The Leader Who Shows Up

When I was about 23, I worked with an older man who quietly taught me a lesson about leadership. He was a GS-15 at HA/TMA and had been around the government long enough to see just about everything. Most days, he could have stayed in his office, and no one would have questioned it. Instead, he walked the floor. Every day, stopping by desks, leaning on door frames, and asking people how things were going. At the time, I did not realize it, but I was watching leadership by walking around. What struck me most was that he was not there to interfere with the work, hover over people, or tell them how to do their job. He simply took the time to connect with them; contractors and govies alike, just for a moment. Sometimes he would ask about a project that someone was working on. Other times, it was about how their family was. Frequently, he would just listen. The message was quiet but powerful. The people matter as much as the work. People want to be seen. They want to know that someone notices they are more than the job. Working in large organizations is not glamorous. A person answering phones, reviewing files, coding, or entering data can easily feel invisible. When a leader takes a moment to acknowledge the individual, something changes. It reminds people that their time and effort have value. I learned more from watching that man walk around than I did from any management class. He understood that reports, numbers, and KPI's never tell the full story of an organization. The real story lives with the individual. When you take the time to stand next to them and listen, you start to understand how things function. You also build trust, which no spreadsheet can measure. Years have passed since those days, and now I find myself on the other side of that lesson. Back then, I was a young kid watching how leadership worked. Today, I am the 50 year old. Life has a way of sneaking up on you like that. One day, you realize you have become the person others are watching. The world of work has changed since those hallway conversations. Telework and digital tools mean that many teams are no longer in the same place at the same time. The casual walk down the hall has turned into a video call or a quick message on a screen. It is easier now for leaders to become distant without even meaning to. When people are spread out, connection no longer happens by accident. That means the time we spend connecting must be intentional. Leaders make the effort to check in, to ask how things are going, to remember the person is more than the work, and to recognize success in all its forms when they see it. The tools may be different, but the need is the same. People still want to be seen and to know they matter. Every now and then, I think about that old GS 15 walking the floor. He probably never knew he was teaching a lesson. That is the thing about leadership. People learn as much from what you do as from what you say.