Trust is Earned in the Stack

Black Hawk Down ActorJosh Harnett cast as Sgt. Matt Eversmann

Week 2: Rebuild
Trust Is Earned in the Stack: How to Build a Team You’d Go to Battle With

🎬 Black Hawk Down — Scene: Sgt. Eversmann’s First Command
"No one gets left behind." But what if the mission does?

Last week, we talked about the leadership hangover – the jarring transition from leading through rank to leading through influence. This week, we zero in on what makes – or breaks – a team when bullets aren’t flying but pressure still is: trust.

The Scene: When the Plan Breaks

In Black Hawk Down, Sgt. Matt Eversmann – young, untested, newly in charge – is dropped into the heat of Mogadishu with orders to secure a building and hold position. When things go sideways, one of his men is severely wounded. The extraction plan is collapsing. Eversmann doesn’t freeze – he pivots, improvises, and insists they evacuate the wounded now, against the original plan.

The moment could’ve cost him his team's confidence. But it didn’t. Because:

1. He communicated clearly, even under fire.

2. He prioritized his people, not the op.

3. He took responsibility, even when out of his depth.
   

Where Trust Breaks Down in Startups

In civilian life, no one's bleeding out – but the emotional stakes can still feel just as high. Trust doesn’t get lost in firefights. It gets lost in:

• Lack of follow-through: Promises made in all-hands meetings that vanish by next quarter.

• Micromanagement: Leaders correcting work without context – saying “I trust you” but acting otherwise.

• Ignoring feedback: Asking for thoughts, then pushing ahead with a pre-decided plan.

• Poor comms: Changes in direction with no explanation. Or worse, silence.

Just like in combat, startup trust is built in the middle of the chaos, not after it.

Civilian Leadership: How to React Better

Sgt. Eversmann didn’t freeze under pressure. He didn’t wait for new orders when one of his men went down – he moved, made the call, and put his team first.

Now picture this:
You’re a lead engineer overseeing a highway resurfacing project. It’s a night job on a tight schedule, and halfway through the shift, your field tech reports unexpected subsurface erosion.

The spec says to push through. You’re already behind. But you know if you ignore it, the pavement will fail within a year.

So you pull the crew, halt the pour, and call the district inspector directly.

Yes, it blows up the timeline.
Yes, it creates tension with the client.

But your crew watches you take heat for the right reason.
Own the delay.
Protect the work and the crew.

You may have risked the mission – but you didn’t leave your team behind.

In high-stakes civilian leadership, trust is built when you:

• Own the tough call in real time.
  Waiting until morning isn’t leadership – it’s avoidance.

• Loop in stakeholders as soon as risk appears.
  It’s not about perfection. It’s about visibility and accountability.

• Stand by your field team when it gets political.
  Engineers and operators won’t follow someone who covers their own ass.

• Deliver quality over optics.
  Trust grows when your team knows you’ll stand behind the work and the people doing it.

Leadership isn’t about sticking to the plan.
It’s about protecting the people who carry it out.
Whether it’s combat, code, or concrete – trust isn’t a concept. It’s a decision.

And the leaders people will go to battle with?
They're the ones who show up when the plan breaks – not just when it works.


Follow along in our #FromMissiontoMomentum for Veteran entrepreneurs. Built for leaders who won’t coast. Step out of the noise. Recalibrate. Return sharper.