There’s a kind of leadership that doesn’t follow the plan.

It follows the pulse of what’s needed in each moment.

Untamed leadership.

I’ve been seeing that more clearly lately.

It was 2007. Just as I stepped up to do my final teaching demo as part of my Fitzmaurice Voicework training my test student was hit with the realization—and the grief—that it was all about to end.

They sobbed.

In that moment, my carefully crafted lesson plan no longer mattered.

So I threw it out—willing to fail the assignment if that’s what it took to serve the human being in front of me.

I met him where he was.
I stayed with him.
I trusted what wanted to happen in the room more than what I’d prepared to teach.

A few years later, a 1:1 client walked into her life coaching session in tears—with no voice.

Again, any “agenda” became irrelevant.

I held space.
I listened.
I met her where she was.

We wrote notes back and forth with paper and pen.
She used an entire packet of tissues.

We felt our way forward — together.

And just recently, a class participant arrived in a full-on panic—shaking, overwhelmed, in tears, feeling like everything was unraveling.

Same thing.

No fixing.
No forcing.
No rigid attachment to what we were “supposed” to be doing.

Just presence.
Space-holding.
Listening for what was true.

Helping her come back to herself—one breath, one step, one moment at a time.

So often our one-in-eight-billion gifts come so easily to us that we don’t recognize the magic in them.

Reflecting on these moments, I realized something.

This is leadership.

Not the kind we grew up with.
Not the kind that clings to control.

The kind that can stay rooted in the unknown.

The kind that can midwife what’s wanting to be born.

The kind that can meet chaos without collapsing into it.

The kind that helps people find their way back to their own voice, their own truth, their own next step—even if that means getting down on the floor in the fetal position or having a tantrum together if that’s what the moment calls for.

The kind of leadership we need right now

We’re taught that leadership means having the perfect plan.

In reality, the most powerful leadership moments of my life began when the plan fell apart.

Here’s the truth :

Real transformation rarely begins while we’re holding it all together.

It begins when we feel safe enough to let go, surrender—and sometimes even fall apart.

And from there, we can go much further.

Have you ever wished for a space where you could fall apart a little… and still be led forward?

Where have you seen this kind of leadership in your own life?