This month Juliana invited me to share a reflection on my experience with the first module of the Presidential Leadership Scholars (PLS) program. PLS is a six-month leadership development program that is a collaboration between the presidential centers of George W. Bush, William J. Clinton, George H.W. Bush, and Lyndon B. Johnson, built around studying the leadership approaches of these four presidents. It's designed to build a network of leaders who can challenge each other to think differently and lead better.

I wanted to share a bit of what I learned in the first module. One of the most impactful sessions came from Professor Michael O'Leary from Georgetown University. He presented a framework that broke leadership into five levels, ranging from leading yourself to leading a company. You likely have seen this before.

Leadership Development Hierarchy A five-level pyramid illustrating a leadership development framework. From the base upward, the levels read: Leading Yourself, Leading a Team, Leading Multiple Teams, Leading a Function, and Leading the Company. The pyramid uses a gradient of greens, darkest at the top and lightest at the base, to represent progressive leadership scope. Leading the Company Leading a Function Leading Multiple Teams Leading a Team Leading Yourself
Image adapted from "A Hierarchy Model for Leadership Development" by Jenilee Deal

While most of the session focused on leading teams, what stayed with me wasn't the conversation on leading teams or organizations. It was the foundation: leading yourself.

Surrounded by Impressive People

That first day in DC, I found myself surrounded by people whose accomplishments were genuinely impressive. Surgeons saving lives. Leaders of major philanthropic initiatives. Educators reshaping entire school systems. International relations experts. Cybersecurity leaders. In such rooms, I usually suffer from imposter syndrome. This should have been one of those rooms.

As we shared meals and conversations, I noticed something. My fellow cohort-mates weren't superhuman. They were people with families and challenges just like anyone else. One thing that many did have in common was that they had regular intentional practices around reflection and gratitude. One described their daily journaling practice, and another shared that every day they share something they were grateful for at dinner with their kids. Initially, I thought these were nice personal habits they'd developed alongside their professional success. As I listened more carefully, I realized these practices of reflection and gratitude weren't separate from their leadership. They were foundational to it.

Leading yourself isn't about being naturally disciplined or having everything figured out. It's about building practices. Reflection. Gratitude. The daily disciplines that keep you grounded, focused, and growing. These leaders, regardless of what they've accomplished, still do this work every single day.

Not an Imposter

Sitting in that room, I realized I wasn't an imposter. I was exactly where I needed to be. It's not about matching their accomplishments. It's about leading effectively in my own area. And that starts with leading myself and building the practices that will ground me in that work.

Why This Matters for Public Health Leaders

This is true for all of us in public health. Public health leadership is hard. The challenges are complex, the resources are often limited, and the work can be emotionally exhausting. These practices of reflection and gratitude matter so much for us as public health leaders because the work is hard and having these foundational practices isn't a luxury. It's essential. You can't sustainably lead your team through disease outbreaks and health equity work if you haven't built the practices to lead yourself first.

So, here's my challenge to you: What's one practice of reflection or gratitude you can start this week? It might seem simple, but that's where leading yourself begins.