Kristi Noem, Local Nonprofits, and the Oldest Leadership Trap in the Book

There’s an old rule in public life that never seems to go out of style: the moment you start believing your own press is the moment your judgment begins to slip.
We’re watching that play out in the national headlines right now with Kristi Noem — but if we’re honest, the phenomenon isn’t confined to Washington or national politics.
I’ve seen versions of the same thing much closer to home.
Over the years, working with nonprofit organizations across the Hudson Valley, I’ve had the privilege of meeting some truly dedicated leaders. Many of them carry enormous responsibilities — managing donor relationships, guiding complex missions, and trying to do meaningful work in communities that depend on them.
But occasionally, something shifts.
A glowing feature article.
An award dinner.
A few flattering profiles.
A board that stops asking hard questions.
And slowly, the press coverage becomes less of a spotlight and more of a mirror.
When that happens, the narrative surrounding a leader can start to replace the discipline that leadership requires. Criticism becomes unwelcome. Skepticism gets labeled as negativity. The leader begins to see themselves less as a steward of an organization and more as the embodiment of the organization itself.
That’s a dangerous place for anyone in public life.
Because leadership — whether in government, business, or the nonprofit world — is supposed to be grounded in humility. It requires a constant awareness that the mission matters more than the individual. That the organization must always be bigger than the person standing at the podium.
The moment that balance flips, the work suffers.
This is not a partisan observation, and it’s not limited to any single field. It’s simply a pattern that repeats itself again and again: the more praise someone receives, the more discipline they must exercise not to believe it.
The strongest leaders I’ve encountered — both nationally and here in the Hudson Valley — tend to share a common trait. They treat praise cautiously. They welcome dissent. They keep people around them who are willing to say the uncomfortable thing when it needs to be said.
They understand that press coverage is not a verdict.
It’s just a headline.
And the truth about leadership is almost always written somewhere else — in the quiet decisions, the difficult conversations, and the willingness to remember that no matter how many headlines your name appears in, the work was never about you in the first place.