I’ve been moving through summer like I always do — crazy busy with a full calendar, high gear, working my plan. But my body? Whew. I’m popping Zyrtec, sniffling, and my eyes are watery. I’m sneezing like I’m back in April. It feels like spring, but it’s clearly July. I have questioned myself frequently, “What on earth am I reacting to? What is blooming…NOW?”
And it hit me. I have to write about this. Admittedly, I didn’t know how to connect this phenomenon to leadership, but I took a stretch and here we go:
Sometimes our bodies — and our emotions — don’t match the season we’re actually in. It’s not just allergies. It’s leadership.
There are seasons in leadership when everything looks like it’s in full bloom. You’re producing. The team’s moving. The work is “on paper” where it should be.
But inside? You’re irritated. You’re sensitive. You’re reacting to things that didn’t bother you last month.
You’re emotionally in a different season than what’s showing on the outside. That dissonance is worth paying attention to.
Here’s what I’ve learned:
Allergy symptoms are the body’s overreaction to something it perceives as a threat.
Leadership is no different. Sometimes we’re not in danger — we’re just being stretched; but, if we haven’t processed last season’s discomfort, our system might still be on high alert. Our nervous system remembers what our conscious mind tries to move past (Siegel, 2010).
Character shows up in how we respond to dissonance.
Do we pause and reflect, or do we keep pushing through? Sociologist Arlie Hochschild (1983) called it emotional dissonance — when what we show doesn’t match what we feel. Leaders with strong inner character don’t ignore that gap. They investigate it.
Emotions are invitations to check your alignment.
Daniel Goleman (1995) reminds us that emotional intelligence begins with self-awareness — noticing what you’re feeling, when it occurs, and why. Because it’s possible to be in a season of expansion while still carrying residues from a season of resistance, that doesn’t mean you’re behind. It means you’re human.
Leadership Soul Work: Reflection & Realignment
Take a moment to check in with yourself:
What season does your work life look like right now?
What season do your emotions feel like you’re in?
In which season do your emotions belong?
What might your body or your reactions be trying to tell you?
Now ask: What do I need to pause, process, or release to lead from a place of alignment, not lead from a place of reactivity?
Call to Action:
Let’s keep it real—drop a comment or DM me:
Have you ever felt emotionally out of sync with the season you’re in? What did you learn from it?
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I want to leave you with this: “We all live through seasons of the soul,” Parker Palmer (2004) writes. “And leadership must honor the inner rhythms, not just outer results.”
Keep Rising,
Dr. Kim
📚 References
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Bantam Books.
Hochschild, A. R. (1983). The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling. University of California Press.
Palmer, P. J. (2004). Let Your Life Speak: Listening for the Voice of Vocation. Jossey-Bass.
Siegel, D. J. (2010). Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation. Bantam Books.
