Episode 98 | Real Leadership Starts with Healing, Hope, and Purpose

LWH Closing: That's a wrap for today's episode of Lead with Hope. Remember, the world needs your leadership and change starts with you. your life with HOPE, embrace purpose, and shine your light for others. If this inspired you, I'd be so grateful if you could take a moment to give us a five-star rating and share it. ⁓

Brandi Kelly: Let's pause for just a moment because I want to tell you about a partner who truly aligns with the heart of this podcast, Convissary. Here on Lead with Hope, we talk a lot about clarity, clarity of purpose, clarity of voice, and clarity of direction. And that's exactly where Convissary comes in. They help leaders, educators, and change makers uncover the story behind their work and share it in a way that feels honest, meaningful, Before we get started, I want to thank our legacy partner, Craig Williams, founder of Convissary. As FarCope, we believe story matters because story shapes how we lead, how we connect, and how we show up in the world. Convissary helps authors and leaders bring clarity to their story and confidence to their voice so that their brand truly reflects who they are. You can learn more about their work by visiting the link in today's show notes.

Dr. Brandi Kelly: Have you ever worked incredibly hard for something, set a goal and you finally achieved it? And then you realize that it didn't bring you the kind of fulfillment that you thought it would. Today we're talking about a question that most leaders avoid until life forces them to face it. Who are you? I spent 24 years public education. I served as a social worker, a principal, and eventually a superintendent. And from the outside, it looked like success. I'd spent so many years climbing, achieving, leading. Somewhere along the way though, I had kind of lost myself.

LWH Closing: Every review spread HOPE ⁓ empowers more leaders to rise. Thanks listening ⁓ and next time, ⁓ keep with HOPE. ⁓

Brandi Kelly: or on the Spark Hope website. Thank you, Convissary, for supporting the Lead with Hope podcast. and deeply aligned with who they are. If you've ever felt the nudge to write a book, refine your message, or build a brand that actually reflects your values, not just your resume, Conversary doesn't rush you or box you in. They walk alongside you, helping you shape your story with intention and integrity.

Dr. Brandi Kelly: without the roles, without the titles, without the accomplishments. Welcome back to the Lead with Hope podcast. I'm Brandy Kelly, and I'm so glad you're here I became disconnected from my purpose, who I was and who I was becoming. And somebody who is listening to this podcast today may need to hear this. Achievement without alignment will eventually exhaust you. Let me say that again. Achievement without alignment will eventually exhaust you.

Brandi Kelly: A big thank you to Craig Williams and Convissary for being a legacy sponsor of this podcast And for investing in stories that matter because when we share our stories with clarity and hope, real change happens.

Dr. Brandi Kelly: And I think a lot of leaders know exactly what I mean when I say that. You can be a high performing individual and still deeply depleted. For me, there came a moment when I realized that I had to walk away from the title. I had to walk away from what I had built. And I had to do that in order to rediscover who I am, who I'm becoming. I had to do that to rediscover my purpose. Now, some people said to me when I walked away, ⁓ the job's hard. And it is. It absolutely is. But that's not the issue. The issue was that I needed to remember who I was on the inside, outside of what I produced and what other people thought of me. adversity changes us. And the question is often, why or how. For me, one of those defining moments was when I lost my brother Brandon. He drowned when I was just 15 years old. That kind of loss changes a person, a family forever. And grief has a way of either hardening you deepening you. And for me, it deepened me. Not all at once. but through a series of events, through all of my choices that shaped my identity. Now, I didn't choose that adversity, none of us do, but we do get to choose what grows out of that adversity. And over time, I realized that there's a difference between post-traumatic stress and post-traumatic growth. stress keeps us stuck in a survival mode. Post-traumatic growth allows pain to become purpose. And that's where hope entered my story. It's not wishful thinking. It's not toxic positivity. It's the belief that tomorrow can be better, just for me, but for other people. By sharing our story, we can provide real hope to the world. make no mistake it, your choices today matter. can become the thing that carries you through the hard times. and gives you a light, gives you that hope that tomorrow can be better. there's a quote that I love and by Napoleon Bonaparte. It says, ⁓ leaders are dealers in hope. And I believe that my core. Gallup research actually shows that followers want hope from their leaders more than charisma, influence, or even strategy. Now think about that for a minute. People want to believe that things can improve. They want to believe that there's possibility. Leadership isn't just about transferring information. It's about transferring belief. But here's the challenge. You can't give people what you don't possess yourself. If you ⁓ are deeply depleted, completely or running on fumes. Eventually that is going to impact the people that you lead. And that's why leadership always has to start at the heart level. It begins internally first. You have to lead yourself well before you can lead others. And that's why I created a system of hope. Because motivation will fade, but systems can sustain us. In my system of hope, H is for habits. Our habits really shape our identity. These are the small repeated actions that we consistently choose. Even things like understanding your disc style, I'm a DI, it can help us to understand how we respond under pressure. It can help us to build healthier patterns and stronger resilience in ourself, in those that we lead, in our teams, in our organizations. Self-awareness is foundational in helping us make that choice, O is for optimistic outlook. And no, I don't mean pretending that life is easy. It's not toxic positivity. actually has a science behind it. Dr. Rick Schneider calls this the hope theory. And he talks about hope in terms of three key elements, goals, agency, and pathways. It's believing there's another way forward, even when fear tells you that you're stuck. when that inner critic in your mind is saying, you can't do this, you're gonna fail. P is for purpose, passion, and perseverance. Because success without purpose doesn't last. Purpose is what keeps you anchored when life gets hard. And E is excellence. That's the standard. Not perfection, just getting 1 % better every day. also means that you're aligned. You're aligned to your values, to your vision, to your mission. It all works together in a way that allows you ⁓ to lead with integrity and wellness. So I'm going leave you with the question that we started with today. ⁓ Who are you without the titles? because your worth is not performance. You are more than what you achieve. And so I want to encourage you today to build your hope. Lead from the inside out and remember that resilient leaders are not leaders who never struggle. ⁓ They're the ones who learn to with purpose. with clarity and with hope, amidst the struggle. If this episode resonated with you today, please share it with a leader. and help me spread this message of hope.