Entry 13 - Serve to Lead

Hey there,

We finished our last build cycle of the year and are now moving into goal-setting mode until the fifth of January. A good moment to pause and take stock.

The Loop Closes

We've successfully implemented all the agentic workflows for the cybersecurity agent we started building at the beginning of this year. When I think about that first idea that set everything in motion and look at where we're standing now, it's quite something. So much more has unfolded from that initial spark than we could have anticipated.

This cycle was particularly satisfying because of how we approached it. The focus was entirely on what and how we build, with everything documented in a controlled manner. No loose threads, no half-finished experiments lurking in the background. Just clean, intentional work. Tidying up loose ends and getting the house back in order.

I feel confident that we're ready to take the next step.

The Door Opens

What's shifted most significantly is where I can now direct my attention. With Andrew fully locked into Askara, and his trusted colleague Chris now within our ranks as well, I feel assured that I can let go of the technical side. The building team has control. They know what they're doing and how to do it well.

Simon has stepped fully into his role too, staying on top of documentation and helping the team clear bottlenecks. Alongside this, he can focus on outward-facing work: selling the solution, gathering feedback, translating user stories for the builders to pick up.

This past week we formalised what had been emerging organically: a clear distribution of responsibilities between the three of us following the CEO, COO, and CTO framework I wrote about after the Toulouse trade mission. After getting aligned on this and taking a first step in formulating our commander's intent, it feels right to use this journal to develop my objectives for the year ahead.

As CEO, I'm setting three core objectives:

Strategic Partnership Development — Cultivating relationships that position Askara for military-grade software development. Following the logic from Toulouse: start with the most demanding use case, and everything else becomes easier. Success means securing at least one formal partnership agreement with a defence sector organisation by end of 2026.

Funding Infrastructure & European Network — Building the subsidy pipeline and EU network that enables sustainable growth without venture capital dependency. This means active participation in EU project consortiums, continued leverage of accelerator relationships, and establishing Askara as a recognised player in the European cybersecurity ecosystem.

Organisational Trust & Capability Building — Developing the team's capacity in our core trust modalities: Sociocracy, NVC, Source Work, and Money Work. One significant training per quarter, starting with NVC in January. One major company retreat over the year. The goal is not just knowledge transfer but embodied practice that becomes how we operate.

The training doesn't have to be dry, either. We've proven this through the internal podcast habit we've developed over the past couple of months. There's a fun interaction happening that makes people feel appreciated while establishing the neural pathways that connect actions with frameworks. Applied learning at its finest.

I notice a part of me that wants to push faster on opportunities like Thales. But I'm recognising this as impatience rather than intuition. The right approach is probably to keep building, keep improving, and trust that the right partners will come naturally. These moments of calm between cycles are meant to be embraced, not escaped.

The Threshold Work

Beyond the business objectives, I want to start thinking about broader goals for 2026. That means being honest about my own edges.

This year's coaching work with Lorin was transformative. One moment that particularly resonated was navigating the situation with Han as he was coming on board. Working through that helped me see myself as a high-value person. Someone who belongs in rooms with experienced leaders and can hold my own in those conversations. That shift in self-perception has been foundational.

But where am I still growing?

The skill of difficult conversations. Not the kind where you blame and punish, but the kind where you truly understand the other person and still get your message across effectively. I want to become more effective at delivering hard truths without diminishing anyone involved.

This connects to something deeper: embodying what Lorin would call the wise king archetype. The king who leads from wisdom and genuine care. Who remains gentle and kind even when being direct. The shadow side of this archetype is the tyrant, who controls through force and fear, who confuses authority with dominance. I've seen this shadow in myself. The moments where frustration takes over and I reach for control rather than connection.

The wise king doesn't need to dominate. His authority comes from earned trust, from consistency, from genuinely serving those he leads. He can hold space for difficult emotions without being destabilised by them. He can deliver challenging feedback as an act of care rather than punishment.

This isn't abstract philosophy. A team can only grow as much as its leadership allows, and that ceiling is set by the growth the leadership has gone through personally.

Integration

Looking at my objectives through this lens, something becomes clear. My role in 2026 is fundamentally about service. Running around building trust within the team. Making efforts to train so we can grow most effectively as a group. Pushing through development opportunities. Pulling through ambitious goals that inspire people to stretch.

The boots-on-the-ground work with clients matters. The partnerships and funding create possibilities. But the real leverage is in how much I can help this team become. Every hour invested in trust-building, in training, in developing our collective capacity pays compound returns.

Serve to lead. That's the orientation.

As I prepare to set broader goals for 2026, it makes sense to first reflect on the achievements of this past year. The wedding, the accelerator, the product launch at IAM, the team coming together, the first completed build cycles. So much has worked out well.

And now, the next frontier. Not external but internal. Becoming the kind of leader this team deserves.

With care,

Ben