Pocket Presence

I’ve been thinking a lot about pocket presence since listening to Brené Brown and Adam Grant’s recent podcast conversation on Time, Scarcity, and Pocket Presence.

In football, pocket presence is the quarterback’s ability to read the entire field without seeing it, stay grounded under pressure, trust the O-line, and make the next play in a matter of seconds. It’s situational awareness, judgment, and deep reliance on the team around you.

Here in Boston, we’ve seen what real pocket presence on the field looks like. The Patriots Super Bowl run this season has been epic, and watching Drake Maye step into pressure, settle the chaos around him, and make smart, disciplined reads has been enlightening. The common thread isn’t bravado. It’s preparation, trust, and systems that hold when things get tight.

That idea feels far more relevant to founders, especially in climate tech, than the tired notion of executive presence, which Brené rightly calls “all style, no substance.”

Climate-tech founders don’t need to look like leaders. They need to be leaders: living the organization’s values, making decisions under real constraints, and bringing out the best in others while the clock is ticking.

At Capital Energy, we think of our role as the Founder’s O-line.

Founders can’t be the quarterback and the O-line and the wide receiver at the same time. Nor should they try. Their job is to see the field, decide where to throw, and move the ball toward the next milestone. Our job is to do the hard, often invisible work of crafting messaging, sharpening narrative, building brand and commercialization frameworks - so founders have the space and protection to lead.

What struck me most from the podcast was this idea:
Pocket presence isn’t just an individual trait. It’s a collective capability.
It’s embedded in systems, trust, and shared practices. Not ego or performance.

Great founders don’t win by doing everything themselves. They win by trusting their team, letting go of performative leadership, and building braver systems than any single person.

That’s how the ball moves down the field.

That’s how company milestones are achieved.
That’s how real climate impact happens.

GO PATS! In Maye we trust.