I have a confession to make: When I was writing my latest book, Lead Last: Twenty-One Counterintuitive Principles for Becoming an Effective Leader, I decided to include a leadership lesson from SpongeBob SquarePants. This probably isn’t a surprise for people who know me and my personality, but for those who have never met me…surprise!

I was well aware of the fact that some of my fellow leaders would chuckle while others might be thinking, “Olaolu, you’re a Marine leader and an award-winning author. What are we doing talking about cartoons in a professional leadership manual?!”

Here is the truth: I include pop-culture references because they serve as something emerging leaders can keep coming back to, helping a complex principle stick in their minds.

Here’s the summary of what I wrote: In the episode “Graveyard Shift,” SpongeBob and Squidward are tasked with running the Krusty Krab overnight. Squidward spends the whole night fanning the flames of panic with a made-up story about a “Hash-Slinging Slasher,” causing SpongeBob to spiral into paranoia.

Eventually, SpongeBob decides to confront his fear directly by investigating the unknown instead of relying on secondhand exaggerations. This is the essence of Principle #15: Meet Problems Head-On.

What I learned:

“If I don’t see a problem, it’s because I haven’t flattened communication flow.”

The Philosophy: Hunting for Inefficiencies

In most organizations, problems remain unresolved for three specific reasons: poor information flow, fear of confrontation, or refusal to take ownership of the issue.

To influence culture effectively, you have to become an investigator of sorts. In Lead Last, I argue that you must hunt for inefficiencies. This means becoming comfortable looking at old problems in new ways and from different perspectives.

• Flatten the Flow: If problems are hidden under layers of bureaucracy, excuses, and secrecy, you’re just managing a facade. Find and eliminate the bottleneck.
• Normalize Constructive Conflict: Frame disagreements as opportunities for growth rather than personal attacks. Clashes can be healthy if you teach your team de-escalation and negotiation instead of avoidance.
• The Influence Rule: One of my mentors, Isaac Henderson (“Ike”), once told me, “Don’t waste your seat at the table.” If you can influence a situation, it is your problem to solve. Stop passing the buck to “the system” because in many cases, you are now “the system” you’re placing blame on.

The Connection: The “Learn-it-all” Mindset

I’ve long admired Satya Nadella, the CEO of Microsoft, for his ability to “Hit Refresh” on a win-at-all-costs culture. As I discuss in the book, Nadella shifted Microsoft’s focus toward empathy and a growth mindset.

Just like Principle #15, Nadella’s approach is about investigative leadership. He realized that to adapt, a leader must be humble enough to listen to nonverbal cues and flexible enough to adjust based on what they learn. He didn’t just accept the culture he inherited; he met the cultural problems head-on to drive personal and organizational success.

Let’s Talk!

Your leadership environment is determined by how you address the “monsters” in your organization. Is your team hiding problems until they become crises, or are you hunting for solutions together?

I want to hear from you:

1. What current problem have you been avoiding that, if addressed today, would remove a daily friction point for your team?
2. What process can you put in place so that problems are raised early rather than hidden?
3. How do you model a response to failure that encourages your team to bring issues forward?
4. Is your “command presence” actually a bottleneck that prevents your team from sharing the ground truth?

Let’s stop running from the “slasher” and start building a culture of confidence and accountability.

Lead Well,

Olaolu

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