The Power of “We.”
A green-room conversation with a fellow keynote speaker rearranged how I think about giving advice. One small word carries the wisdom and delivers the message people need most: you are not alone.
Back in March, before THIRD DAY's 30th Anniversary Reunion Tour pulled me back on the road, I had the chance to speak at the American Rental Association conference in Orlando, FL.
The rental world is wild in the best way. One row over from stair lifts and tractors, you've got wedding events, selfie stations, and party rentals. I came to share the ROCKSTAR framework from Market Like a Rockstar and talk about how any business, in any industry, can turn customers into fans.
But the moment that stuck with me didn't happen on stage. It happened in the green room.
A Drummer and a Bass Player
That's where I met Lindsay Boccardo. Lindsay has built a remarkable career keynoting on the workplace, helping four generations actually work well together. We connected fast over a shared origin story in music. Lindsay's a drummer, I'm a bass player, so it was natural and effortless. Any band will tell you the bass and drums are the ones who have to lock in with each other. We promised to stay in touch.
Now I'm in a season of stepping out. I recently left a decade-long marketing role to speak, write, and consult full-time. And there's a proverb I keep coming back to as I navigate it: "Walk with the wise and become wise." So a few weeks ago, I took my own advice and reached out to Lindsay to pick her brain. She graciously agreed!
I came with questions. Lots of them. Management. Agents. The right people at speakers bureaus. Content strategy. What to do. What not to do.
And here's the thing I can't stop thinking about.
Every time I asked, Lindsay didn't answer with "I think" or "you should." She answered with "we."
"We've got this."
"We're going to get you on the right stages."
"We should go after these podcasts."
Whether she meant to or not, one small word rearranged the whole conversation. What could have been a one-time brain dump, where I'd hang up and go back to figuring it out alone, suddenly felt like something else entirely. It felt like Lindsay was on my team. I wasn't going to be abandoned after the call to go figure it all out on my own. She cared. She was for me. We were going to jam together!
Why That Landed So Hard
I've spent my whole life in bands. I'm built for a team. Honestly, that's been one of the hardest parts of stepping out on my own. If we're casting Lord of the Rings, I've always felt like Samwise, not Frodo. The loyal friend who helps someone else carry the load. For 22 years I described it as being the bass player. I'm comfortable on stage. I just never needed the spotlight.
So stepping into that spotlight, solo and full-time, has come with real waves of feeling lonely, and if I'm honest, a little scared.
It's always come naturally to me to promote a team, a band, a brand. THIRD DAY. Leadercast. Supreme Lending. Now it's up to me to promote myself. Yuck!
Lindsay's "we" met me right there. Especially coming from someone who has already climbed the mountain I'm looking up at.
It reminded me of how Brené Brown describes empathy. Drawing on the research of Theresa Wiseman, she says empathy isn't about fixing or advising from a distance. It's about climbing down into the hole with someone and communicating one healing message: you are not alone. Brené also names something I felt in my bones on that call. One of the biggest barriers to connection, she says, is how much our culture prizes going it alone.
Lindsay didn't just give me good advice. She gave me the sense that I wasn't going it alone.
Leading With "We"
So here's where this leaves me, and it's really a note to myself as much as anyone.
People ask me for advice all the time, in music and in marketing. For years my instinct has been to listen and then offer my take with "I think," or to get direct with "you should." Good intentions, useful information, but delivered from the edge of the hole.
From here on, I want to lead with "we."
Not because it sounds nice, but because "we" does two things at once. It still carries the wisdom. And it delivers the most powerful message one person can give another: you are not alone.
There's an African proverb I keep coming back to. If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together. For most of my life, I've had the going together part figured out. This new season is teaching me I still need it, maybe more than ever.
So I have a question for you
When someone comes to you for help, do they walk away with your advice, or do they walk away knowing you're on their team?
If your organization wants to build the kind of culture where people know they are not going it alone, that is exactly what my keynotes, workshops, and leadership sessions are built for. Learn more at taianderson.live/keynotes.
Originally published on LinkedIn, July 15, 2026.
