, and someone talking at you about theories you'll never use.

Let’s just say it straight: most leadership training doesn’t help.

Real leadership develops through repetition under fire. Through making mistakes when they matter. Through getting feedback that stings because the outcome was real.

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Stop waiting for permission.

Just do the work that needs doing. Fix what’s broken. Share what’s missing. Make things clearer for other people.

You don’t need a title for that. You need initiative, clarity, and consistency.

That’s what people start to trust.

Leadership roles will affect your personal life. That’s the truth.

But it doesn’t have to wreck it.

It helps you set a standard. And that standard carries over into relationships, decisions, and life.

The job doesn’t just take from you.
It can shape you, if you let it.

When things get hard, you don’t need motivation.

What you need is grounding.

Stay close to people who’ll tell you the truth.
Ask for feedback. Have real conversations.

One opinion or one review do not define you.
Leadership is a long game, expect setbacks.
Use them. And keep going.

Confidence doesn’t show up first.
You act. You learn. Then it shows up.

The job didn’t come with a manual.

You’re making decisions you don’t feel ready for.

That’s the job now.

You thought the title would change that, but it didn't.

And it won't.

It just puts it on display.

Overthinking.
Avoiding conflict.
Second-guessing every move.

Because the patterns didn’t go anywhere.
They just followed you into a louder room.

You got promoted.

So why are you still doubting yourself?

Lead through it.
Build from it.
And don’t let fear have the mic.

I'm building a system for that exact moment.
The crash.
The shake.
The pressure.

You don’t conquer the fear.
You walk with it.
You lead anyway.

Leadership isn’t about being perfect in public.
It’s about being steady after the fall.

And when failure is public, it's even better.
You get more perspective.
More insight.
More chances to sharpen.

Here’s what you need to know:
Failure isn’t final. It’s feedback. It’s signal.

It’s growth, if you’re paying attention.

The fear is natural.
But the fear isn’t the problem.
The freezing is.

Every real leader fails.
Some of it happens quietly.
Some of it happens in front of the room.

How do I get over the fear of failing publicly?

Short answer:
You don’t.
You get over yourself.

You can tell when someone’s writing from a wound they’ve processed vs. one they’re still bleeding from. I try not to hide either. That tension is where the good stuff lives.

This isn’t about building a platform. It’s about building a path back to myself—and inviting others to walk alongside it.

Sometimes I write from clarity. Sometimes I write from confusion. But either way, I show up honest. That’s the only rule I follow.

I’m not here to brand myself. I’m here to unmask myself. If you recognize something familiar in what I write, maybe it means you’re not alone either.

I don’t want to go viral. I want to be a voice someone finds at the exact moment they need it. Quiet resonance > loud reach.