Leadership is difficult, and it requires fortitude and savoir faire to lead a team, but the moment a leader phones in and burns out, the team will begin to deteriorate as well.

Keeping morale as a leader is important because the moment a leader stops caring, it’s going to take a toll on the team. A leader is responsible not only for making sure that everything goes smoothly, but for setting to tone of the workplace. If there is an optimistic, progressive tone in the space, everyone is going to be more willing to work than if the tone is stagnant and burnt out. A leader has to ensure that progress will be made, and this is not possible if no one is interested in the progress, including the person in charge.

This is particularly important in journalism because news can be a very stressful job, and there are a lot of pitfalls and setbacks when you’re trying to get a story, especially if it’s on a difficult topic. The content of stories can be hard to swallow, and the people you have to interact with to get the story can be a big source of stress, so the leader has to keep it together and show courage and hope in the face of adversity to keep the team going.

Journalists for a paper, whether they realize it or not, work together as a team. Everyone is pitching in to share the status of their community, and they’re building the pieces of a puzzle that will paint a picture of where the community is at. The leader provides the materials that the team members need to paint this picture and ensure the journalists are serving the community the way it needs to be served.