MAHONEY’S MOMENTS
Jim has written regular leadership-related blog posts, along with other several other leaders, for Ohio University’s Voinovich Academy. On this page, you can read his monthly blog posts, Mahoney’s Moments. These moments are aimed at a variety of topics and the content is designed for the moment and intended to cause you to reflect, perhaps consider an approach, or entertain a new idea in your life or work. Enjoy!
April 2026: Show Up in Your Leadership
“Personality is how you show up every day. Character is how you show up on a hard day.”
Leadership shows up in moments. These may be high intense moments or quiet ones in private conversation. Here are a couple of moments witnessed by millions of people in recent weeks. Consider longtime successful University of Connecticut women’s coach Geno Auriemma. His team was beaten in the national semifinals by the University of South Carolina after a 54-game winning streak. Following the game, Coach Auriemma refused to shake hands with the opposing coach Dawn Staley and initiated an intense argument with her following the game on the sideline.
I couldn’t help but think of the adage—losing doesn’t build character. It exposes it. Not a highlight moment for a great coach. Now consider Savannah Guthrie, co-host of the Today Show, who recently returned to her popular morning show after being absent for two months. Her absence was due to the disappearance of her mother who has been the subject of a national manhunt. I can’t imagine how hard it was for Savannah to return to work, still not knowing the outcome of her mother. Yet she showed up with complete professionalism that belied her distress. She rose to the occasion or in my parlance—the moment.
Leadership is memorable for others in those moments. People are often watching. I remember watching a University President from my second-floor classroom stop to pick up a piece of trash on the on the quad area one summer evening. Or watching John Glenn return to his namesake high school to speak. He came early and walked into the high school office where he greeted two of us early birds cheerily and asked how we were doing. His sincere and humble greeting—then and every time I saw him—were the moments I remember most about this national hero.
Cultures are built by the actions of leaders in moments. The moment can be on a small or large stage or in a moment of joy or sorrow. Consider Coach Cori Close, the winning women’s coach of UCLA this year. In her moment of national celebrity at the conclusion of the game, she invited her mother over for a hug and minute on national TV with her. Often just showing up in a tough moment for someone else is that moment. I recall as a beginning principal I had a challenging morning with several situations and didn’t handle a moment very well for a teacher who later stopped by to share that the pencil sharpener in her classroom was broken. I failed at that moment with her with my irritation at her small problem. All my apologies later probably didn't make up for it.
Moments count. Cultures and legacies are built on how you handle or create moments. Those moments are how we remember leaders. Maya Angelou was right when she surmised, “people often forget what we say or do but rarely forget how we made them feel.” Those are amplified by leaders. Moments do that.