Who’s Holding the Ladder?

I used to think corporate executives were automatically the smartest people in the room.

Not just smart, but operating on a different plane altogether, with an almost supernatural understanding of human nature, market dynamics, and the ability to connect threads nobody else could see.

Over time, I realized I was giving them too much credit.

That realization didn't diminish my respect for leadership. If anything, it improved my understanding of what effective leadership actually looks like.

Early in my career, I approached executive communications the way many communicators do. I assumed part of the job was helping leaders project confidence, certainty, and authority. I wrote talking points, speeches, and companywide messages designed to present executives in the best possible light.

It was well-intentioned but incomplete.

Leadership at the highest levels isn't a pure meritocracy. Success is rarely the result of one person's intelligence, vision, or work ethic alone. More often, it's a combination of timing, judgment, risk tolerance, stamina, and capability, all supported by an extensive network of people whose contributions are largely invisible.

Once you've spent enough time around executive teams, you begin to see that infrastructure everywhere…

• The middle manager translating a high-level executive vision into a tactical roadmap.

• The legal counsel catching an off-the-cuff promise before it becomes a compliance nightmare.

• The program managers and assistants scrambling to build the support structure behind a rogue, on-the-fly promise made to keep a customer happy.

Most successful executives are standing on top of an enormous amount of collective effort.

The best leaders understand this.

They don't pretend to have all the answers or act like every win is the result of individual brilliance. They recognize that leadership is less about having all the answers and more about creating conditions for expertise to thrive.

That's one reason some of the most effective executives I've worked with were also among the most approachable.

They listened, asked questions, and acknowledged expertise wherever it existed within the organization. And they understood that moving an organization forward requires connectability, relatability, and - at least to some extent - likability.

In other words, they understood that leadership is fundamentally human.

This realization changed how I think about executive communications.

Today, I'm far less interested in helping leaders project mythology than I am in helping them articulate reality.

Employees rarely expect perfection. They do expect credibility and authenticity.

Great leaders climb high and take big risks, but the good ones never forget who's holding the ladder.

The best executive messaging reflects that understanding.