LinkedIn Article / Blog Post

 

Title: Three Leadership Lessons I Learned From Fighting for Clean Water
LinkedIn article ghostwritten for a fictional environmental nonprofit director

 

When I started working on water access issues, I thought the hardest part would be fixing the pipes. I was wrong. The hardest part is convincing people that the crisis is real — and that it’s solvable.

 

Over the last five years, Project Blue has replaced miles of corroded pipe, delivered thousands of gallons of safe water to rural communities, and fought for stronger environmental laws. Along the way, I’ve learned three leadership lessons that apply far beyond the water sector:

 

1. Data matters — but stories move people.
I can cite lead contamination levels and infrastructure budgets all day, but what stays with people is the image of a mother driving 40 miles to buy bottled water. Numbers inform; stories inspire. A good leader knows when to use each.

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2. Partnerships beat silos.
We’ve made our biggest breakthroughs when engineers, policy makers, and local activists sat at the same table. Complex problems rarely fit into one field’s expertise. Leadership means creating space for collaboration — and getting comfortable with not being the smartest person in the room.

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3. Urgency needs endurance.
Advocacy work is a marathon disguised as a sprint. You have to act like the deadline is tomorrow, but sustain your team like the work will take years — because it will. Leaders set the pace, and that pace has to be sustainable.

 

Clean water may be our fight, but these lessons apply whether you’re running a company, a classroom, or a campaign. Whatever your mission, remember: combine data with story, seek out partners, and lead with urgency that can last. That’s how you get results that matter — and that last.