Katharine Graham was the CEO and Publisher of The Washington Post who grew the paper from a local newsroom into a powerhouse by leading with journalistic integrity and fearless leadership.

It was during her tenure that Watergate happened. When the New York Times published excerpts of the Pentagon Papers, the Nixon administration sued, pushing the case to the Supreme Court. For 15 days, the U.S. government tried to silence the press.

Graham didn’t back down—she ordered The Washington Post to print the full report, even after the White House issued an injunction. She also greenlit Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein’s Watergate exposé, uncovering high-level corruption.

The Supreme Court ultimately ruled in favor of the free press, and Nixon later resigned.

📌 Mentoring the Next Generation:
Maralee Schwartz, newly promoted before the 1984 Democratic National Convention, was nervous her column wasn’t good enough. Graham reassured her:

"Aren't we women just like that? We're our own worst enemies. We grew up thinking only men could do the big, important jobs. We always worry we’re not good enough. Do you think there’s even one man out there worrying about what he just wrote? Not one. We’re our own hardest critics."

📌 Standing Firm on a Global Stage:
In 1988, Graham traveled to the Soviet Union to interview Mikhail Gorbachev. Afterward, Soviet officials pressured her to redact a name from the transcript. She refused. In her autobiography “Personal History”, she wrote:

“We wouldn’t do this even for our own president, much less another country’s. I held firm.”

How do you fearlessly lead your team?

~*~

This is one of my Big Ideas posts—where I explore how new ideas, good science, creativity, and bold leadership can help us build a better world.

I believe ADHD leaders have the empathy and creativity to solve the world’s biggest problems, and I want to support as many of them as possible as they step into leadership.

Sources:

Graham, Katharine. Personal History. Alfred A. Knopf, 1997.

https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2021/09/27/katharine-graham-new-york-exhibit

https://www.ghco.com/historykaiser