Your Leadership Story: Part 6 of 8
A Reflection Series
Welcome to Your Leadership Story, an 8-part leadership reflection series designed to help you grow as an authentic, self-aware leader. This series is for leaders who want to pause and reflect on their leadership journey, reconnect with what shaped them, and lead with more clarity, purpose, and intention.
Leading From Who You Are
Not who you were told to be.
Have you ever felt pressure or been expected to lead a certain way?
The first thing my supervisor said to me
after I led a meeting with a new team was:
“I'm afraid they are going to run all over you.”
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard something like that.
I’d been passed over for jobs before…
Told I was too nice,
that I wouldn’t be taken seriously.
Earlier in my career,
I might have believed her.
I might’ve tried to toughen up
or be someone I wasn’t.
But that day, I didn’t waver.
Because I knew the truth—
Kindness wasn’t a weakness.
It was my strength.
It wasn’t the only thing I led with,
but it was necessary for me to build trust,
hold steady in hard conversations,
and create the kind of space
where people felt safe enough to be real
and stretched enough to grow.
What becomes possible
when you stop leading from others’ expectations about how you should lead—
and start leading from who you are?
🌱 Take a moment to reflect.
You don’t have to lead like anyone else.
You lead best when you lead from who you are.