Why Your Leadership Feels Off Right Now (And What To Do About It) | 025

Well, hello and welcome back. I am so glad to have you joining me here on the Gutsy Grace Leaders podcast. And I'm glad you found your way here if you are new to the podcast. This season, we're kicking off a new topic.

And I have to tell you, I've been looking forward to this one. This season, we're diving into leading from the inside out. And here's why that phrase matters to me. So much of the leadership conversation out there starts with the external, your platform, your strategy, your output, your visibility.

And those things aren't wrong, but I've learned through my own leadership journey and through walking alongside women like you, that the most sustainable, most impactful leadership always starts from within. It starts with the clarity before strategy. It starts with alignment before action. And it starts with you being rooted before you can pour out into anyone else.

So that's what this season is about, going deeper so that we can lead better and further. Tending to the inside so that what grows on the outside can flourish and last. Here's what I keep seeing and maybe you're seeing it or feeling it to January starts so strong. There's vision, there's energy, there's resolutions.

There's that sense of this is the year. You've been praying, planning, maybe you're already putting things into motion. And then we hit March and something starts to feel a little cloudy in our seasons of life and in leadership. We're going along really strong and then maybe we start to drift a little off course or we're right on the path we planned but it no longer feels as right.

It doesn't mean that your January plan was wrong. It doesn't mean you're totally derailed but it might be harder to see clearly than it was just a few weeks ago in January. If that's where you are right now I want you to hear me say this before we go further. That doesn't mean you were wrong and it doesn't mean you've drifted too far off course.

What you're feeling is not a sign that everything has been derailed, but it might actually be a sign that something is about to become even more clear. If you're willing to pause long enough to pay really good attention, then we might find some hidden treasures there that God's just revealing to us about the path. So let's talk about it. There's this moment in leadership that no one really warns us about, and that is that space between the exciting vision and the reality of carrying it for the long haul.

At the beginning, this clarity often comes very easily. You feel somewhat sure of what you're going to do because you in a season of devoted prayer and dreaming and possibility But then as you start walking it out and life moves in responsibilities show up pace picks up and you get this clear sense of direction that can start to feel more difficult or hard. It might even feel like your vision is slipping away a little bit. And that doesn't mean that you're doing it wrong or you're not built for this.

Sometimes it feels like that, but it means that you're moving from being just a visionary to a leader. We know the scripture. Every leader probably has this somewhere on their desk or in their office. Write the vision, make it plain, so he who reads it can run with it.

When I was a younger leader, I thought, oh yes, I need to write it down. I need to share it. We need to put it on the walls so that everyone can be a part of running with it. But as I'm a more seasoned leader now and a bit older and experienced, I really think it's for me too.

If I write it down, it's something that I can go back to. I can remember those inspiring thoughts that really kicked off this whole vision to begin with. I can go back and read some of those prayers that I was praying and see the answers unfolding. I'm the runner.

You're the runner of your vision. And yes, we want to bring others alongside of us. We want to have people with us that are running. But it does start with us as the leader, right?

I want you to remember that vision is always meant to move. It's organic. It's life-giving. It's living.

So it's never meant to stay in this quiet little corner, just dust it off once a year. But it requires adjustment. and sometimes that feels a little unclear or even confusing along the way. But instead of questioning the visions when things start to feel a little cloudy, let's honor the transition of it moving forward.

It doesn't mean that you're losing the vision. Maybe you're moving it forward or you're changing the pace. Now, one of the most common mistakes I see in high capacity women leaders especially, and I've made it myself too, is trying to push through when things start to feel a little fuzzy or unclear. We assume the answer is I just need to put in more effort.

As I do the action, the clarity will come. We've all heard those things. Just do more, faster, have a better strategy, and something will become clear. But often the thing we actually need the most is space, space to reflect on where we are now, space to release the things that we picked up that really wasn't part of the vision or even ours to carry, space to be quiet enough to hear what matters most now in this part of the journey, in this season.

Isaiah 30, 15 says it so simply and yet it's so powerful. In returning and rest, you shall be saved. In quietness and in trust shall be your strength. God does not rush us to decisions.

He restores us with stillness and draws us in closer to him So if things feel a little foggy right now I want to gently ask you is it possible that God isn asking you to do more Is it possible he inviting you to pause just long enough to make sure your vision is clear again and that you made adjustments along the way if your path did drift a little? Here's something I want you to sit with for a moment. Most of the time, leaders don't need to completely start over. They just need a little reset.

And there's a real difference in the two. Starting over says something went wrong. I was off base. I didn't do it right.

A reset says I've been moving and now I'm pausing to make sure I'm still moving in the right direction. A reset helps you reconnect where you actually are, not where you thought you'd be by now. It helps you release what you've been carrying that was weighing you down. And it helps you refocus on what truly matters right now.

Not everything on the list, but the right now things. And it helps you rebuild rhythms that are actually sustainable and not just ambitious and inspiring. Hebrews 12.1 says to lay aside every weight and to run with endurance the race that is set before us.

It is about endurance. It's about running the same race we have and doing it in a sustainable way. Sometimes the most strategic thing you can do as a leader is not to just add new things, but to really make sure that your vision is clear and aligned as you're moving. You were never meant to do all of this alone.

Leadership isolation is real. And it's one of the things I feel most passionate about addressing because I've sat in it and I've watched so many capable, called women sit in it all alone too. We were not designed to carry anything alone in life. And some of the most powerful moments of clarity I've experienced and I've seen unfold have happened in a space where someone finally had the room to exhale, to reflect, to think alongside other people on their journey.

And that's actually part of why I'm so excited about this month in particular, and something I'm doing along with the iBloom team. Now, you may not know this, but I serve in a lot of different roles. I'm an adjunct professor. I serve as a fractional leader on a community team.

And I, of course, have my own consulting clients that I work with every month. And I love all of the things. I love the flexibility of it, the agility of it, the dynamic nature of it. One of those communities that I've been working with lately is hosted by iBloom.

I only talk about resources and bring you voices that I think can really help you in your life and in your leadership. And I truly believe that the coaching week can So let me tell you a little bit about it We hosting what called Spring Reset Coaching Week It was built for exactly what we talking about Today is designed to be a simple guided practice where you can reflect on where you really are release what is not serving you and your purpose now, and get very clear on what deserves your focus and energy right now in this season.

And then start building the rhythms you can actually sustain and carrying it out. It's not about adding more to your plate. It's about stepping back, breathing, and then moving forward with intention. And listen, it's only $10 to join.

I know, spoiler alert, because the team at iBloom really wanted to make it an easy yes for all of us to attend. If what we talked about today resonated with you, I'd love for you to come. I'll be there Monday through Friday. Every day at noon, we'll be gathering together.

And if you're not available, then you can catch the replays and still walk through the practices that I've been talking about, where we find that pause, that place to reflect and reset. Now, I'll have the link in the show notes for you so that if you're at all interested, just click over there, check it out. You'll get all the details. But here's what I want to leave you with today.

God is not demanding that you sprint and hustle 24-7 all day. He's inviting you to lead with steadiness, with wisdom, with your life that feels whole, not just a schedule that's full. And that's really what leading from the inside out is all about this season. Because when we're inside aligned, we're clear, we're grounded, we're leading from that place of wholeness and purpose.

Everything then on the outside gets to reflect that. You don't need to prove everything. You don't have to be constantly playing catch up. But you do need to stay close to what he's called you to do in the season.

I believe he's inviting you to go deeper with him and to lead better than you ever have before. And that's what this season of the podcast is all about. I'm honored to walk alongside you. Let's do this together.

And remember, if this episode spoke to you about something you've been carrying, it likely could speak to someone else that's on their own leadership journey too. And I'd love for you to share it with a friend that you may have, another woman leader that could use some encouragement and partnership along the way. Someone might just need to hear you tell them that what they're doing matters. And if you're feeling that nudge to pause and reset, maybe even realign, please come join us for that Spring Reset Coaching Week.

The link is in the show notes, and I would love to have you join us there. I'll see you next week. And until then, I'm praying that you'll continue to lead with all of the depth and wisdom and care that God has put in you for the people that you're stewarding and serving. Take care.