Leading with Character: Stepping Up and Leaning In
Two years ago, I stepped up to volunteer in my hometown as a member of the newly established Falmouth, Massachusetts 250th Committee. The Committee was chartered by the Town Select Board to lead efforts to observe the 250th anniversary of our Nation’s independence. Along the way, I’ve met some remarkable people and learned a lot about our Town’s role in the War of Independence.
Honoring Memorial Day
The experience also caused me to reflect more deeply, this past Memorial Day, on the sacrifices made by so many men and women to protect our freedom and preserve our way of life over the 250 years of our Nation’s existence. From the War of Independence until today, Americans have stepped up and leaned in to serve our Nation in armed conflicts and global wars. Many lost their lives in service to our Nation.
On Memorial Day, my thoughts kept turning to the War of Independence and those who stepped up to serve before there was even a Nation to which to swear an oath of allegiance. Despite the Continental Army starting as an all-volunteer force, many men were thereafter conscripted into service. Although some evaded the draft and others deserted, most of those who stepped up kept up (if they lived) and, in the end, the British were defeated.
Victory was certainly the result of some of the most impressive, effective leadership ever shown. Take General George Washington, Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army. He inspired his demoralized officers, who were planning rebellion, to continue fighting when he addressed them with humility during his famous Newburgh address. Or the Marquis de LaFayette, who led French troops on the battlefield to help defeat British General Charles Conwallis, whose loss at Yorktown effectively ended the War.
Women Who Served
Those men were leaders of character who stepped up to fight for the values they held dear. But in reading about the War of Independence over Memorial Day weekend, I learned in a piece by Todd DePastino in the Spring 2026 issue of Veterans Breakfast Club Magazine about the women who served, mostly behind the scenes. Women like Sarah Osborn Benjamin who accompanied her husband and lived with and served members of the Continental Army. She washed and mended clothing, cooked, and carried water and food into the trenches. Or women like Margaret Corbin, who at Fort Washington in November 1776, manned an artillery piece with her husband. When he was killed, she took his place and continued firing until she was severely wounded. Congress later granted Margaret Corbin half a soldier’s monthly pay and a suit of clothes, thus making her the first woman in U.S. history to receive a military pension.
I’ve always admired people in support roles, like Sarah Osborn Benjamin and Margaret Corbin, who step up and lean in to serve behind the scenes, sometimes without compensation or recognition. They deserve a spotlight, too.
Look in the mirror: How can you, as a leader, motivate and inspire people to step up and lean in to give their best effort, whether on the front lines or in a vital support role?
Please join me again next time for more on Leading with Character.
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