Leadership Identity
GODSun Perspective on
Spirituality, Leadership and Business
October 2026 Vol 0526
LEADERSHIP IDENTITY
I think that one of the reasons the percentage of leaders who have those difficult conversations is so low is because they are not fully comfortable with who they are, which means they lack knowledge of themselves. They have achieved a position without the requisite internal training for it. Their fear of discomfort is more powerful than their fear of not achieving their purpose. Understanding of one’s purpose only comes when you have reached a level of self awareness. And as you grow in that self awareness you will become more committed to the achieving of your goal. Not having those difficult conversations is indicative that you are not committed to the goal ultimately and it could be because your level of self awareness is still too low to be a leader of impact for achievement. 
The reason we are not comfortable with who we are is because we have not had to sit with difficult truth. It is the difficult truths that require more of us when a necessary decision is being made. A truth is something that we acknowledge as being real and it is the starting point of our decision making. For Example: A truth is that all men are created equal and therefore, deserve equal justice and actions. What does this belief look like if acted out? A simple truth is that the window is broken and needs to be replaced. If you are the one responsible for the break the truth is simple and you deal with it. It becomes a difficult truth when the understanding of the truth touches on a moral or ethical point.
As a leader, those who follow you will know whether you are to be trusted with their loyalty based on how you deal with those difficult truths that touch on morality and ethics. In other words do you have a clear understanding of right and wrong. And if you do, do you have the character to do the right thing, make the right decision all the time. Back to the window example. The window was broken by someone that you want to curry favour with, that you want to impress, so instead if dealing with it the way you would have in the past and make the person responsible for the break responsible for the cost of repairing the break, you make everyone pay the cost. And you say ‘we’re taking this one for the team.’ This represents a moral and ethical fracture. As a leader we should be treating everyone the same but this scenario is creating culture that says some people are more important than others and not subject to the same rules. This person will receive my protection and provision but you won’t. The more true process would have been to do what has always been done thereby, causing staff and family members know that you don’t play favourites and that they are, therefore, safe with you as their leader. Wanting to curry favour is no justification for acting in an unfair manner towards those we have authority or power over. It just emphasizes the weakness of our leadership and it is evident to all who are positioned under us.
Not knowing who we are and having a good understanding of our limitations means that the higher we rise the more we’ll bend. And we can only bend so far before the break becomes irreparable. It also means that we will carry more fear because our confidence won’t be in our ability. It will be in the people who have rewarded us with the position because we did as they wanted. Then we are owned and our skills and abilities have become an arrow in their hands, which can be used against you. Knowing who you are will limit this. If you know and demonstrate consistently who you are it will be obvious to all. Consistency for doing the right thing, at the right time, all the time garners respect. Being wishy washy, depending on who is around, doesn’t. If you are wishy washy in your decision making you’ll be easier to be used and discarded because you’ll be seen as a temporary tool. We haven’t been created to be a temporary tool for doing the wrong thing. We have been created to be a permanent tool having a permanent, transformative impact on humanity. Which one are you?
Sunday
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