Tell me if you've seen this play out before: You get handed a seemingly impossible goal, and you want to prove you're up to the task. But as soon as you start making the tough calls…you realize you're on your own.

No support. No boss backing you up. No signal from anyone above that your decisions are good.

It's a situation that can leave you feeling exposed. And alone.

Soon, you're choosing your words more carefully. You're managing reactions instead of driving outcomes.

And you're questioning whether you misread the room, misread the politics, or overstepped your own authority.

Sometimes, the problem isn't confidence, competence, or clarity.

It's air cover.

Air cover is the support you get from the people above you in your chain of command.

The public and private reinforcement that allows you to lead, take risks, and make decisions. Without bracing for fallout you'll have to handle alone.

When you have air cover, you move differently. When you don't, you know it (often, too late in the game).

In this week's episode of the podcast, I break down what air cover actually is, how to recognize whether you have it, and why it's so critical to your ability to lead.

If you've ever wondered, "Is it too risky for me to make this decision?", this episode will give you the language and the lens to answer that.

What You'll Learn:

• What air cover looks like in the real world (and what its absence looks like, too)

• How to diagnose whether you've got air cover or not

• The strategic moves to make when you don't have the air cover you need

• Practical steps to provide air cover for your team

I hope this episode gives you clarity about how to get the air cover you need. And how to stop carrying more risk than you should.

For more information, visit The Mental Offload.