AnInteractiveJourneytoAuthenticLeadership
CardinalPointLeadership
ChrisPoyzer,MSW ExecutiveCoach
Therecomesapointwhenyoufeelit.Ashift.You'restilldoingtheworkbutsomething's changed.Thegrinddoesn'tgripashard.You'renotpushinglikeyouusedto.You'restill carryingweight,butitdoesn'tfeelquitesoheavy.
Maybeit'snotdramatic.Maybeit'sjustcatchingyourselfreactingdifferentlyinatensemeeting. Orfindingalittlemorecalminyourmorningroutine.Ornotneedingtofixeverything.You're stillleadingbutwithlessnoiseinyourhead.
That'smomentum.Thekindthatshowsupwhenwhatyou'redoingstartsliningupwithwhoyou reallyare.That'swhenthingsstarttofeelright.
TheMirrorMoment
I'vehadmymomentstoo.I'm52now.Twolittlegirlsathomekeepmegrounded,laughing,and alwayshumbled.Wedanceinthekitchen.Makeupridiculoussongs.Idovoicesnooneelse wouldunderstand.It'ssillyandbeautifulandreal.
That'swhenIfeelmostme.
Andyet,Istilllookinthemirrorsomemorningsandthink, Theeyessayit. Thefaceshowsit.Thesparkisn'tgone,butitflickers.
Physically?I'vealwaysbeenstrong.Youknow"OlympiaStrong"(andyes,that'ssarcasm). MygirlsevensayIhaveasix--packoftacos.Buthere'sthetruth:I'vegotarthritis.It runsdeepinmygenepoolthanks,MomandDad.Somedays,Iache.Notjustsorenessreal, grind-you-downpain.
Itellclients(andmaybethislosesmeafewmanpoints):I'mnotbulletproof.Thebodytalks.It demandshonesty.
WhenDoYouFeelGood?
Notlongago,Isatacrossfrommyrheumatologistasharp,no-nonsenseLithuanianwoman. Sheaskedme,"Whendoyoufeelgood?"
AndIsmirked."Honestly?"Isaid."IhadagreatweekinApril2025." Sheblinked."Aweek?"
"Yeah,"Itoldher."Hadavasectomy.WasonVicodinforafewdays.Sleptlikeaking.Nopain. Feltamazing."
Webothlaughed,butIwasn'ttotallykidding.Forthosefewdays,Iwaspain-free.Clear. Relaxed.Ifeltlikemyselfturnedallthewayup.
Therealquestionunderneaththatstoryis:Whatgetsyoubacktothat?
Notthedrugsorthedowntimebutthatfeeling.Thatclarity.Thatfreedomfromthedrag.That energythatmakesyourememberwhoyouare.
WhenAreYouatYourBest?
Iaskmyclientsthisallthetime:Whenareyouatyourabsolutebest?
Forme?It'swhenI'mnotholdingback.WhenI'mbeingsilly.Cookingagoodsteak.Sippinga gooddrink.Carryingmygirlsonmyshoulders.I'mnotinmyhead.I'mjustinit.Movingfrom instinct.Nofilter.That'stheenergyItrytobringintowork.
Becausewhenyourleadershipflowsfromwhoyoureallyarenotwhoyou'reperformingto beitgetsbetter.Notalwayseasier.Notalwayspainless.Butbetter.Realer.
LeadershipLostandFound
We'renotthefirsttowalkthispath.History'sfilledwithleaderswhofoundtheiredgebycoming hometothemselves.
WinstonChurchillwaswrittenoffforyearsuntilBritainneededsomeonewhodidn'tplay politicsbutcalledthingsplain.Helednotfrompolish,butfrompresence.
NelsonMandelawalkedoutofprisonanddidn'tleadwithbitterness.Heledwithclarity.He didn'tperformunityhewasunity.
TheodoreRoosevelt,shatteredbyloss,retreatedintotheBadlands.Whatlookedlikewithdrawal wasactuallyreconnection.Whenhecameback,hewasmorehimselfandmorepowerful thanever.
Theydidn'tfindtheiredgebydoingmore.Theyfounditbyrememberingwhotheywere.
OneofmyfavoritequotesofalltimecomesfromMarkTwain: "Whenindoubt,tellthetruth."
It'sdirect.Itcutsclean.Anditworksnotjustinconversations,butinleadershiptoo.
Sohere'sthetwist:
Whenindoubtwhatdoyouturnto?Whatbringsyoubacktothetruthofwhoyouare?
Forme,it'ssteak,mygirls,music,movement.Goofyvoicesandkitchendanceparties.That's whereI'mfull.That'swhereIdon'toverthink.That'swhereIleadbestfromaplaceoftruth, notperformance.
ButWhatIfYou'reNotThereYet?
Let'sgetevenmorehonest.
Maybeyou'rereadingthisandthinking,"IwishIfeltlikethat."Mayberejuvenationfeelslikea conceptnotacurrentreality.Youremembertheenergyyouusedtohave.Thefire.Theedge. Thesharpoptimismthatmadeyousodamneffective.Andrightnow,itfeelsdistant.Maybe evenimpossible.
That'snotweakness.That'snotfailure.
That'sasignyoumayneedtostayrighthere.Inthisconversation.Inthisreflection.Inthisache.
Sometimesyoudon'tneedtopushahead.Sometimesyouneedtomarinate.Sitinthetruth.Letit rise.
Ormaybeifyou'rehonestit'stimetogobacktotheRealizingwork.Theearlierstage.The onewhereyou'restillunpacking,stillnaming,stillwrestlingwiththelogjamsthataredraining yourenergyandmutingyourinstincts.
Thatversionofyoutheonewho'squestioningeverything?That'sapowerfulleaderinthe making.Don'trushit.Don'tleapfrogoverit.
Stay.Listen.Reconnect.
Becausethetruthis,momentumdoesn'talwaysroarin.Sometimesitwhispers.Sometimesit invitesyou,gently,tostopchasingandstartreturning.
ComingHometoYourself
You'renotretiring.You'renotfinished.You'renotbehind.
You'rejustremembering.
Rejuvenationisn'taboutreinventingyourself.It'saboutre-meetingyourself.It'sabouttrusting thattheleaderyouare,theoneunderneaththeachesandarmorthatonestillhasthegoods.
Andthemoreyouleadfromthatplace,themorethiswholethingstartstofeellikeit'sworking again.Likeyou'reworkingagain.
Taketimetothoughtfullyconsiderandwriteyourresponsestothesequestions:
1.Whenareyouatyourabsolutebest?Whatconditionsbringoutthemostauthentic versionofyou?
2.Whatphysical,emotional,ormental"aches"areyoucarryingthatmightbedulling yournaturalenergyandclarity?
3.Whatmomentsinthepastmonthfeltmostlike"you"?Whereyouweren'tperforming ormanagingjustbeing?
4.What'syourpersonalresetbutton?Whatreliablybringsyoubacktocenter?
5.What'slog-jammingyourclarityrightnow?Whatmightyouneedtofaceorrelease beforemomentumreturns?
6.Whenindoubtwhatdoyouturnto?Whatremindsyouofyourtruth?
[Spaceforyourresponse]
©CardinalPointLeadership-ChrisPoyzer,MSW
ReadytoGoDeeper?
Ifyou'dlovetounpackyourtakeawaysorinsightsfromthistopic,I'dbehonoredtoexplore themwithyou.Sometimesthemostpowerfulshiftshappenwhenwegivevoicetowhatwe're discoveringaboutourselves.
Scheduleaconversation:https://calendly.com/chrispoyzer/cardinal-point-leadership-session
Let'stalkaboutwhat"gettingbacktoyou"lookslikeinyourleadershipjourney.
