The Water They’re Rowing In

What Federal Leaders Reminded Me About Accountability, Dignity, and People-First Leadership

I just got home from Washington, D.C. with a full heart and a deeper respect for the men and women serving in our federal government.

This week, I had the privilege of speaking at the Senior Executives Association Leadership Summit on a topic close to my heart: Accountability with Dignity. I was grateful that the message seemed to connect with the leaders in the room, but as I reflected on the trip, I realized the most meaningful part of the experience was not the opportunity to speak. It was the opportunity to listen.

I met senior executives responsible for massive teams, budgets, agencies, and missions. I met rising leaders preparing for future executive roles in public service. I met retired executives and board members who continue to give their time, experience, and wisdom to strengthen the next generation of leadership for our nation. Their careers, responsibilities, and stories were far different from the world I came from in hospitality, but the heart of leadership was familiar.

What stood out most was their dedication.

These were leaders who care deeply about their missions, their people, and their country. They were not simply talking about organizational charts, policies, budgets, or strategies. They were talking about service, stewardship, responsibility, and the very real human challenges of leading people through complexity and change.

And it reminded me of something I believe more deeply than ever:

We cannot lead people well until we take time to understand the water they are rowing in.

A Different Kind of Leadership Environment

A lot of our work through the Priceless Leadership Movement is about empathy, human connection, engagement, culture, and helping leaders see people differently so they can lead people better. But empathy is not just something we ask leaders to extend downward to their teams. It is also something we need to extend outward toward people and sectors we may not fully understand.

This week gave me a chance to briefly put myself in the shoes of federal leaders, and what I saw increased my respect for them.

Federal leaders are navigating a uniquely complex environment. Many are dealing with shifting priorities, budget pressures, changing strategic direction, new expectations, and constant public scrutiny. Their work does not pause simply because the environment changes. Their teams still need clarity. Their agencies still have missions to fulfill. The people they serve still need support. The country still depends on them to keep rowing, even when the current changes around them.

It made me think about what this might look like in the corporate world. Imagine if every few years, an organization received a new CEO who could bring a completely different vision, strategy, set of priorities, and leadership philosophy. Then imagine much of the executive team changed as well. Then imagine other key senior leadership roles also shifted, bringing new expectations, new initiatives, new goals, and new definitions of what matters most.

For many federal employees and career leaders, this kind of change is not a hypothetical leadership exercise. It is part of the environment in which they serve.

That does not mean every challenge is unique to government. Every sector has complexity. Every organization deals with change. Every leader carries pressure most people do not see. But there is something distinct about leading in an environment where priorities can shift quickly, public scrutiny is constant, and the mission must continue regardless of who is setting the direction.

And yet, the leaders I met were not cynical. They were thoughtful, committed, mission-minded, and deeply aware of the human impact of the work they do. That encouraged me.

Accountability Still Matters

My session focused on a simple but powerful idea: accountability and empathy are not opposites.

In fact, healthy accountability requires dignity.

People still need standards, expectations, honest feedback, ownership, and results. That is true in government, business, nonprofits, education, hospitality, healthcare, and every other sector. A people-first approach does not mean lowering the bar or avoiding difficult conversations. It means raising the bar in a way that does not strip people of their dignity.

Too often, when performance is low, engagement is weak, or trust is damaged, organizations rush to fix the issue with another program, policy, platform, process, or initiative. Sometimes those things are needed. But many of the deepest workplace challenges are not simply program problems. They are environment problems.

People want to know if they matter. They want to know if their leader sees them as a human being, not just a function. They want to know where they stand, what is expected, and whether they can be honest without being punished. They want to know if their work has meaning and if their contribution is noticed. They want to know whether accountability will be handled with fairness, clarity, and respect.

Those questions may not always show up on a dashboard, but they shape culture every day. And culture shapes performance.

That is why the heart of Accountability with Dignity comes down to three things: clarity, care, and ownership. Clarity without care can feel harsh. Care without clarity can become permissive. And clarity and care without ownership can still leave people stuck. Healthy accountability brings all three together. It says, “I care enough about you to be honest. I respect you enough to be clear. I believe in you enough to invite ownership. And I value you enough to have this conversation with dignity.!

That message seemed to resonate deeply with the leaders in the room. During the session, they reflected on their best and worst leaders, how those leaders made them feel, and how that impacted their confidence, trust, engagement, and performance. Most of us can remember leaders who brought out the best in us. Most of us can also remember leaders who drained something from us. The difference was not always technical skill, position, or intelligence. Often, it was how they made us feel as human beings.

One Conversation Can Shift the Environment

One of the most meaningful moments came after the session. The leader who introduced me, a highly accomplished public servant who had been recognized earlier that morning with a lifetime achievement award, came back on stage and thanked me. He said the message had moved him so much that he texted his deputies to tell them how much he appreciated them. He also said, with a smile, that I had “brought them all to church.”

That moment stayed with me, not because of the compliment, although I will happily receive an “amen” wherever one shows up, but because of what he did next. He did not wait to launch a new engagement strategy. He did not need a new initiative, a committee, a budget, or a long planning cycle. He simply reached out to the people he leads and let them know they were appreciated.

That is the work!

Culture does not only change through major announcements, formal programs, or organizational initiatives. Sometimes culture changes when one leader chooses to see people differently and lead people better. It changes through a sincere thank-you, a thoughtful check-in, a moment of encouragement, a clear expectation, an honest conversation, or a decision to listen before assuming.

None of that costs a penny. But it can be priceless!

Helping More People Pick Up the Oars

During the session, we also talked about engagement using the picture of a boat. In many workplaces, only a few people are rowing hard. Some are drifting. Some may be doing the minimum. Some may not have picked up an oar in a long time. And when results are not where they need to be, organizations often respond by asking the strongest rowers to row harder.

The problem is that the most engaged people often end up carrying more work, more pressure, and more frustration. Meanwhile, leaders may continue pushing for results without fully understanding why so many people have stopped rowing in the first place.

Behind disengagement, there is often a story. Sometimes people are tired. Sometimes they are unclear. Sometimes they feel invisible. Sometimes they have lost trust. Sometimes they have been hurt by poor leadership. Sometimes they do not believe their work matters anymore. And sometimes, they have never had a leader slow down long enough to ask.

Accountability with Dignity is not about excusing poor performance. It is about creating an environment where more people are willing to pick up the oars again. When people feel seen, respected, valued, and connected to the mission, they are more likely to contribute their best. That is not only good for culture. It is good for results.

The Theme Was Bigger Than One Session

One of the things that encouraged me most about the summit was that this was not just my message. Throughout the event, I heard a consistent theme from other speakers, board members, and leaders: we need to focus more on people.

We need to care for the humans doing the work. We need stronger connection, better communication, greater trust, and more intentional leadership. In a world being reshaped by artificial intelligence, constant change, uncertainty, and complexity, human connection is not becoming less important. It is becoming mission critical.

That warmed my heart!

Sometimes, when you are passionate about people-first leadership, it can feel like you are standing on an island, waving a flag, wondering if anyone sees it. But this week reminded me that the message is being carried by many others. There are leaders in government, business, nonprofits, education, healthcare, hospitality, and every other sector who know that people are not machines, culture is not fluff, and dignity is not optional.

That gives me hope!

There Is More Good Than We See

We live in a time when so much of what we see is filtered through headlines, hot takes, algorithms, outrage, and fear. That is true in how we see workplaces, leaders, institutions, and certainly government. But headlines rarely tell the whole story. Social media rarely tells the whole story. The loudest voices rarely tell the whole story.

There is a lot of good happening in places we do not always see, led by people whose names may never make the headlines. There are public servants working hard, leaders trying to do the right thing, mentors giving back, teams carrying heavy missions, and people showing up every day to serve something bigger than themselves.

That does not mean everything is perfect. Far from it. But it does mean there is more to the story.

Maybe all of us could use that reminder. Before we criticize, maybe we should get curious. Before we assume, maybe we should listen. Before we reduce people to a headline, a title, a role, or a stereotype, maybe we should remember that they are human beings carrying stories, pressures, responsibilities, hopes, and burdens we may not fully understand.

The Priceless Reminder

I left Washington, D.C. grateful for the opportunity to speak, grateful for the leaders I met, grateful for the stories I heard, and grateful for the Senior Executives Association and the important work they are doing to strengthen public sector leadership.

I also left with a renewed conviction that people-first leadership is not a corporate idea, a government idea, a nonprofit idea, or a hospitality idea. It is a human idea.

Every person is priceless in worth. Every person has a story. Every person wants to be seen, known, valued, and treated with dignity. And every leader has an opportunity to create an environment where people can thrive and results can follow.

So maybe the challenge for all of us is simple: let’s give each other a little more grace. Let’s assume there is more to the story. Let’s take time to understand the water others are rowing in. And let’s keep building workplaces where accountability strengthens dignity instead of damaging it.

Because when people are treated like they matter, they are far more likely to show up like they do.

And that can change everything!