There's a quote I come back to often: "Excellence is the capacity to take pain." It's from Isadore Sharp, founder of the Four Seasons. The longer I've led teams and companies, the more I've realized how true that line is — not just in theory, but in practice.

We talk a lot about leadership in terms of vision, decisiveness and strategy. But the best leaders I know — the ones people would follow into the fire — have something else: the ability to absorb pain.

Leadership comes with pressure. That's part of the job. But the best leaders don't just manage that pressure, they shield their teams from it. They carry the emotional and strategic weight of uncertainty so others can stay focused and confident.

This isn't about being a martyr; it's about being a buffer. The kind of leader who makes complexity feel clear, even when it isn't. The kind who gets the late-night call, makes the hard call or takes the blame when things go sideways — not because it's easy, but because it protects the momentum of the team.

Michael Jordan's 1997 "flu game" is a perfect example. He dropped 38 points while visibly sick during the NBA Finals — not for headlines, but because the team needed him to absorb that........

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