Lead from the Inside Out
Newsletter in Brief:
This edition explores the real Hero’s Journey behind leadership transformation.
Key takeaways:
The most powerful leadership growth often begins with self-awareness, not skill acquisition.
True growth comes not from perfection, but from understanding our inner struggles.
This is a bi-weekly newsletter that shares strategies and actionable steps for self-mastery, leadership and my personal reflections and professional updates. Subscribe here!
The Hero’s Journey starts within
And it changes how you lead
Lately, I’ve been reflecting on the arc of the Hero’s Journey - Joseph Campbell’s timeless map of transformation. As I close another chapter in my own development as a coach and team facilitator, I’m struck by the sacrifices, uncertainty, and deep fulfillment that come with answering a true calling.
There’s something sacred about doing the work you love, in the way only you love, especially when it serves others meaningfully. It reminds me that every bold venture, every reinvention, begins with a quiet inner call.
The moment everything changes
There comes a point in every meaningful career or relationship when you hear it - that whisper that you can’t un-hear.
A quiet pull. With a nudge. A tension. A whisper that says: there’s more.
It might show up as frustration, or an urge to lead differently.
Our first reaction is to ignore it. To push it away.
You rationalize. Delay. Distract.
But eventually, it grows louder. Until you know: something has to shift.
This is the true beginning of the Hero’s Journey. Not the one about awards and status, but the one about leading with depth, showing up more honestly, and relating more humanely.
The misbelief that holds leaders back
Many assume that successful leaders have it all figured out. That they don’t struggle with doubt, shame, or messy emotions. We think we have to be “fully ready” before we can be of service.
It’s simply not true. Let me share a story of a client (anonymized and changed) to bring this closer to home.
I recently worked with Mike, a senior manager in a large organization. Very successful. On top of his job. Awards. Recognition. High -performance ratings. High potential.
On the surface, thriving.
But under the surface, he was exhausted.
Why? Because his own inner doubts, the demons he was trying to fight would keep showing up. Day in and day leading to exhaustion and drained energy.
What he was dealing with was his insecurity of “not enoughness” and his unfulfilled desire to truly belong, to be seen and to be noticed.
How it showed up at work?
Every morning, he opened his calendar - not to prep for the day, but to check which meetings he wasn’t invited to.
His struggle of not belonging was so heavy that he needed constant re-assurance that it is not true. However, instead of finding it, he would find meetings that he wasn’t part of and further increased his own doubts.
Rationally, he knew that he can’t be part of every meeting. He knew that some meetings do not even require his presence. On the irrational level – he needed the acknowledgement, the external validation that whispers: you matter - even when you’re not in the room.
His rational mind told him not to spiral. But the emotional need to belong was louder than logic.
I'm so glad we had the chance to work together.
Facing our inner demons is often far harder than tackling external challenges like competition or market setbacks. Leaders excel at solving outward problems, but the inner work? That usually requires support.
The real work
What we uncovered was about an old story:
If I’m not included, I don’t matter.
If I’m not visible, I’ll be forgotten.
If I don’t perform, I’ll be left behind.
Sound familiar?
These stories often trace back to early experiences. In Mikes case, it was linked to his childhood fears. But instead of trying to fix, I did something different. I invited Mike to listen to the story and to acknowledge it. With compassion. Without shame.
And that changed everything.
Once he began to view his pattern, he could catch it. The behavior didn’t disappear overnight, but it lost its grip on him. That’s the beginning of real self-leadership a and self-mastery.
From fight to understanding
This is the part most leaders misunderstand.
They think they have to fight their demons.
But what if your job isn’t to fight them -
What if it’s to understand them?
Most high achievers try to push past insecurity, silence fear, and outwork their shame. But the more we resist, the louder they get.
And eventually:
We burn out from maintaining the façade
We start performing instead of leading
We lose touch with our real power
We stop connecting authentically
We feel isolated, even at the top
And the parts we hide?
They grow stronger in the dark.
You don’t transform by overpowering what’s unresolved. You transform by facing it.
Leadership is a series of choices
The Hero’s Journey isn’t a straight line. It’s a series of moments where we decide:
Do I keep hiding this?
Or do I face it?
Do I keep performing?
Or do I choose real presence?
And perhaps most importantly:
Do I keep trying to prove I’m enough?
Or do I start leading from the belief that I already am?
So what happens when you say yes?
When you accept these parts of yourself with compassion, you unlock something powerful:
You can hold space for messiness - in yourself and others
You build trust not from control, but from clarity
You become flexible, responsive, and grounded
You stop managing perception and start leading from presence
That’s when your influence becomes magnetic. Not because it’s loud, but because it’s real. And people feel the difference.
One of my friends who recently climbed a mountain said to me:
"The climb didn’t get easier. I just stopped resisting it."
That’s the shift. The inner summit. When we stop trying to escape the hard parts and start walking alongside them.
Whether or not we reach the summit becomes secondary. What matters is who we become along the way.
Your turn
Ask yourself:
What’s the behavior or fear I most try to hide from my team, peers or clients?
What emotion I am avoiding when it comes?
Now ask:
What would change if, instead of hiding it, you began to acknowledge and accept it?
Your next conversation, your next meeting, your next moment of influence, what if you showed up as someone who had learned to dance with your inner demons instead of someone still trying to fight them?
The Hero’s Journey doesn’t end when you conquer your demons.
It begins when you realize they were never your enemies at all.
Takeaway for Leaders:
Your inner struggles aren’t a liability. They’re a bridge to deeper empathy and real presence.
Stop performing and start listening. To yourself first.
The calling you feel? It’s not random. It’s a guidepost. What if you followed it?
True leadership starts when you stop hiding and start accepting.
Be BOLD and GO BEYOND!
BEYOND is a state of continuous growth and transformation. It’s about stepping out of the ordinary, redefining what’s possible, and leading boldly. Here, we explore leadership fundamentals - self-awareness, presence, mindset, behaviors, strategic decision-making and influence. BEYOND is for those who refuse to lead within expectations and instead choose to go further, think bigger, and make a lasting impact. Subscribe to this newsletter here.