Worthy Now: The Practice of Wholehearted Leadership

We are living and leading through some interesting times—to say the very least.

On any given day, we are met with a flood of demands: images, media, headlines, meetings, messages, checklists, notifications, deadlines. The noise is relentless and deafening. The pressure? Unrelenting.

And embedded in that noise are countless scripts telling us who we should be, how we should act, and when we should arrive at some idealized version of success.

Brené Brown, a bestselling author and world-renowned researcher, has spent decades making sense of the human experience—helping us understand how to lead with vulnerability, courage, and authenticity in a world that’s constantly shifting beneath our feet.

In her book, The Gifts of Imperfection, Brown introduced what she calls “Wholehearted Living”—a powerful framework rooted in the radical belief that we are worthy now, not once we’ve achieved more, proven ourselves, or perfected the image we present to the world.

“This book is an invitation to join a wholehearted revolution,” Brown writes. “A movement fueled by the freedom that comes when we stop pretending everything is OK when it isn’t.”

For leaders and high performers, this message hits home. Many of us have been conditioned to believe that vulnerability is weakness, that productivity defines our worth, that being “cool and in control” is the only way to be taken seriously. But what if the exact opposite is true?

Wherever this message finds you this summer—whether you’re leading a company, a team, a family, or simply leading yourself—it may be time to reset, to recalibrate, and to realign with the parts of ourselves we’ve silenced or ignored.

Wholehearted leadership is not a performance. It’s a practice. It’s not a race to be won. It’s a journey to be lived.

Below are the ten guideposts from The Gifts of Imperfection to support us on our journey. May they serve as an invitation to lead and live with deeper meaning, more connection, and less regret.

1. Let go of what people think and cultivate authenticity. Leadership without authenticity is just performance. People don’t follow perfection—they follow truth.

2. Let go of perfectionism and cultivate self-compassion. Perfectionism is the 20-pound shield we carry that never protects us—it only weighs us down.

3. Let go of numbing and powerlessness and cultivate a resilient spirit. Resilience isn’t about suppressing pain—it’s about being with it and still choosing to rise.

4. Let go of scarcity and fear of the dark and cultivate gratitude and joy. If you never pause to appreciate the light, the darkness will always feel overwhelming.

5. Let go of the need for certainty and cultivate intuition and trusting faith. Leaders don’t always have the answers. But the great ones trust themselves enough to take the next step anyway.

6. Let go of comparison and cultivate creativity. Comparison poisons originality. Creativity blooms when we stop measuring and start imagining.

7. Let go of exhaustion as a status symbol and productivity as self-worth. Cultivate play and rest. Burnout isn’t a badge of honor—it’s a signal that something’s off.

8. Let go of anxiety as a lifestyle and cultivate calm and stillness. Stillness isn’t the absence of movement—it’s the presence of clarity.

9. Let go of self-doubt and “supposed to” and cultivate meaningful work. Your path won’t always make sense to others. That’s okay—it’s not theirs to walk. Do the work that aligns with your soul, not just your résumé.

10. Let go of being cool and always in control. Cultivate laughter, song, and dance. Your team doesn’t need a robot. They need a human who can laugh, feel, and connect. Your humanity is not a weakness. It’s your greatest asset.

This isn’t about doing all ten perfectly. It’s about cultivating awareness—of what needs to shift, what needs to stay, and what needs more nurturing care.

It’s about choosing—day after day—to show up with more courage, presence, and heart, especially when it’s hard. That’s how real leaders and difference-makers are built. That’s how cultures shift. And that’s how we move beyond simply managing others and ourselves… to truly transforming our lives.

Because in a world where control, competition, and comparison reign supreme, choosing authenticity is not only radical… it’s how wholehearted revolutions begin.

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