Leadership • Community • August 31, 2026
Yesterday morning at church, the sermon was about finding your people. The timing could not have been better.
A few days earlier, I had read a LinkedIn post that stayed with me. The post was about something many successful people experience but rarely discuss publicly: some companies, consultants, masterminds, and professional communities are packaged incredibly well, but the results do not always match the presentation.
Premium pricing, recognizable names, and proximity to successful people can create the appearance of value. But a good-looking room is not necessarily the right room.
The post was a reminder to do your homework and have honest conversations with people who have actually been part of the group. Do not confuse access with impact. Do not assume that being near successful people automatically makes you more successful.
Choose your rooms carefully. But once you find the right one, do not underestimate what it can change.
Pay Attention to Who You Are Running With
Last week, I wrote about a 5:00 a.m. Saturday trail run through Riverbend Park in Jupiter. We were wearing headlamps, running in the dark on a trail we could barely see.
The person next to me was training for a 100-mile ultramarathon. I was training for HYROX. On paper, we had completely different goals. But somewhere around mile three, none of that mattered. I simply matched the pace of the person beside me.
That is the thing about proximity. You do not rise to the level of your goals. You rise to the level of the people you train with, build with, and show up alongside.
“Pay attention to who you’re running with. In every sense of the word.”
– Chris Keller
I have watched this play out in business for years. Law firm owners who surround themselves with other operators who are building, scaling, and solving real problems tend to grow faster than those who try to figure everything out alone.
It is not always accountability. It is not always motivation. Sometimes it is something quieter.
When the person next to you is pursuing something difficult, your definition of difficult begins to change. When you hear another firm owner talk honestly about a problem you thought only you had, the problem becomes lighter. When someone in your circle takes a courageous step, your own next step starts to feel possible.
Your baseline shifts without you noticing.
Law Firm Leadership Can Be Lonely
Running a law firm can feel incredibly lonely.
You carry decisions your team may never see. You absorb pressure from clients, employees, vendors, competitors, and your own expectations. You make payroll. You protect the culture. You answer the questions. You are expected to know where the firm is going, even during the seasons when you are still working that out yourself.
From the outside, leadership can look like independence. In reality, the strongest leaders I know have people around them who challenge them, encourage them, and tell them the truth.
We were never meant to build alone. We were never meant to lead alone. We were never meant to carry every difficult season alone.
That does not mean joining every group or accepting every invitation. Chris Collins’ point matters because the wrong room can be expensive in more ways than one. It can cost money, time, confidence, and momentum.
The answer is not isolation. The answer is discernment.
What the Right Community Actually Looks Like
A meaningful business community should do more than put successful people in the same photograph. It should change how those people lead, operate, and respond when things get difficult.
The kind of community I want to be part of, and the kind I want to help build, does three things consistently:
Celebrate the Wins
Success should not create jealousy inside the right room. It should create energy.
When someone hits a revenue goal, signs a major case, makes an important hire, hosts a successful community event, or finally solves an operational problem, we should celebrate it. Their win is evidence of what is possible, not a threat to anyone else’s progress.
Share your wins. Let people be genuinely excited for you. Then be the first person to celebrate theirs.
Challenge Each Other to Grow
The right community does not only applaud you. It pushes you.
Encouragement without honesty is not enough. Every leader needs people who will ask the uncomfortable question, challenge the convenient excuse, and point out the blind spot that everyone else is afraid to mention.
That kind of candor requires trust. It also requires people who understand the work because they are doing it too.
Show Up During the Hard Seasons
Every business owner eventually goes through a season when the numbers are not cooperating, the team is struggling, or the path forward is not obvious.
That is when community stops being a concept and becomes something real.
The right people do not disappear when there is nothing to celebrate. They call. They listen. They share what worked for them. They help you separate a temporary setback from a permanent problem. Sometimes they simply stand beside you until you can see the next step again.
What We Are Building Through Ascend
This is what I believe we are building through Ascend Legal Partners.
The Ascend community is growing, and I do not think that is happening by accident. Law firm owners are looking for something real: a room where success is celebrated without jealousy, hard questions can be asked without judgment, and difficult seasons do not have to be carried alone.
My vision is simple. When someone wins, we cheer them on. When someone gets knocked down, we help pick them up. When someone cannot see the next step, we stand beside them until they can.
Community is not access for the sake of access. It is not a premium price tag, a polished event, or proximity to a famous name. It is a group of people who show up for one another and make each other better.
My hope is that everyone who joins this community feels like they have found their people: people who celebrate their wins, challenge them to keep growing, and stand beside them through the difficult seasons.
Do Not Just Find Your People. Be Someone Else’s Person.
Finding the right community is only half of the responsibility. The other half is deciding what kind of community member you will be.
Before this week gets away from you, identify one person in your circle who may need encouragement, accountability, or support. Reach out. Do not wait for that person to ask twice.
- Celebrate someone. Send a message recognizing a win that may have gone unnoticed.
- Challenge someone. Ask the honest question that could help a fellow leader make a better decision.
- Support someone. Check on the person carrying more than they are saying publicly.
Do not just find your people. Be someone else’s person.
Keep showing up for one another. Keep sharing what is working. Keep reaching back when someone needs a hand. The community gets stronger every time you choose to contribute to it.
Are You Looking for the Right Room?
If you are a law firm owner who is serious about growth but tired of trying to solve every problem alone, I would like to hear from you.
I work with a select group of law firm owners who are building stronger businesses, becoming better leaders, and creating firms that can grow beyond their individual effort. The work includes strategy, quarterly planning, accountability, operations, marketing, and the honest conversations that are difficult to have inside your own organization.
This is not access for the sake of access. It is a working community built around contribution, practical growth, and people who want to see one another succeed.
30 minutes. No pressure. Just an honest conversation about where you are, where you want to go, and whether Ascend is the right room for you.
What I Am Reading: Quietly Influential
I just finished Jimmy Lai’s new book, Quietly Influential: A LinkedIn Guide for Introverted Professionals (Useful for Extroverts Too), and I recommend checking it out.
Jimmy built a powerful LinkedIn presence by being useful, authentic, and consistent, not by pretending to be someone he is not. That lesson fits this topic perfectly. The strongest relationships are built through genuine contribution, not performance.
You can also follow Jimmy Lai on LinkedIn.
Where I Will Be This September
CX Summit 2026
I will be speaking at the CX Summit 2026, September 16 through 18 at Hotel Emeline in Charleston, South Carolina.
My presentation is titled “Sell, Partner, or Get Left Behind? The MSO & ABS Reality.” I will be discussing the changing legal-services landscape and what law firm owners need to understand about MSOs, ABS structures, strategic partnerships, and the risk of standing still.
FJA Masters of Justice
I will also be attending the FJA Masters of Justice, September 23 through 25 at The Ritz-Carlton in Sarasota, Florida. If you will be there, reach out. I would enjoy connecting in person.
Chris Keller is a business coach, attorney, and founder of Ascend Legal Partners. He built a personal injury law firm from one employee to more than 80 across multiple states before transitioning to coaching law firm owners and entrepreneurs on leadership, growth, and scaling with intention. Learn more at callchriskeller.com/coaching.
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