When a Hero Becomes a Leader

By James Rector, Publisher
Profiles in Leadership Journal

What Children Can Teach Us About Real Influence

Children don’t use the word leader.
They use hero.

To them, the person who stands strong, listens deeply, and helps others feel safe, that’s a hero. And more often than not, that person is a parent, a grandparent, or a teacher.

Someone present. Someone who shows up.

We tend to reserve the word leader for people with job titles and corner offices. But leadership, in its purest form, begins much earlier, and much smaller.
It begins with presence. With integrity. With courage witnessed in everyday moments.

Children don’t admire résumés.
They admire calm in a storm.
They admire kindness under pressure.
They admire someone who shows them how to be, not just what to do.

For many of us, the first leader we ever knew wasn’t a CEO or a general.
It was someone at the kitchen table.
Someone who held us accountable while still believing in us.
Someone who modeled resilience when life didn’t go as planned.

In that light, leadership becomes less about authority and more about impact.
Less about position, more about example.

What if organizations saw leadership the same way?
What if we recognized those who inspire, not just through results, but through resolve?
Not just for hitting targets, but for mentoring others toward their own?

There are heroes among us.
Some wear suits. Some wear scrubs.
Some wear tool belts or aprons.
Some wear the quiet uniform of humility.

They deserve to be seen.
They deserve to be named.
Not just because they lead, but because they do so with the heart of a hero.

As nominations continue for this quarter’s awards, ask yourself:

Who in your organization would a child see as a hero?

That may be the leader worth watching.

Because in the end, titles fade,
But example lasts.