Friday espresso: What Do You Need To Know Before Leading Others?
Jan 30, 2026 1:01 am
Rise and Shine!
Let's brew our espresso for an insightful shot!
What Do You Need To Know Before Leading Others?
Stepping into a new leadership role often looks celebratory from the outside.
A new title. A bigger mandate. A visible step forward.
But inside, many leaders experience something very different.
Heaviness.
Self-doubt.
A quiet question that keeps returning: Am I ready for this?
Many first-time leaders expect purpose to arrive neatly with the role — or believe that once they “feel purposeful,” they’ll finally feel confident. What I’ve learned, through my own multiple rises and falls in leadership, is that it rarely works that way.
Purpose doesn’t appear before the discomfort.
It often sharpens because of it.
And the feelings we experience in these moments — uncertainty, frustration, even fear — are not signs of failure. They are invitations to re-examine what this BIG Buzz Word - my PURPOSE truly means to us.
WHY New Leadership Roles Stir So Much Emotion
1. Because leadership stretches identity, not just capability
You’re not just doing new work — you’re becoming someone new. That shift naturally creates emotional friction.
2. Because responsibility arrives faster than certainty
You’re expected to lead others while still orienting yourself. That gap can feel unsettling, even isolating.
3. Because discomfort is where purpose gets refined
Pressure forces us to ask better questions: What matters to me? What kind of leader do I want to be? What am I willing to stand for?
WHAT Purpose Really Looks Like in Leadership
1. Purpose lives beyond the job scope
It’s not found in KPIs or reporting lines. It lives in what this role is shaping you to become — your resilience, your values, your courage under pressure.
2. Frustration is a compass
The things that frustrate you most often reveal what you care about deeply. Fairness. Growth. Integrity. Don’t push these feelings away — listen to them.
3. Purpose is allowed to evolve
Sometimes clarity sharpens. Sometimes it gets modified. Sometimes it redirects us entirely. All of that is part of honest leadership growth.
HOW to Approach Leadership With More Intention (and Less Self-Judgement)
1. Allow your feelings to exist without rushing to fix them
All feelings are valid and real. Naming them creates space for insight instead of suppression.
2. Trust the fire more than the setback
Challenges are inevitable. What carries you through is not perfection, but the inner fire that reminds you why this work matters to you.
3. Give yourself permission to “float”
Clarity takes time. Reflection, feedback, and inner shifts don’t happen on command. Sometimes progress looks like pausing, not pushing.
Conclusion
Real change in leadership does not begin with tools or authority.
It begins from the inside out.
Before we lead others, we must first understand ourselves — our motivations, our frustrations, our evolving sense of purpose.
If you’re stepping into a new leadership role and feeling more than you expected, know this: you are not behind. You are a work in progress.
And with the right space, reflection, and support, that work becomes the foundation of leadership that is grounded, human, and sustainable.
Join us for our latest program New to Team Leadership — a structured, experiential 2-day programme by Shereen Kaur designed to support new and emerging people managers not just in what they do, but in who they are becoming. Find out more in the link below!
https://www.linkedin.com/events/7422567186256482304?viewAsMember=true
Because leadership isn’t about arriving fully formed.
It’s about growing with awareness, courage, and heart.
Connect with me on LinkedIn for more reflections on leadership, change, and leading from the inside out.
That’s the espresso — keep the momentum. ☕
Stay caffeinated & curious!
Koo Lily
l Founder of mq Training Coaching Consulting l
Leadership Coach l Change Facilitator l Speaker l
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