Purpose This article blends scholarly insight with storytelling to illustrate how leadership is often cultivated outside formal models, through everyday acts of resilience and care. Design/methodology/approach Drawing from personal narratives and supported by leadership theory, the authors identify three foundational pillars: Candor, Grit and Service, that shaped their development. Findings This article blends scholarly insight with heartfelt storytelling to illustrate how leadership is often cultivated outside formal models, through everyday acts of resilience and care. Originality/value This work contributes to leadership education by highlighting the profound impact of familial influence and the value of authentic, adaptive leadership in real-world contexts.
Kastle et al. (2026) studied this question.