We’ve been wrapping up some of our 2025 leadership programs over the last few weeks, and this is always one of my favourite moments in the work. It’s the time where we sit with leaders and reflect on their growth, progress, learning and impact.
Underneath the models, tools and frameworks, there’s a consistent thread in all of our work:
helping leaders dig deep and really understand who they are and how that translates to how they lead.
Again and again, we see the “light bulb moments” that come with that work. But none has been expressed as powerfully as one leader who said:
“We’re bringing more human to our leadership – and we are the future of leadership in this organisation.”
This realisation didn’t come from a clever slide or the latest leadership trend. It came from the digging deep. From being vulnerable. From having the courage to share what they were learning about themselves in a room of peers and leaders. It came from doing the kind of work that is rarely done – and rarely rewarded – in most organisations.
This kind of work isn’t easy.
It isn’t easy to:
- Create the space in your diary and in your head.
- Look within and be honest about what you see.
- Build a deeper level of self-awareness.
- Let go of patterns and stories that no longer serve you.
- Be brave enough to experiment with a new way of showing up.
Many leaders realise, sometimes painfully, that they have been leading in the way they think others expect them to. They’ve been wearing the mask – the professional persona that feels “acceptable” in their organisation – and leaving the essence of who they are at the door when they walk into the office.
Layer onto that the “patchwork quilt” of expectations that gets stitched together over time:
- The feedback from one manager who said you need to be “more assertive”.
- The 360 comment that suggested you should “slow down and be more considered”.
- The offhand remark from a senior leader that you’re “too emotional” or “too soft”.
Piece by piece, you start patching together a version of yourself built on other people’s opinions of how you should show up as a leader.
Before long, you’re exhausted from trying to hold it all together. You’re performing leadership rather than living it. And it shows – in your energy, your relationships and your impact.
In our work we talk about REAL Leadership as four interconnected ways of being:
- Resilient – how you recharge, reset and stay grounded under pressure.
- Empathetic – how you are present with others, genuinely listen and connect.
- Aligned – how clearly you know what matters to you and whether you’re leading in line with your values and strengths.
- Leveraged – how you use your impact wisely, multiplying value rather than trying to do it all yourself.
REAL Leadership is not about being perfect. It’s about being human on purpose.
When leaders start to do this work, a few things shift:
- They stop chasing a mythical version of the “ideal leader” and start owning their own style.
- They catch themselves when they slip into masks or people-pleasing, and gently course correct.
- They become more honest – with themselves and with others – about what they need to be at their best.
- They become more courageous in how they show up, even when the stakes feel high.
And the impact of that? Teams feel it straight away. The leader feels more consistent and grounded. Conversations become more real. Trust deepens. Decisions are clearer because they’re anchored in something solid, not just the latest priority or loudest voice in the room.
I come back often to that leader’s comment:
“We are bringing more human to our leadership, and we are the future of leadership in this organisation.”
The future of leadership isn’t waiting for us out there in the next big methodology. It’s already in the room – in leaders who are willing to do the inner work, take off the mask, and lead as the most honest version of themselves.
It looks like:
- A leader admitting they don’t have all the answers, and inviting the team in.
- Someone choosing presence over multitasking in a one-on-one.
- Saying no to something that’s misaligned, even when it would be easier to say yes.
- Asking for support instead of silently burning out.
That’s Real Leadership. And organisations that want to thrive in complexity, change and uncertainty will need more of it, not less.
You don’t need to become a different person to be a great leader.
You need the courage to bring more of who you already are to how you lead.
That’s the work. It’s not always easy – but it is absolutely worth it.
#RealLeadership #MichelleSalesLeadership #HumanOnPurpose #ResilientLeadership #EmpatheticLeadership #AlignedLeadershop #LeveragedLeadership
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