𝗜 𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. 𝗡𝗼𝘄 𝗜 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺.

During #HerAfricanUbuntuLeadershipFellowship immersion last week, we kept returning to one thing:

𝗢𝘂𝗿 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆.

The parts we hide. The stories we edit. The emotions we label as too much.

Echoing 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝘂𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗛𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝗽𝗼𝗲𝗺 𝗯𝘆 𝗥𝘂𝗺𝗶, all made sense:

“𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘦. 𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘯𝘦𝘸 𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘭…”

I thought about how I used to lead.

𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗴. 𝗣𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗱. 𝗦𝘁𝗼𝗶𝗰.

Emotion had its place but only the 𝘶𝘴𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘭 kind.

Not shame. Not fear. Not anxiety. Not doubt.

Not the kind that makes your voice crack in a meeting or keeps you up at 3 a.m. wondering if you still belong.

But something shifted during that immersion.

Strangers became mirrors. Silence became sacred.

And I remembered:

I’ve wept in 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗱𝗶𝗮𝗹𝗼𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀, laughed in boardrooms, been both the hero and the woman too tired to get out of bed.

I’ve carried rage that felt holy.

I’ve wrestled with fear.

I’ve sat with anxiety that paralyzed.

I’ve doubted my own voice.

And still, I rise. Not by silencing those parts, but by welcoming them in.

Just like Rumi said.

Because the truth is, 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗮𝗻’𝘁 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗶𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘅𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗳

Leadership without self-awareness is just performance.

And hard emotions? They’re not disruptions.

𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. Fear, anxiety, grief, doubt; they reveal what matters.

Silencing them creates distance.

𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵. With your team. Your people. Yourself.

Sometimes, the emotions that shake you are the ones clearing space.

The heartbreak might be preparing the ground for clarity. For freedom. For release. So now, I treat every feeling like a guest.

Even the ones that sweep through violently.

I ask:

𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗺𝗲?

Because the version of me that leads with truth, rest, and self-stewardship was always there. 𝗜 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝘁 𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝗻.

👉 Follow Angela Nguku for raw, real conversations on 𝗮𝘂𝗱𝗮𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀, founding and leading movements, and 𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗲𝗳𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗱𝗶𝗳𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆.