Tremendous Tracey

After the President survived a third assassination attempt, one reporter asked a question that managed to offend everyone watching. The single word that came before it reveals a leadership lesson hiding in plain sight, and what every leader can take from it.

It started like any other Wednesday morning. Tracey Jones poured her coffee, settled in for what we call "Coffee and Claude Time," and mentioned that her husband Mike had received a strange voicemail.

"This is Manny Rivera calling from Zwicker and Associates PC. Please contact me or any of our representatives at 1-800-397-5324."

Seemed simple enough. A debt collection call. Probably a wrong number. We'd clear it up in five minutes and move on to more interesting things.

Here we are in 2026, and guess what? Most of us are still carrying trash from 2025. It didn't magically disappear. But here's what I learned from a trash can in Colonial Williamsburg: it doesn't have to be ugly. Your transitions through the tough stuff should still be beautiful.

Outstanding leadership isn’t about easing standards for comfort. It’s about calling people to more than they thought possible. It’s about standing firm when the easy way says, “Let it slide.”

Moses knew it. Machiavelli knew it. Steven Sample knew it. And deep down, we know it too. So let us never forget: when leaders soften the standard, organizations decay. But when leaders raise the bar, they ignite transformation.

   As a lifelong student—and teacher—of leadership, I’ve found that defining this incredible word is easier said than done. Leadership is one of the most studied, written-about, and aspired-to traits in all of human history. There are thousands of theories, models, and definitions floating around, from servant leadership to transformational leadership, from positional power to moral authority.

The phrase “A fish rots from the head down” is a blunt and timeless proverb that reminds us of a critical leadership truth: when an organization is in decline, the problem usually starts at the top—not with the staff, not with the systems, not with external conditions. The rot begins at the head.

As a lifelong student—and teacher—of leadership, I’ve found that defining this incredible word is easier said than done. Leadership is one of the most studied, written-about, and aspired-to traits in all of human history. There are thousands of theories, models, and definitions floating around, from servant leadership to transformational leadership, from positional power to moral authority.

And yet, every once in a while, you find a definition that hits the sweet spot.