When Your Influence Stops Working

🎤 Behind the Roar | November 15th, 2025

This week’s word is Compelling — a word that asks us to lead not through force, but through presence; not through authority, but through authenticity.

And as I’ve been writing and posting about what it means to be a compelling leader, I’ve been living through one of the most vulnerable leadership moments of my life.

In just a few days, I’ll be closing out a 26-year chapter with a company that has shaped so much of who I am as a professional, a leader, and a woman. Twenty-six years of projects, people, change, challenge, growth, frustration, pride, heartbreak, and breakthroughs… all coming to a quiet, inevitable close.

I’m not ready to tell the full story (and truly, parts of it belong to others), but I am ready to tell the truth that sits beneath it:

There have been three pivotal moments in my career when I realized — deeply, undeniably — that my ability to lead through influence had been compromised.

Three moments where I looked around and felt that something was no longer aligned… that my voice no longer echoed the way it once did… that the kind of leadership I offer was no longer the leadership that the environment could hold. My presence was no longer creating the kind of change it once did.

Each time, that realization broke something open in me.
Not my confidence.
Not my courage.
But my illusion that staying would mean continuing to grow.

When Compelling No Longer Compels

Leadership has never been about titles for me.
It has never been about power, or control, or being the loudest voice in the room.
My superpower has always been influence — the kind you earn through consistency, compassion, integrity, and grit.

I lead best when I can:

• Mentor and guide
• Lift others as I climb
• Speak with clarity and courage
• Stand for what is right, not what is convenient
• Model tenacity, compassion, empathy, and accountability
• Make space for voices that aren’t always heard

When those things are possible, I feel alive. I feel compelling in the truest sense of the word — not because I’m trying to convince anyone, but because my actions, values, and vision are all moving in the same direction and aligned with who I am at my core.

But when those things are not possible — when the environment shifts, when priorities change, when your voice becomes something others tolerate instead of value — something inside you changes too. It’s subtle at first. Then it becomes louder. Then impossible to ignore.

And here’s the tender, difficult truth:
You can be clear.
You can be courageous.
You can be compelling…and still find that the place you’re standing is no longer a place where your leadership can bloom.

That’s not failure.
That’s misalignment.

And misalignment always brings a message.

You can stand up for the right things and still find yourself on the outside of the circle.
You can advocate for people and discover they’re not in a position to stand with you.
You can pour your heart into a place and still realize your influence isn’t landing anymore.

Leaving Is Not Quitting — It’s Answering

For a long time, I wrestled with the idea of moving on.
Was I giving up?
Was I letting people down?
Was I stepping away too soon?

But every time I’ve faced this crossroads — all three times — the answer has been the same:

When my influence no longer lands, I am being called somewhere new.

Although the circumstances of my current situation are not fully my choice, I do recognize this:

Leaving isn’t quitting.
Leaving is listening.
Leaving is honoring the truth your soul whispers before your mind is willing to hear it.

Sometimes the universe whispers softly.
Sometimes it sends signs.
And sometimes…
when your heart has stayed too long in a place that no longer sees you and your value…it gives you a shove so unmistakable that the only choice is forward.

And forward is where I’m headed.
With shaking hands, a steady heart, and a bravery I didn’t know I’d need until recently.

Leading with Vision… Even When the Vision Is Your Own Life

This month’s theme is Leading with Vision. Most of the time, we talk about that in terms of how we guide others — our teams, our families, our communities.

But sometimes, leading with vision means turning that lens onto your own life.

It means asking:

• Where is my influence needed next?
• Where am I holding myself back in order to stay comfortable?
• Where am I being invited — pushed even — to step into something bigger, freer, and more aligned?

Leading with vision means trusting that your compelling voice, your compelling presence, your compelling power to influence… is not ending. It is simply being rerouted.

I am walking into a new chapter with fear in one hand and courage in the other.
With grief for what I’m leaving and gratitude for all it taught me.
With uncertainty, yes — but also with integrity, strength, and a vision for a future where my influence is not just welcomed… but needed.

I don’t know exactly what comes next.

But I know this:
I am stepping into it with my whole heart.
And I am stepping into it #WithPurpose.

Ronda 💛

📖 Want More?

This week’s Behind the Roar is part of our Leading with Vision journey, anchored in the word Compelling.

If you’re navigating your own transition, your own crossroads, or your own moment of misalignment, you’ll find more reflections like this in my book, Roar Like a Woman: 35 Empowering Words to Unleash Your Inner Lioness.

Every word is an invitation to stand in your truth, trust your influence, and lead yourself forward with intention.

👉 Order your signed copy of Roar Like A Woman here.