When people think about leadership development, there is often a tendency to focus on skills.
Communication skills.
Strategic thinking.
Executive presence.
Decision-making.
Influence.
Managing difficult people.
And while all of these things matter, in my coaching experience, skills alone are rarely enough.
Over the years, I have coached highly capable, experienced professionals who were technically strong, deeply committed, and producing excellent results — yet still found themselves feeling overlooked, questioned, underestimated, or stuck.
Not because they lacked capability.
But because leadership is never only about capability.
Leadership happens in systems and through people. Systems shape how we see ourselves, how we show up, and how others experience us. At the same time, we bring our own internal system — our beliefs, values, personality, experiences, emotions, and assumptions — into how we lead.
This is where the inner work of leadership becomes important.
Leadership Does Not Happen in a Vacuum
Leadership environments are shaped by social norms, organizational cultures, power structures, and expectations about what leadership should look like.
Many identities — including women and people from historically marginalized groups — are often expected to be the exact right amount of:
- Competent, but not threatening
- Warm, but not too soft
- Confident, but not intimidating
- Assertive, but not abrasive
At the same time, many women experience greater pressure to continually demonstrate competence, credibility, authority, and value — while also being more likely to be evaluated on proven performance rather than future potential.
All of this shapes our lived leadership experiences.
And it shapes how we see ourselves.
When we repeatedly receive messages about what leadership should look like — and who is or isn’t seen as leadership material — it influences confidence, visibility, willingness to speak up, sense of belonging, and even how much leadership identity we assume for ourselves.
This is one of the reasons why inner work matters.
What Is the Inner Work of Leadership?
I think of inner work as the work of understanding ourselves and our relationship to leadership.
At its core, inner work is about building self-awareness.
Understanding how our experiences, beliefs, values, emotions, strengths, and assumptions shape how we lead.
It involves exploring:
- How we see ourselves — or perhaps don’t yet fully see ourselves — as leaders
- Our relationship to confidence, growth, influence, and change
- How we respond emotionally and behaviorally to discomfort, uncertainty, challenge, and feedback
- Our strengths and weaknesses — so we can intentionally leverage and sustain our strengths while developing or minimizing areas that may hold us back
- Our values and sources of personal power
- The narratives that shape our actions
- The fears, assumptions, or limiting beliefs that may be holding us back
- How our emotions influence our decisions, relationships, and leadership behaviors
Inner work also helps us understand where we are now. And where we want to be. It helps us identify and access our inner resources — including confidence, strengths, values, status, and personal power. And it helps us identify the mindset shifts needed to move toward the leader we want to become.
Why Skills Alone Are Often Not Enough
Mindset shapes behaviour.
If I do not see myself as a leader, I may struggle to assume my leadership. If I believe visibility is self-promotion, I may hesitate to speak about my contributions. If I believe networking is manipulative, I may avoid relationship-building. If I believe setting boundaries makes me difficult, I may avoid difficult conversations.
This is why inner work is important in it’s own right and often facilitates skill development. This work helps to create the conditions that allow us to practice skills, take different or new action, and sustain change.
You can teach someone communication skills. But if they believe their voice does not matter, using those skills becomes much harder. You can teach networking strategies. But if they believe relationship-building is inauthentic, they may never use them.
Leadership growth is rarely only about building skills. Often, it is also about updating beliefs, assumptions, and ways of seeing ourselves.
Inner Work Is Also a Form of Self-Care
There is another reason I believe this work matters.
Inner work is practical.
But it can also be protective.
For many people, leadership means navigating systems and environments that were not historically designed with them in mind.
Inner work can help us stay anchored in who we are and how we want to lead, even when external expectations, pressures, or organizational cultures pull us in different directions.
It helps us clarify our values. Protect our boundaries. Reconnect with our strengths. Understand our power. And make more intentional choices about how we want to lead.
Leadership is not only about what we do and deliver. It is also about how we show up.
A Question to Reflect On
Leadership growth often begins with asking ourselves different questions. As you think about your own leadership journey, consider:
What beliefs, narratives, or assumptions might be shaping your leadership more than you realize?
If this resonates with you, you may be interested in Leading Beyond Your Expertise — my new women’s leadership coaching programme launching this September for women leaders ready to pause the constant doing, strengthen their leadership, and lead with greater clarity, confidence, and impact.
Through a blend of coaching, education, experimentation, and a supportive peer community, the programme supports women in making the shift from being known primarily for their expertise to increasing their impact as leaders. Together, we explore confidence, values, strengths, status and power, leadership identity, visibility, relationships, communication, and influence — building both the inner resources and leadership skills needed to lead more intentionally and effectively.
Interested in joining us? Learn more here.
