The Leadership Ripple: How One “Hello” Redefined What Everyday Leadership Means

For most of my life, I believed leadership was something you did for others — a set of actions meant to inspire, guide, or serve the people around you. And while that’s true, I’ve come to realize something even more fundamental: leadership begins with leading yourself.

That starts with the small decisions - the ones that no one sees but that shape who you are becoming.

Over the past three years, I’ve had the privilege of empowering and developing young leaders through Peers Not Fears. My journey started before I left the classroom, but the deeper work began when I started walking alongside students learning what leadership really means.

From Students to Role Models

This year, I’ve been working with a group of eighth graders who began their leadership journey as seventh graders. They’ve grown so much, and now they’re taking what they’ve learned and mentoring sixth graders just starting out.

Initially, I thought the most powerful leadership would happen between the eighth and sixth graders - older students guiding younger ones. But during a recent conversation about why this work matters - for the school, for Peers Not Fears, and for themselves - the students taught me something profound.

There’s another kind of leadership happening: peer-to-peer leadership.

A Moment That Changed Everything

One day, a student with physical and mental disabilities joined our group activity. At first, I could feel the eighth graders’ uncertainty. They weren’t sure how to engage or what to say. But then something beautiful happened - they leaned in.

They participated. They laughed. They made space. The new student had fun, learned something new, and everyone walked away changed.

Later, I reminded the eighth graders of that moment - how their engagement created something powerful for that student and for themselves.

Their response stopped me in my tracks.

One said, “Oh, when I see that student in the hallway, I say hi now.”

That’s when it hit me.

Everyday Leadership: The Power of a Simple “Hello”

That “hi” - that small, genuine act of recognition - is leadership.

Not the loud kind, not the kind that earns applause or attention, but the kind that shapes community quietly. It’s leadership that models connection.

And that’s what I told them: A role model isn’t someone who never makes a mistake.A role model is someone who shows others how to show up.

Through that simple act of greeting, these students demonstrated that leadership flows in every direction - not just top-down or older-to-younger.

They are leading themselves by choosing kindness. They are leading the sixth graders by example. They are leading their peers in the hallway by demonstrating inclusion.

This is what everyday leadership looks like. It’s not about control - it’s about connection.

The Lesson We Often Forget

That moment reminded me of something we often forget as adults: the smallest actions can have the greatest impact.

When students practice leadership through inclusion, they’re not just building skills - they’re shaping the kind of community we all want to live in.

And in those moments, I see hope for the future. Because if leadership starts with a simple hello, imagine what else we can create when we keep showing up for each other.

Closing Reflection

Every one of us can be a leader. It starts with a decision - to see others, to act with kindness, and to model what belonging looks like.

That’s the leadership ripple I want every student (and every adult) to feel.Because when we learn to lead ourselves, we naturally lead others - one hello at a time.