Leading Through Crisis: Why Wholeness Is the Future of Leadership

How one executive’s silent battle with cancer redefined what it means to lead with authenticity and resilience.

Leadership can be isolating—especially when you’re expected to perform at the highest level while privately facing personal battles. Too often, we equate leadership with invincibility, pushing through at all costs. But when we treat wholeness like a luxury instead of a necessity, we create burnout, disconnection, and emptiness at the top.

In this post, I share my own story of leading a global team while quietly fighting breast cancer—and what it taught me about authentic leadership, emotional resilience, and the need for leaders to care for themselves first.

At one point in my life, I was leading a global team at the height of my career. From the outside, I was confident, high-performing, and calm under pressure, and unshakable.

On the inside, I was terrified.

I had breast cancer.

And I didn’t tell a soul.

Not my colleagues.

Not my team.

Not even most of my friends.

Why?

Because I had internalized the idea that leadership meant holding it all together. 

Never flinching.

Never showing weakness.

Never letting them see you sweat.

So I kept showing up.

✔️ Smiling on Zoom.

✔️ Making decisions in the boardroom.

✔️ Guiding others through change and chaos, while navigating a personal storm within me.

I told myself, “I’ll deal with it later.”

But cancer doesn’t wait.

And neither does the pressure we put on ourselves to be everything to everyone.

The Breaking Point

Eventually, I realized something had to give. I hit a wall.

And in that moment I realized something powerful:

If I didn’t start leading from my whole self, I wouldn’t have anything left to lead with.

That moment changed everything.

It taught me that strength isn’t silence.

It’s honesty.

It’s the courage to let people see the fight and the fear—and to show up anyway.

Real leadership isn’t about being invincible.

It’s about being human.

Authentic Leadership is Human Leadership

Here’s what I want every leader—especially women, especially Black women—to know:

✅ You don’t have to push through everything.

✅ You don’t have to pretend to be okay.

✅ You don’t have to earn your worth through exhaustion.

Take care of yourself first.

Because your value isn’t in how much you carry.

It’s in how intentionally and authentically you choose to show up.

Real leadership isn’t about being bulletproof.

It’s about being human.

This is emotional resilience.

This is mental health in leadership.

This is what it means to lead while being honest about your limits and needs.

This is leadership.

A Note to Anyone Who’s Struggling

If you’re carrying something heavy that no one knows about—I see you.

You are not alone.

You don’t have to hide to be respected.

You don’t have to break to be believed.

You are enough.

Even when you’re tired.

Even when you’re scared.

Even when you’re asking for help.

Lead from that place.

That’s where your real power lives.