Leadership, the kind that actually works.

Let’s just say it.

Leadership is the most overused, underdelivered buzzword in business.

Small and mid-sized companies toss it around like confetti at a mediocre office birthday party. “We value leadership! We’re building future leaders!” Cool. Then why is your office a graveyard of ambition and burnout?

I’ve been in this game for over 30 years. Design, branding, marketing, strategy. I’ve worn all the hats: employee, owner, VP, CEO. I’ve watched companies grow, implode, sell out, get bought, go broke, and sometimes, actually evolve. And here’s the truth that people don’t say out loud:

Most of what people call “leadership” is either ego wrapped in jargon, or fear dressed as hierarchy.

But when it’s real? It’s magic.

And that magic starts with something radical.

Putting people before profit.

Yup. That old chestnut. And before your CFO strokes out, no, it doesn’t mean giving everyone pay raises and puppies. It means creating an environment where humans are seen, heard, supported, and challenged to think better, not just do more. Because humans, not policies, drive creativity. They drive brand. They drive loyalty, process improvement, client satisfaction, retention, profit, and all the other shit that companies actually care about.

Still not sold? Let’s flip it.

Run a company without leadership, real leadership, and watch what happens. Good people leave. Toxic people stay. Innovation dies. Trust evaporates. Everything slows down, or worse, speeds up in the wrong direction.

And the best part? This kind of leadership doesn’t need to come from the top.

It can come from the back row. From the intern. From the frontline worker who asks the question no one else will. Real leadership is a decision, not a title. It’s empathy with a spine. It’s courage without the theatre.

Here’s the definition I use:

Leadership is the act of showing up with vision when others stay silent. It’s choosing courage over comfort, clarity over compliance, and empathy over ego. It doesn’t need permission. It doesn’t wait for promotion. It happens the second someone decides to give a shit and move people forward.

When that happens, it spreads. Not everyone wants to lead, but everyone wants to feel safe, respected, and challenged in the right way. That’s when ideas get wild. That’s when productivity spikes, and brand becomes something more than a nice deck with a mood board. That’s when profit becomes a by-product, not a desperate goal.

Now, let’s make this real.

I was gonna drop some classic names here. Satya Nadella, who turned Microsoft into a culture of curiosity. Rose Marcario, who made Patagonia a temple of purpose. Dan Price, the guy who took a pay cut so his team didn’t have to. They all deserve the spotlight.

But honestly? I’ve got someone better. Someone local. Someone human.

Mandy fucking Farmer (not her actual middle name but it seemed appropriate at the time I wrote it)

CEO of Accent Inns, Hotel Zed, and ROAR.

Her leadership mantra is this: Lead with love.

That’s it. Sounds simple. Soft even. But it’s a mic drop.

Because love, in a business setting, is still treated like a dirty word. But Mandy wields it like a machete. Her version of leadership doesn’t coddle. It sees people. It supports them. It builds a culture where weird is welcome and honesty isn’t punished. It’s in the brand, in the rooms, in the staff, in the vibe. It’s fucking contagious (sorry I swear a lot. Sorry, not sorry).

And the results?

Top employer in Canada. Staff retention most companies would kill for. Ideas, energy, joy. The kind of workplace that makes people better just by being there.

This is what leadership looks like.

Not suits and slogans. Not LinkedIn humblebrags.

It’s love with teeth.

It’s people before profit.

It’s the thing that separates the companies we admire from the ones we try to escape.

And it’s time we stop pretending it’s optional.