# Ep 48: Leading up and out to Chaos Monsters with Dr. Jesse Mix

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Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-unleashing-leaders-podcast-6405544/ep-48-leading-up-and-out-to-chaos-monsters-with-dr-jesse-mix.md
Podcast: [The Unleashing Leaders Podcast](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-unleashing-leaders-podcast-6405544)
Published: 2026-01-14T10:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://unleashingleaders.libsyn.com/ep-49-leading-up-and-out-to-chaos-monsters-with-dr-jesse-mix
Audio file: https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/unleashingleaders/Leading_up_and_out_to_Chaos_Monsters_1-14_UL_Dr._Jesse_Mix_-_PFN.mp3?dest-id=4018965
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Duration seconds: 2752

## Resource

On the UL podcast, we believe that leadership can happen with and without formal authority. Sometimes, the most challenging leadership role is leading up to a person who technically has more formal authority, but might be unintentionally causing some of the chaos you are trying to address. In this episode, we'll learn from two examples from different contexts but have very similar patterns for how to lead up to what we affectionately call "Chaos Monsters." In one case, Jesse shares his experience as a volunteer leader working within a non-profit civic organization with a charismatic executive director who is asking for increased operational structure ... and yet sometimes working in exact opposition. In the other case, Jesse will share his experience as an officer in the National Guard working in a matrixed command military structure to achieve particular mission readiness objectives ... and yet encounters higher ranking officers who sometimes contradict their own directives. Both examples sound totally different - one volunteer non profit, the other an officer in the military. And yet both illustrate similar patterns of how to lead up effectively. By day, Dr. Jesse Mix is a primary care and ER physician at the Veterans Administration (VA) Medical Center in Boise, ID. In the evenings, he volunteers across a few community/civic organizations (which shall remain nameless). And as a National Guardsman, Lt. Col Jesse Mix is the Flight Surgeon/Medical Officer to an elite Pararescue (PJ) squadron within the US Air Force. He is also the past President of the Leadership Boise program. I personally love talking to Jesse because he makes me feel less stressed about whatever else I have going on in my life! Additional Resources: Attend Unleashing Leaders University! Sign up for o…

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## Transcript

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