When Poor Leadership Shows Up at Your Door
Finding Courage and Compassion in the Face of Leadership Failure
Recently, I sat in my car and cried.
Not because I had failed.
Not because I had neglected my responsibilities.
Not because I had made reckless financial decisions.
I cried because I found an eviction notice on my door while waiting for compensation that was contractually owed to me.
In my 53 years, approaching 54, I have never experienced such a moment.
Like many people raised with strong values around responsibility, I have always believed that rent comes first. If necessary, you pay your rent and drink water until better days arrive.
Yet there I was, facing a reality created not by a lack of work ethic or commitment, but by leadership failures and systemic practices that too often place the burden of organizational shortcomings on the very people who have fulfilled their obligations.
The Weight of the Moment
As I sat in my car that day, the weight of the moment felt overwhelming. The uncertainty was real. The embarrassment was real. The fear was real.
And then, at the last minute, two friends said three simple words:
“I got you.”
Those words reminded me that even when systems fail, people can still choose compassion.
That moment also reminded me of lessons from Brené Brown’s work on courage and vulnerability. She teaches that when we dare to walk into our story and own it, we get to write the ending.
Resilience Is Not the Absence of Pain
Leadership literature often celebrates resilience, but resilience is not the absence of pain. Resilience is choosing not to let pain become bitterness.
It is having the courage to stay in the moment.
It is entering the cave we would rather avoid.
Because when we find the courage to enter that cave, we often discover something far greater than comfort. We discover wisdom, clarity, purpose, and the capacity to serve others from a place of authenticity.
That is what vulnerability offers us.
Not weakness.
Not defeat.
But truth.
The Truth About Poor Leadership
The truth is that poor leadership has real consequences.
It affects people’s livelihoods, mental well-being, families, and dignity.
The truth is that delayed decisions, unclear policies, and unchecked practices do not exist in a vacuum. Eventually, they show up at someone’s front door.
Mine arrived as an eviction notice.
This Story Is About Courage
Yet this story is not about eviction.
It is about courage.
- The courage to tell the truth about leadership failures.
- The courage to acknowledge the hurt they cause.
- The courage to refuse bitterness.
- And the courage to continue believing that leadership can and must be better.
Grace With Boundaries and Courageous Standards
As the creator of The MAGNIFICENCE™ Framework, I often speak about Grace With Boundaries and Courageous Standards.
This experience challenged me to live both.
- To advocate for what is rightfully mine.
- To call attention to practices that unnecessarily harm people.
- And at the same time, to refuse to allow disappointment to harden my heart.
Because magnificence is not pretending the wound does not exist.
Magnificence is refusing to let the wound determine who you become.
