Quote of the Day: Volodymyr Zelensky on Politics & Power

Notice the word “icon.” It’s not “leader,” not “boss,” not even “president.” An icon is something you venerate from a distance, polished, untouchable, unquestioned. And that’s precisely what Volodymyr Zelensky refuses when he says, “I really do not want my pictures in your offices, for the President is not an icon, an idol or a portrait. Hang your kids' photos instead, and look at them each time you are making a decision.”

The move is subtle but radical: replace reverence with responsibility. A framed photo of a head of state can quietly train a room to optimize for approval, what will look loyal, safe, or on-message. A photo of your children trains something else: stewardship. It asks, without speaking, “Will this choice protect the future, or merely protect you?”

Try this as a practical filter for work and life: before your next decision, name the “portrait” you’re serving. Is it reputation? speed? certainty? If you can’t explain your choice to a twelve-year-old you love, the choice probably needs work. This isn’t softness; it’s precision. Empathy sharpens leadership because it forces trade-offs into the open and reminds you that policies, meetings, and budgets are ultimately about human days.

Volodymyr Zelensky earned this perspective by traveling an unlikely path, from entertainer who understood public mood to wartime president who has had to make consequential decisions under relentless scrutiny, with real families paying the price.

Today, take one small step: place a personal reminder where you make decisions, a family photo, a handwritten note, a name, then pause for five seconds before you reply, approve, or criticize. Let that pause reroute you toward service, courage, and the kind of choices you’ll be proud to live with. May your power, however small, feel like care.