Unhealed Leadership: A Call to Something Deeper

lerouxankia
Jul 30
2 min read

Updated: 4 days ago

To the woman who’s felt the sting of unhealed leadership: you get to lead differently. And that’s where the change begins.

This one is for the women. For the leaders. For the ones entrusted with shaping, guiding, and influencing others — especially the next generation.

I’ve been sitting with this for a long time. How do I say what needs to be said without pointing fingers, without sounding bitter or accusatory? Because I am not. In fact, I am thankful.

The truth is — many of us have been shaped, sometimes wounded, by leaders who were leading from unhealed places.

The Weight of Unprocessed Pain

It’s a hard thing to name because we want to honour those who came before us. The women who fought to have a seat at the table. Who did what they could with what they had. Who navigated patriarchal systems and paved roads for us.

But we can hold that gratitude and still acknowledge the gaps.

Some of us were led by women who hadn’t done their inner work. Who carried unresolved pain, masked as perfectionism. Who led from insecurity, cloaked in confidence. Who corrected, controlled, or even competed — not because they were bad people, but because they were still bleeding internally.

And when you are young — impressionable, eager, and trusting — those moments leave a mark. I felt that pain.

How Unhealed Leadership Hurts

It breeds fear instead of trust.
It silences rather than empowers.
It models striving instead of authenticity.
It replicates the very cycles it was supposed to break.

If you were ever made to feel small under someone else’s leadership…If your voice was quieted so theirs could be louder…If you confused approval for love, or productivity for worth…You are not alone.

This Isn’t About Blame. It’s About Responsibility.

This isn’t a callout. It’s a call in.

We cannot change how we were led. But we can choose how we lead from here.

We can be the kind of women who heal before we lead. Who pause before we project. Who disciple from wholeness, not wounds.

A New Kind of Woman in Leadership

The future doesn’t need perfect women. It needs healed ones. Kind-spoken strength. Brave humility. Deep integrity.

Women who lead by example, not by ego. Women who nurture, not manage. Women who know that leadership isn’t about influence alone — it’s about responsibility.

The next generation is watching us. May they remember not just what we did, but how we made them feel. May they rise higher because we chose to go deeper.