Rugged Isn’t Always Strong

Written by Tyler Head

What is Rugged Individualism?

• “Rugged” is defined as an adjective having a broken, rocky, and uneven surface. Contextually for our conversation, it means having or requiring toughness and determination.

• “Individualism” is defined as the habit or principle of being independent and self-reliant. 

At first glance, rugged individualism sounds admirable — tenacity, self-reliance, grit. It’s baked into our national story, our leadership myths, and the way many of us have been taught to work.

But left unchecked, it creates something we rarely talk about:
A quiet performance epidemic.

We see it all the time:

• A leader burning out quietly under the weight of silent responsibility.

• A team member who avoids asking for help because it “feels like a weakness.”

• New hires staying quiet in meetings, unsure if they’re allowed to speak freely.

It looks productive.
It often gets praised.
But beneath the surface?

It slowly erodes trust, silences collaboration, and deteriorates team health.

So, what do we do?

We get honest.
We ask better questions:

• Where are we unintentionally rewarding independence over collaboration?

• Who’s carrying unspoken weight in this organization?

• What if our definition of strength needs an upgrade?

At DRYVE Leadership Group, we help teams (leadership and cross-functional) name, explore, and transform patterns like these. Because real strength isn’t just rugged — it’s rooted:

In trust. In shared purpose.
And quite literally, it’s shoulder to shoulder.

If this sparked something for you or your team, we’d love to talk.