From Navy SEAL to NASA Chief Astronaut: Chris Cassidy on Leadership Under Pressure

Lessons in leadership from a Navy SEAL, former Chief Astronaut, and founding CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum 

Chris Cassidy has led in three of the most demanding environments on earth – and above it. As a Navy SEAL deployed to Afghanistan, NASA’s Chief Astronaut, and the founding CEO of the National Medal of Honor Museum, he’s spent a career figuring out how to lead when the stakes are highest. He’s also logged more than 365 days in space. 

In this conversation, Chris sits down with JM Search Partner Jamey Cummings – his Naval Academy classmate – to trace the decisions, mentors, and hard-earned principles that shaped each chapter of his career. It’s an honest account of how training quiets fear, why bad situations tend to get worse faster than they get better, and the single leadership principle he keeps returning to no matter the environment. 

Watch the full conversation below.

In This Conversation:  

• 0:00 — Early career lessons: showing up, work ethic, and earning referrals
• 3:30 — Building resilience: what a defining moment at age thirteen taught him
• 7:00 — Mentorship and sponsorship: the people who opened doors
• 12:00 — Gratitude in leadership: tracking down those who shaped your career
• 14:00 — Leading subject-matter experts: authority without expertise
• 17:00 — Overcoming imposter syndrome in high-stakes environments
• 20:00 — Training as preparation for fear, crisis, and the unknown
• 24:00 — Pre-execution rituals of elite military and space teams
• 27:00 — The discipline of slowing down under pressure
• 30:30 — Crisis decision-making: the rule of “don’t make it worse”
• 33:00 — Non-negotiable leadership principles across military, NASA, and nonprofit contexts