Beyond the Career Ladder: the Rich Layers of Life Unlock True Leadership

𝗣𝗲𝗿𝗵𝗮𝗽𝘀 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗹𝘆, 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗜 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗺𝘆 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸 𝗜 𝗱𝗶𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗺𝘆 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿. 

As a result, I paved my way as a perfectionist, unaware of the downsides of that behavior, and underplaying the significance of the great experiences and lessons ALL of the LAYERS of my life have brought to make me the one and only me!

𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗹𝗮𝘆𝗲𝗿𝘀—𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗰𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘀𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗽𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁 𝗶𝗻-𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗻 𝗺𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀—𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗲 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀. They give us insights we can’t learn from any textbook or training program. I’ve come to understand that it’s not about fitting into someone else’s leadership mold, but about leaning into the fullness of who we are. It’s in embracing the moments when things don’t go as planned, or when we’re balancing our roles as partners, parents, friends, and mentors, that we unlock the unique essence of our leadership.

𝗜𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗿 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗹𝘆 𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗰𝘁 𝗯𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗲𝘅𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗳𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗻𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗰𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀. 

We begin to lead in a way that’s 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗰, 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗳𝘂𝗹 because it’s rooted in our own stories.