Listen to Pete Behrens on the Mission Matters Business Podcast: Courage, Clarity, and Leading Through Uncertainty
Leadership Begins With Courage, Not Clarity
In this conversation with host Adam Torres on the Mission Matters podcast (Episode #764), Pete Behrens opens up about the 10-year journey to write, Into the Fog: Leadership Stories from the Edge of Uncertainty—complete with multiple rewrites, moments of doubt, and one perfectly timed photograph.
The Book That Almost Wasn't (Multiple Times)
When Adam asks about the writing process, Pete's answer is both hilarious and humbling: "I've written more versions of this book unpublished than I care to remember."
The engineering side of Pete—or maybe the perfectionism—meant the book went through countless iterations over a decade.
Then came the breakthrough: What if the whole book was just stories? What if he put his favorite metaphor—the fog—at the center of everything? Once that clicked, everything cleared up. The fog represents the uncertainty we all feel today: in business, geopolitically, socially, economically, and even internally. It's that discomfort and lack of clarity that leaders must navigate.
From Engineer to Leadership Coach
Pete shares how his career evolved from optimizing technical systems to focusing on the most complex system of all: human organizations. "What does an engineer do? Engineers look at systems and optimize them for better outcomes. And I look at leadership and what is more complex of a system than an organizational human system?"
The pattern that kept emerging? Organizations mirror their leaders. That realization became the foundation of his work here at Agile Leadership Journey.
Three Hopes for Readers
Pete wrote Into the Fog with three key intentions:
Reinstall humanity in leadership: In a world where leadership is over-influenced by politics and technical culture, Pete has a clear mission:
"I want everyone to see themselves as capable of leadership. Not the position. Not a badge. Not a title. Whoever you are, whatever position you hold, you have the ability to influence others towards a common goal. That's leadership."
Show that leaders aren't alone: Leadership is a team sport, not a solo activity. When you invite others on the journey, it becomes not only more effective but more fulfilling.
Inspire movement into uncertainty: Clarity doesn't come through planning. It comes through movement. Leadership begins with courage in the absence of clarity.
Ready to step into the fog?
Listen to the full conversation on Mission Matters to hear more about Pete's journey, the humor and humanity behind the writing process, and why leadership in uncertainty requires grounding yourself in your values and personal vision.
Also available on
Apple Podcasts and
Spotify.
Into the Fog spans Pete's entire career—from childhood to roles as an engineer, director, VP, consultant, and leadership coach. Each of the real stories reveals the simplicity and humanity of leadership in situations where nothing is comfortable or clear.
