Today is the fifth anniversary of the launch of Zach on Leadership. Why launch a new blog on the Friday before Memorial Day? Is anyone even paying attention then? There was a reason for this decision. In my leadership journey, this is an important date. 19 years ago, something happened to me that shaped my view of leadership forever.

I made the biggest operational mistake of my career. I singled-handedly blew up my company’s data center. How I was treated in that moment showed me what real leadership is. It also inspired me to be that kind of leader and make more leaders in kind. That event sparked a leadership journey that eventually led to the launch of this leadership blog on the Friday before Memorial Day in 2016. That story is the subject of the very first Zach on Leadership blog article.

Since then, I’ve written 236 blog articles and recorded 84 podcast episodes. Looking back, there were a few moments that shaped the journey more than others. I’m going to use this article to revisit some of those important steps.

The biggest impact

Through the power of analytics, I know that some articles performed better than others. Of the 236, I’ll highlight a few that performed the best.

My number one article is “So You’re Telling Me There’s a Chance: The Joy of Buying Technology.” More people have read that one than all the rest. If I were to surmise the reason why it’s because I know my audience. My primary audience is aspiring technology leaders and my primary social media outlet is LinkedIn. Who are the most active users on LinkedIn? Technology salespeople. I figured, “Since they are out there and listening, I might as well send them a targeted message.” The message has been received, loud and clear.

My second most popular article is “I Know This Because Tyler Knows This: Leadership Lessons from Fight Club.” Why? Because Fight Club is an awesome movie that spoke to a generation. I like drawing leadership lessons from pop culture. I’ve done it dozens of times on the blog, but this one stands out as the most popular one of its kind.

My third most popular article is “Rules for Advancement: From Manager to Director.” That was the 8^th article I ever wrote. It’s still surprising to me that I was able to produce something so impactful that early in the journey. I think it’s popular because it speaks to a real tangible need. While I give a lot of tips and techniques on how to be a better leader, many are simply looking for a playbook to advance to the next level. While everyone’s path is different, I lay out the steps I took very clearly. Doing likewise may certainly produce similar results.

The Zach on Leadership journey isn’t just about producing popular content. There are other moments I’d like to share.

Getting published elsewhere

As a writer, it’s great to be recognized by legitimate media platforms. I don’t submit my writing to media outlets, but a few times, they found me. The online magazine, Vunela, published my article, “Here’s a Radical Concept: Interview for Jobs and Tell Your Boss About It.”

Also, Investors Business Daily interviewed me because of an article I wrote about how to dress like a technology executive, and published quotes from me in an actual dead-tree printed newspaper with national circulation.

The podcast

Another important moment was the decision to launch Zach on Leadership as a podcast. I made that decision nearly two years ago and I wrote about the reasons here. In short, I wanted to make my leadership lessons more accessible. A lot of people like to listen more than they like to read. Zach on Leadership is for those people too.

My favorites

A few of my readers have asked me, “Zach, what are your favorite articles?” I have a few that are my favorites for different reasons.

If there’s one article that gets to the essence of my leadership philosophy, it’s this one: “What is a Leader: A Primer on Servant leadership.” You might need to read all 236 articles to really know what I think, but if you can only read one, make it that one.

Funny

I like to laugh, and to be honest, I laugh at my own jokes. Not all of you share my sense of humor, but enough of you do. There are a few articles that were simply a blast to write. My favorite two articles in this category are: “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to Technology Leadership” and “IT Execution at Ludicrous Speed: Leadership Lessons from Spaceballs.” If you like science fiction humor, these will tickle your funny bone.

Depth

Leadership is a profound art. We all need to dig deep to experience the growth we need. There are a few articles that go deeper than the rest, and I like them because they still make me think. Speaking of mind-bending, I love The Matrix, and wrote about the deep leadership lessons from it in “There is No Spoon: Leadership Lessons from The Matrix.”

Another one of my favorite movies is Jerry Maguire. That tells the story of a leadership journey that is a downright personal crisis. It’s hard to get deeper than that. “Leadership Lessons from Jerry Maguire” breaks it down.

Personal

There are a few articles that are more personal than others. I wrote about my insecurities on my 40^th birthday when I wrote: “Old Enough to Lead? Don’t Let Anyone Look Down on You Because You Are Young.” I shared the self-awareness lessons I learned when I saw how my negative mood and idiosyncrasies affected my entire team in “Self-Awareness for Greater Leadership Effectiveness.” These articles are special simply because they are so personal.

I’m going to wrap up this look back. A few of you have been with me every step of the way for the past five years. You know who you are. Thank you for all of your support. I couldn’t have done it without you.

I’m going to keep writing this blog and publishing this podcast. I’m not done yet. However, I would like to hear from you. Different articles speak to different people. Was there one in particular that impacted your leadership journey? I’d love to hear about it. Please comment below.

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