By Cathy M. Rosenthal
One of the easiest mistakes we make is assuming successful leaders are born confident.
We see someone standing on a conference stage, leading an organization, or speaking with authority, and we imagine they have always been that way. We see the executive director who seems to have all the answers or the leader everyone looks to for guidance, and we forget about everything that came before.
Somewhere along the way, many of us begin telling ourselves a story: I could never do that. I’m just not a leader.
But that story isn’t true. In fact, the leaders you admire have probably asked themselves that very same question.
Most leaders don’t arrive fully formed. They often grow into leadership, one opportunity, one challenge, and one uncomfortable step at a time.
That’s one of the reasons Jordan Craig’s essay, “Discovering My Voice: How Courage and Confidence Shaped My Leadership,” in Humane Perspectives: Leadership in Animal Welfare, resonated with me, and will likely resonate with many emerging leaders. She writes candidly about persistence, taking risks, and wrestling with imposter syndrome*. Her story reminds us that confidence isn’t something you’re born with. More often than not, it’s something you build by saying “yes” before you feel completely ready.
Leadership Begins Long Before the Title
I first met Jordan when she accepted the executive director position at Spay Neuter Network several years ago. I remember hearing then-Executive Director Bonnie Hill talk about the search process and this incredibly talented candidate they hoped would say “yes.” Bonnie knew they had found someone special. The only question was whether Jordan would leave Dallas Animal Services and take the leap.
Fortunately for the organization, she did.
Having the opportunity to work alongside Jordan over the next several years, I quickly came to understand why people gravitated toward her. Yes, she is one of the smartest people I have ever met. She has an extraordinary ability to hold multiple ideas, priorities, challenges, and opportunities in her head all at once. She can untangle complex problems, identify practical solutions, and see connections others miss.
But intelligence alone doesn’t explain why people follow someone.
What impressed me most was that no idea was ever too small to discuss, and no person was beneath her attention. Whether she was talking with a board member, a veterinarian, a shelter employee, or a consultant sitting across the table, Jordan listened. Really listened.
Listening is one of those leadership qualities that’s easy to overlook because it doesn’t draw attention to itself. Yet over time, people remember the leaders who made them feel heard.
Looking at Jordan today, it’s easy to assume leadership came naturally to her. She projects confidence, makes difficult decisions look manageable, and carries herself with the quiet assurance people often associate with experienced leaders.
In her essay, Jordan pulls back the curtain on the doubts, risks, and experiences that shaped her along the way. She reminds us that the leaders we admire most often appear confident today because of everything they worked through yesterday.
I’m grateful she chose to share that journey because I suspect many emerging leaders need to hear that confidence is often learned one difficult decision at a time.
The Work Behind the Confidence
If you want to know what people really think about an animal welfare leader, don’t look at their title. Watch what happens when they walk into an animal welfare conference.
Whenever I attend conferences with Jordan, people are constantly stopping her. Someone waves from across the room. Someone else calls out, “Hey Jordan!” A colleague pulls her into a hug or stops to ask for advice.
It is impossible not to notice how deeply respected she is throughout the animal welfare community.
What people don’t see are the years that came before those conference hall conversations. They don’t see the leadership cohorts she signs up for, the mentors who challenged her, the professional certifications she pursued, the difficult jobs she accepted, or the countless times she stepped outside her comfort zone because she believed growth was waiting on the other side.
Leadership didn’t simply happen to Jordan. She intentionally invested in becoming the leader she hoped one day to be.
It’s a little like watching an Olympic athlete stand on a podium with a gold medal and forgetting the thousands of hours spent training when nobody was watching. Or seeing an actor become an “overnight success” at age fifty after decades of auditions, rejections, and small roles.
Leadership works much the same way.
We see the confidence. We don’t always see the years spent developing it. We see the success. We don’t always see the risks, setbacks, self-doubt, persistence, and quiet courage behind it. We admire the accomplishments without realizing they were built one conversation, one difficult decision, and one act of courage at a time.
Jordan’s essay reminded me that growth often happens long before anyone else notices. It happens when we say “yes” before we feel completely ready, when we raise our hand for opportunities that stretch us, and when we keep moving forward despite the quiet voice asking, Are you sure you can do this?
Leadership Is a Lifetime of Growth
Today, Jordan serves as Chief Operating Officer at Operation Kindness Humane Society. For those who know her, that rapid rise in the ranks isn’t surprising. It reflects years of preparation, humility, perseverance, and a commitment to keep learning long after many people would have settled comfortably into what they already knew.
Over time, those moments shape who you become. That’s the lesson I carried away from Jordan’s essay.
Her story shares the setbacks, risks, and moments of self-doubt that shaped her path to leadership—details I won’t give away here because they’re best experienced in her own words. But if you’ve ever questioned whether you’re ready to lead, whether you belong at the table, or whether you have what it takes to make a difference, I think you’ll find something of yourself in Jordan’s story.
* Imposter syndrome: The persistent feeling that you don’t deserve your success or accomplishments, even when your skills and achievements show otherwise.
About Jordan Craig
Jordan Craig, CAWA, is Chief Operating Officer at Operation Kindness Humane Society. Previously, she served as Executive Director of Spay Neuter Network, where she led the organization’s expansion across North Texas and San Antonio, increasing access to affordable veterinary care for thousands of pets. Throughout her career, she has demonstrated how innovation, perseverance, and collaborative leadership can strengthen communities and save more animal lives.
