Brandy: The Power of Courage and Calm
There are leaders you remember for their titles.
And then there are leaders you remember because they changed how you show up in the world.
Brandy was the latter.
She didn’t shout. She didn’t posture. She didn’t lead through urgency or ego.
She led with presence. With clarity. With care.
And years later, her voice still shows up in mine.
Fail Forward
One of the first things she told me when I joined the team was this:
“We want you to fail forward.”
I didn’t realize then how rare that invitation was.
Not just the permission to fail—but the expectation that failure was part of growth.
That trying boldly and messing up was part of doing something meaningful.
It wasn’t about perfection. It was about learning in motion.
What that told me—without her having to say it—is:
“You’re safe here. We’re not throwing you away.”
And when you know you’re safe?
You take creative risks. You think bigger. You stop performing and start becoming.
Just… Breathe
I’ll never forget the moment my name came up in a parent complaint.
I was still new. Still unsure. Still in that default mode of “I must have done something wrong.”
I raced into her office with a swirl of panic and apologies.
Brandy didn’t ask me to explain.
She didn’t add to the spiral.
She simply placed her hands gently on my shoulders, looked me in the eyes, and said:
“Breathe.”
Then she modeled it—one long, grounding inhale.
It was such a small thing. But it anchored me.
Because in that moment, she was modeling what true leadership looks like in chaos.
Pause.
Connect.
Choose calm.
Lone Nuts & First Followers
Brandy also created one of my all-time favorite staff traditions:
The Lone Nut & First Follower Award.
Inspired by that famous leadership video, this award honored two people:
The Lone Nut—someone who started something new, creative, or delightfully weird.
And the First Follower—the brave person who said, “I see what you’re doing… and I’m in.”
Because it takes both.
It takes someone willing to stand up and try something bold.
And it takes someone else to say, “You’re not alone.”
And then? The movement begins.
This tradition celebrated innovation and solidarity.
And it reminded us that leadership isn’t always the loudest person in the room.
Sometimes it’s the first person who notices.
Slow It Down
But the phrase that stayed with me most—the one I still whisper to myself in pressure-heavy moments—is this:
“Slow it down.”
When the emails are flying, when the hallway conversations get tense, when a parent shows up angry at your door... the pressure says: Respond. Fix it. Prove yourself.
But Brandy reminded us:
You don’t have to react.
You get to respond.
And you get to choose when.
“Slow it down” wasn’t just about time.
It was about reclaiming your center.
About refusing to be pulled into other people’s chaos before you’ve found your footing.
It’s okay to say:
“I’m still gathering information.”
“I’ll get back to you once I’ve had time to reflect.”
“I hear your urgency, and I need a moment to think.”
Those aren’t signs of weakness.
They’re signs of a leader who is grounded.
What Brandy Modeled
Brandy didn’t lead with bravado.
She led with wisdom.
She made space for people to be human.
She created systems where risk and reflection weren’t just allowed—they were expected.
She reminded us that calm is not passive—it’s powerful.
And more than anything, she showed me that the most transformative leadership often happens in the quiet moments:
A breath before the storm.
A hand on your shoulder.
A belief in your potential before you believe it yourself.
If I ever become the kind of leader I want to be,
it will be because of people like Brandy.
And maybe one day, I’ll get to be that kind of presence for someone else.