Lessons on trust, teamwork, and choosing the right people when the pressure is on.
I’ll admit it—I regularly binge-watch reality TV as a way to shut my brain off from the day-to-day. Of all the shows, Below Deck is my favorite. Captain Sandy, the rotating crews, the chaos, the pressure—it’s oddly comforting and endlessly fascinating.
Why do I love it so much? Because at its core, Below Deck is about teams.
Before I get into the story, here’s the lesson we see play out again and again—on screen and in real life:
What This Means for Building Strong Teams
- Choose trust over titles. The most important people on your team aren’t defined by hierarchy, but by who shows up under pressure, takes ownership, and works toward solutions instead of blame.
- Shared values matter more than perfect alignment. High-functioning teams don’t avoid disagreement—they lead with good intentions, ethical decision-making, and a commitment to the greater mission when things get hard.
- Partnership means accountability on both sides. The strongest client–partner relationships operate like a lifeboat: mutual trust, clear communication, and a willingness to dig in together when challenges arise.
On Below Deck, you see people with wildly different roles and responsibilities: cleaning toilets, managing demanding guests, navigating a massive yacht, fixing critical systems below deck. None of those jobs matter in isolation. Every role requires respect, communication, and trust—especially under extreme conditions.
While our days at K2 don’t include a Mediterranean backdrop or luxury yachts (unfortunately), the lessons about leadership, people management, and teamwork under pressure are very real.
In a recent episode, Captain Sandy was training a new bosun and asked him to choose his number two. He hesitated—clearly uncomfortable making that call. Sandy didn’t over-explain or sugarcoat it. She simply asked:
“Who do you want in your lifeboat?”
That was it. The decision became clear instantly.
Now, our work at K2 isn’t life or death. But we operate with that same mindset.
When you’re in the thick of it—tight timelines, high expectations, real stakes—who is in your lifeboat? Is it the person comparing, pointing fingers, and shooting arrows? Or is it the person digging in with you, problem-solving, owning their role, and pushing forward?
For us, it has to be the latter.
I look at my partner, Kirsten, and I know without a doubt who’s in my lifeboat. We’re not perfect. We disagree. We have hard conversations. But at the core, we both lead with good intentions, ethical decision-making, and a shared commitment to what’s best for our firm and our clients. That matters when things get hard—because they always do.
The same is true for our clients.
And I say our clients intentionally—because we don’t work with everyone. We choose who we work with, just as they choose us. If we’re working together, you’re part of the 3:00 a.m. wake-ups, the weekend stress, the moments of “did we do enough?”, and the relentless drive to fix problems and make things better.
That level of partnership requires trust, accountability, and a shared sense of responsibility. Those qualities determine who belongs in your lifeboat.
If you’re lucky enough to work with people who show up that way—and if we’re lucky enough to work with you—this is the mentality we strive for every day.
Because when the seas get rough, who’s in your lifeboat matters more than anything.
With you in the journey,
Kristen
– Kristen Sheehan, Founder and Partner
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