Leading Through Disruption Without Losing Yourself: A Liberated Approach
- Chinyere Oparah
- Sep 2
- 3 min read
Chinyere Oparah explores how we can liberate our leadership even in dire times.
Its a too familiar story. As mounting political scrutiny, shrinking budgets, and discontented stakeholders create relentless pressure on leaders across sectors, we are called on to do more, with fewer resources and less support. Overwhelm mounts, demands proliferate, and strategy sessions get more frequent and complex, adding to already overly long workdays.
But leadership that centers equity and justice requires more than strategic savvy and sheer hard work—it demands emotional resilience, somatic awareness, and a deep commitment to your own wellbeing. The truth is: you cannot lead others through disruption if you are constantly in survival mode yourself.
We Don’t Need More Resilient Leaders. We Need More Liberated Ones.
A liberated approach to leadership doesn’t just ask: How do I stay effective under pressure? It asks:
❝ How do I stay rooted in values, purpose, and wellness—
even when the storm is raging? ❞
That’s a fundamentally different question. It invites a shift away from reactive, performance-based leadership and toward intentional, emotionally intelligent, and trauma-informed practice. Here’s how:
1. Respond from the Body, Not Just the Brain
Disruption—whether political, organizational, or personal—activates our nervous systems. And when we’re stuck in fight, flight, or freeze, we lose access to the creative, collaborative, and strategic parts of our brain.
Liberated leaders learn to notice their somatic cues: shallow breath, clenched jaw, a drive to rush to the next task. They pause. They reset.
Try this: Before your next tough meeting or decision, place a hand on your heart or your belly. Take five deep breaths. Ask: What am I feeling in my body? Just naming the feeling begins to shift the state.
2. Lead With Emotional Intelligence
When things are moving fast, it’s easy to suppress emotion—ours and others’. But leadership in times of disruption requires emotional fluency: the ability to name, normalize, and navigate big feelings.
Anger, grief, fear, even joy—all of them belong in the room. Especially for BIPOC and neurodivergent leaders, making space for emotion is a radical act of self- and collective-preservation.
Practice: Start your next team meeting with a one-word weather report from each person. It builds emotional presence and compassion and reduces reactivity.
3. Recognize the Uneven Weight of Disruption
Not all leaders face the same risks. BIPOC, LGBTQ+, and equity-centered leaders are under more acute scrutiny and pressure. We’re more likely to be targeted for being visible or for speaking up, to experience gas-lighting and institutional betrayal.
Liberated Leadership doesn’t pretend the playing field is level. It equips us to name the reality without internalizing it.
Ask yourself: What pressures am I carrying that others might not see? Where can I lay some of that burden down—through community, coaching support, or radical boundaries?
4. Replenish to Lead
Have you ever tried to do nuanced, visionary work while exhausted, micro-managed, or gaslit? Your brilliance shrinks. Your brain moves into survival mode.
Liberated Leadership insists on replenishment—not as an add-on, but as a core leadership competency.
Ask yourself:
What helps me feel nourished and alive?
What wellness practices or rituals can I reclaim or recommit to this week?
Who helps me remember I don’t have to carry it all alone?
Pick one self-care practice you can return to at least three times this week. Add an accountability reminder—calendar, buddy, or post-it—to anchor it in your day.
5. Disruption Isn’t the End of the Story
It’s a portal. A moment to reimagine how we show up, how we lead, and how we care for ourselves and one another.
The question is not whether we will face chaos or pressure. We will.
The question is: Can we meet it with clarity, courage, and care—without losing our joy, our values, or our humanity? And our lives.
Liberated leaders don’t just survive disruption. We transform it.
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Chinyere Oparah is an executive coach, strategist and educator. She has served in senior leadership roles in the nonprofit and higher education sectors, including dean, provost and vice president for academic affairs for over three decades and is the founder and CEO of the Center for Liberated Leadership. Sign up for a free leadership consultation with her here.
About the Center for Liberated Leadership
The Center for Liberated Leadership connects and supports BIPOC, women, LGBTQ and equity-oriented leaders so that they can lead with authenticity, purpose and joy. The Center's executive coaches help leaders navigate uncertain contexts and relentless workloads.
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