The Day Everything Shifted: My Wake-Up Call to Servant Leadership

The BLUF: Bottom Line Up Front

This shift didn’t come from a training session or a management book. It started with a quiet leader who believed in me and taught me that leadership is about service, not status. It’s a reminder to stop chasing titles and start showing up for people.

Servant Leadership Begins Here: My Defining Moment

There are moments in life that change everything. For me, one of those moments came in a quiet, dimly lit room before sunrise.I was in my early twenties, just stepping into leadership, thinking I knew what I was doing. I didn’t. I was tired from working the third shift, unsure of my place, when I sat down in that room with seasoned professionals, and everything I thought I knew about leadership began to unravel. But that was the day everything began to shift.

Leadership Begins with Service

When I started my journey, I thought leadership meant titles, promotions, and paychecks. I was 22, managing the third shift in a call center, completely green and overwhelmed. I didn’t have a clue what real leadership looked like—until Colonel Greg Camp (ret.) stepped in. He saw something in me I didn’t see in myself, and he introduced me to a different kind of leadership: one built on service, not status.  

The Power of Being Seen

Greg believed in me long before I had the confidence to believe in myself. I was 22, stumbling through my first leadership role, trying to look like I had it all together. But he didn’t see inexperience, he saw potential. And more importantly, he treated me like I had value. He brought me into real conversations, invited my perspective, and gave me room to grow. That trust sparked something in me. If someone like Greg thought I could lead, maybe I needed to start acting like it.

Servant Leadership in a Book Club

One of my earliest lessons began when Greg invited me to the book club. I still remember today that those meetings took place on Tuesday mornings at “Zero Dark Thirty.” Truthfully, this was my first lesson on the importance of sharpening the saw and investing in yourself to serve others.

The first book we tackled was Leadership by the Book by Ken Blanchard, Bill Hybels, and Phil Hodges. That book flipped a switch in me. It was the first time I understood that leadership isn’t about status or command but service. No rank. No ego. Just honest dialogue about what it means to show up for others. I remember dragging myself into that room for the first time, half-awake, unsure, and slightly intimidated. But I found something rare: a circle of people who weren’t there to judge but to grow, listen, and help each other lead better.

That room had retired military leaders, seasoned professionals, and me, a 22-year-old punk soaking it all in. And I wasn’t just learning. I was teaching. Because when you teach, you learn. And that changed me.

Why I Sign My Name with a Little “d”

The little things matter. Over the years, people have often asked me why I use a lowercase “d” when I sign my name. It started with Greg. He always signed his name with a lowercase “g” and I asked him about it once. He told me it was his way of reminding himself to stay grounded, to lead by serving. That simple answer hit me hard. It wasn’t some grand gesture. It was quiet. Intentional. Consistent. Every time I saw it, I saw the kind of leader he was: steady, humble, always putting others first. So now, I carry that forward. A lowercase “d” at the end of every message. Not because it’s clever, but because it reminds me of who I’m trying to be.

Letting Go to Let Others Grow

After a couple of years serving with Greg, I had an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. While I knew it was time to move on, I dreaded telling Greg. I carried this weight, thinking I’d disappoint him after everything he’d poured into me. I sat across from him, nervous and unsure how he’d respond. But Greg, in his usual calm way, just smiled. “Dusty, I knew this would happen,” he said. “You were never mine to keep. You were mine to serve.”

Greg shared that one of the great gifts of military leadership was that he always knew that the officers and soldiers assigned him would move on. His job wasn’t to keep them, but to help prepare them for their next assignment.  That moment stopped me cold. No guilt. No grasping. Just grace. He had invested in me so I could grow and go. That’s what real leadership looks like.

That broke me open. True leadership isn’t about keeping people close. It’s about pouring into them so they can go where they’re called. That’s what Greg did for me. That’s what I try to do for others.

Tools I Still Use Today

So much of how I lead today can be traced back to those early mornings with Greg. He gave me tools I still lean on, ways to think, questions to ask, frameworks to follow. And one of his most lasting lessons? If something works, don’t be afraid to borrow it, make it your own, and pass it on. It wasn’t about reinventing leadership. It was about building a toolkit you could trust. That toolkit was never flashy, but it was real. And every piece of it was planted in those first seeds Greg sowed—early mornings, honest conversations, and a steady reminder that leadership starts with humility and ends in service.

Everything I do today, every framework, every story I share, and every episode of the Leadership Unlocked podcast is rooted in those key initial lessons Greg passed on to me.

Leadership Isn’t About You

That first mentor changed my life. Greg taught me that leadership is a choice, a daily decision to show up, serve, and take responsibility. It’s not about power. It’s not about you. It’s about empowering others.

So let me ask you: When did everything shift for you? Who saw something in you that you didn’t see in yourself? What tools have you picked up along the way

I’d love to hear your story. Please email me at dusty@arcqusgroup.com, share it on LinkedIn, or listen to the full podcast episode at https://www.arcqusgroup.com/podcast. Stories are gifts, and gifts are meant to be given. Book time with me below if you’d like to learn more, discuss being on the podcast, or unlock your leadership superpowers.

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