Every person in a position of leadership should permanently seal this moment in their minds.

Leadership sets the tone. Always.

That the President of the United States of America said on national TV that it was all a hoax is why many of your friends are still throwing parties.

The mind works in very interesting ways and for some people there is no walk backwards. No restrospectve review. They see one green light and they go on that green light the whole way home regardless of the glaring red and yellow lights along the way.

And despite all the public health messaging, the images of people on ventilators and the deceased who will be buried without their loved ones present to honor their lives -- there are still people who are convinced "it's all political."

Prepare yourself for it in Holy Week.

Strong, effective leadership is realizing you're not an owl. You don't have full 360 rotation. So you put smart people in key positions (like research teams) to cover your blind spots.

But that requires enough ego balance to admit that you actually have blind spots.

Repeat: smart people in *key* positions.

A research team is not the same as a response team. Offense, defense. Pretty basic.

And that, too, is why we are here.

The mixed messaging of the CDC and policy shifts going north, south and sideways (don't need a mask > mask not effective > make your own masks) is the net result of FAILED leadership at the tippy top.

Period. Full stop.

And when you create an organization where people are scared shitless to challenge your authority you don't get power you get a tumbling deck of cards.

So leaders, take this moment and every moment forward to check your ego. We all got 'em. We all need to do the work.

Instead of all of this micromanaging, busy work on Zoom use the time to bring your team together to examine your blind spots. Get people talking. Seal up the holes. Do some reverse engineering. Stuff that's going to have REAL sustainable impact.