Yesterday hit me like a punch in the gut.
Two staff members called out, and instead of letting my team drown, I threw on my scrubs and hit the floor. Our usual ratio is 1:8. Yesterday? I took on 1:16. I hustled hard because I knew one of my nurses also had training obligations, and I didn’t want anyone to feel unsupported.
By the end of the shift, I was exhausted, but I was also proud. I thought: At least they’ll see I’m in this with them. At least they’ll know I’ve got their back.
Then came the morning hurdle.
The team went around thanking each other—every single one of them—and not a single word came my way.
I know leadership isn’t about applause. I know being a manager often means giving more recognition than you receive. But I’d be lying if I said it didn’t sting. It stung so much it brought me to tears.
I make it a point every single day to tell my team they’re appreciated. I believe in showing gratitude often, out loud, and without hesitation. To not be acknowledged when I literally doubled the ratio and sweated alongside them? That cracked me.
For a moment, I questioned why I even do this. Why do I carry the stress, the weight, the responsibility, if the people I serve don’t even see it?
And then I remembered:
Leadership isn’t about being thanked.
It’s about being there.
It’s about serving, even when it goes unnoticed.
But here’s the truth no one tells you: servant leadership can get lonely. Sometimes it feels invisible. And sometimes that invisibility hurts.
If you’re a leader reading this and you’ve had those same gut-punch days—where your effort was met with silence instead of gratitude—just know you’re not alone. It doesn’t make you weak. It makes you human.
So today I’ll shake it off, reset, and keep showing up. Not because I want the recognition, but because this is what leadership looks like in real life: messy, thankless, and still worth it.