Reclaiming the inner strength to lead well
When I hit rock bottom shortly after releasing my first book, I found myself questioning everything, not because I lacked drive, discipline, or opportunity, but because I had neglected something essential: my core.
From the outside, I looked like I was doing well, a new book out, coaching leaders, running a business. But on the inside, I was disconnected. Tired. Empty. I didn’t realise how much I had been leading on autopilot, pushing forward without pausing to ask a crucial question:
“What kind of life am I really living and what kind of leader am I becoming?”
That personal crisis became the turning point for my second book, Leading from Your Core, and the start of a journey I’m still on.
What is “the Core”?
Your core is the centre of who you are, the source of your identity, values, and inner convictions. It’s what defines how you show up when the pressure is on. And let’s be honest: leadership today is pressure-filled. In a context of rapid change, constant demands, fractured teams, shifting markets, as directors we are often expected to navigate all of this with calm, clarity, and confidence.
But what happens when your inner life isn’t aligned with your outer responsibilities?
What happens when the leader in the boardroom feels different from the person staring back at you in the mirror?
I’ve learned the hard way that external success without internal clarity is a fast-track to burnout. That’s why Leading from Your Core focuses not on tactics or leadership hacks, but on the deep inner work required to sustain real leadership over the long haul.
Why the Inner Journey Matters Now More than Ever
Over the past few years, the business world has seen disruption after disruption: a global pandemic, shifting workplace cultures, geopolitical uncertainty, economic volatility, the rise of AI. But while these are external changes, they’re forcing us as leaders to reckon with deeper, more personal questions:
- What do I stand for?
- How do I make decisions when the answers aren’t clear?
- Who am I becoming in the process of leading?
And those questions don’t have spreadsheet answers.
At the IoD Surrey Book Club dinner where I shared my story, I saw first-hand the hunger among directors for leadership that goes beyond competence toward something more authentic, grounded, and personal. We are not just strategists and decision-makers. We are human beings entrusted with influence.
In times like these, leadership isn’t just about directing organisations. It’s about embodying the kind of clarity and courage others can trust.
When Life Squeezes, What’s Inside Comes Out
One of the central ideas in the book is this:
“When life squeezes you and the pressure is on, what’s on the inside will come out.”
That truth changed my life.
During my own season of collapse, I saw how much of my identity was tied to achievement, how I measured myself by output, approval, and image. But when those things were stripped away, what was left? That was the question I had to face.
Many leaders never stop to reflect until a crisis forces them to. My hope is that we can change that.
If we want to lead from a place of strength—the kind that endures—we must build from the inside out. We must define who we are apart from what we do. That’s where true resilience comes from.
Leading Yourself First
One of the myths I challenge in Leading from Your Core is the idea that leadership starts with leading others. It doesn’t. It starts with leading yourself.
- Self-leadership isn’t selfish. It’s foundational. In fact, it’s one of the most strategic investments a director can make. Here’s why:
- When you are clear about your values, decision-making becomes simpler.
- When you are anchored in your identity, you’re less swayed by popularity or pressure.
- When you are grounded internally, your leadership presence changes the atmosphere around you.
As I discovered over the years, you cannot lead others well if you’re not leading yourself well.
The Danger of Drift
One of the most common yet unspoken challenges senior leaders face is drift—the slow erosion of purpose. It doesn’t happen overnight. It’s the accumulation of compromises, distractions, and busyness that gradually pull you away from the leader you intended to be.
Drift happens when we confuse performance with purpose.
When we chase approval instead of alignment.
When we get so busy doing that we forget why we started in the first place.
The antidote is returning to your core.
From Pressure to Purpose
In the book, I explore how pressure doesn’t have to break us – it can refine us. But only if we’re willing to pause, pay attention, and do the work of inner transformation.
That’s why I believe leadership development must be more than a checklist of competencies. It must include character formation. It must go beneath the surface into the stories we tell ourselves, the beliefs we hold, and the identity we live from.
If we don’t confront those internal narratives, we will continue to sabotage our leadership, no matter how skilled or successful we appear on the outside.
An Invitation to Directors
So, what does this mean for business directors, especially in a world as complex as ours?
It means this: we need more than competent leaders. We need aligned leaders.
Leaders who have done the work of clarifying their core.
Leaders who are willing to show up with vulnerability and vision.
Leaders who understand that long-term success is not just about what we build, but about who we become while building it.
If you’re reading this and you feel like you’ve been drifting… or you’re tired of wearing the mask… or you’ve been successful but still feel unfulfilled… I want you to know you’re not alone. And you don’t have to stay stuck.
You can begin again. You can lead from a deeper place. From your core.
Final Thoughts
I believe Leading from Your Core offers more than a framework—it offers a lifeline to leaders in transition, under pressure, or simply ready for more.
It’s not about perfection, or performance. It’s about wholeness.
It’s about becoming the kind of leader whose impact outlasts their title.
In this extraordinary time to be a business director, the greatest transformation won’t come just from new technologies, strategies, or markets. It will come from transformed leaders.
Those who are courageous enough to look within and lead from the inside out.
That’s where the real change begins.
Leadership Strategist, Obi Abuchi, joined the IoD Surrey and Berkshire Quarterly Director Book Club dinner in March at the Royal Berkshire hotel in Ascot, and generously shared highlights from his book, along with a signed copy of his book for each dinner guest.
