The Battle for the Schoolyard: How a Fourth-Grade Protest Shaped My Leadership Voice

Some childhood memories fade into pleasant background noise. Others remain vivid because they mark the first moment you realized you could influence the world around you. My first taste of advocacy came in the form of a schoolyard—specifically, the part of it that suddenly disappeared.

I was in third or fourth grade when construction in our town encroached on our school property. A significant part of our playground—our only outlet for running, playing, and getting fresh air—was suddenly fenced off.

The adults solved this problem by… reducing our break time and rotating which grades were allowed outside. For children who treated recess as oxygen, this was unacceptable.

A group of us decided something had to be done. At that age, we didn’t have formal strategy sessions or stakeholder analysis. We simply had conviction. And, conveniently, one of my classmates’ mothers was a councilwoman who helped secure an audience with the town’s mayor.

To our surprise, he agreed to meet us—and promptly turned our heartfelt plea into a press event. There we were: a cluster of determined children standing in front of cameras, explaining why we needed our schoolyard back and appealing to the most powerful official we knew.

To his credit, the mayor listened. And shortly thereafter, the construction company changed its approach, restoring the schoolyard space we had lost. Whether it was our passionate speech or the media attention that did the trick, we never knew. But the outcome was clear: we got our playground back.

For a nine-year-old, that victory was monumental.

That experience was more than a childhood adventure. It was my first real encounter with advocacy, influence, and the power of collective action—lessons that resurface again in my business life.

1. Leadership starts long before you have a title.

We were just kids, frustrated and determined. But leadership often begins exactly that way—with someone who notices a problem and refuses to accept it. You don’t need authority to take initiative; you need conviction and the willingness to mobilize others.

In business, some of the most meaningful change comes from those who speak up before they are formally empowered.

2. Access matters—and knowing who to ask is part of the strategy.

A councilwoman mother opened the door, but we walked through it. Early on, I learned that influence is rarely a solo pursuit. It’s about understanding networks, relationships, and how to connect with decision-makers.

Today, whether advising CEOs or recruiting senior executives, this instinct remains essential: knowing whom to engage, when, and how.

3. Visibility accelerates action.

The mayor’s press event may have been theatrical, but it was effective. Public attention motivates stakeholders—cities, companies, teams—to act faster and more decisively.

In business, visibility works the same way. Many problems remain stalled not because they’re unsolvable, but because they’re invisible. Bringing issues into the open forces momentum.

4. Solutions often come from outside the system causing the problem.

We didn’t negotiate with the construction company ourselves. Instead, we activated someone with leverage over them. That triangulation—identifying the party best positioned to influence the outcome—is a powerful strategic principle.

Leaders don’t always solve problems directly. They orchestrate the right people to solve them.

5. Advocacy, once learned, never leaves you.

That schoolyard meeting planted the seed of a voice I still use today. It shaped my comfort approaching senior leaders, presenting arguments, rallying teams, and driving change. It probably nudged me toward a career in sales and leadership—roles that require persuasion rooted in purpose.

Looking back, the fight for recess seems almost comically small in the grand scheme. But impact isn’t measured by the size of the issue; it’s measured by the size of the shift it creates inside you.

That day in front of the mayor, I learned that speaking up matters, that people listen, and that problems can be solved when the right voices reach the right ears.

It was my first lesson in leadership—and the first time I realized that even a child can move a system, one schoolyard at a time.