Leadership Beyond the Illusion: Stepping Stones to Real Power
What the Sagittarius Full Moon is illuminating about power, purpose, and the wisdom of the path you’ve already walked, plus reflections on Jacinda Ardern’s latest memoir, A Different Kind of Power.
Before I sat down to write this, I had the image of stepping stones. Like we’re trying to cross a river to our destination, but it’s not a straight path, and it’s all uneven and wet. Sometimes we find ourselves stuck standing on a rock for far too long, convincing ourselves it’s the end. The job, the title, and the relationship that are tied to that stepping stone start to become our identity.
Then the weather changes, and a storm rolls in through experiences like breakups, job loss, illness, burnout, and we’re forced to move. That stone wasn’t the destination; it was just part of the path.
This Sagittarius Full Moon, which rose yesterday, is inching us closer to the winter solstice here in the Southern Hemisphere, and it brings contrast with the rest of the world into focus: growth in the decay, summer in the dark, Lilith in exile. Something you thought was dead or in the shadows might circle back. Some part of you or some dream you buried might still be alive.
Cycles are closing, and something long-seeded may finally bloom through the compost of what once was. And it might surprise you. But everything is neutral in its essence, and it’s your meaning that gives it power.
For some, this will feel sudden. For others, it’s been lingering in the background, giving you slight nudges. All of us are being asked to choose to say yes to something and to step into something more aligned, something grounded in your truth. But if it still feels like a fantasy, wait a little longer.
But the path isn’t always visible when you’re on it. Sometimes the stepping stones show up as odd jobs that teach you people management. A conversation with a stranger that redirects your life. A guide who could only take you so far, who says, “it’s not possible,” because they’ve never done it themselves. Let them go.
And if you’re soaked and tired and clinging to a slippery rock while the wind howls around you, just wait. Dry your socks. Rest and let the weather pass. The path will still be there and the delay might be a gift. Maybe you’ll spot a new way through, one you’d never have noticed otherwise.
Around the time I was thinking about all this, I picked up Jacinda Ardern’s memoir, A Different Kind of Power. And it clicked. I’ve been exploring a more intuitive style of leadership for a while now, one that’s cosmic and leans on the unseen, where intuition is a valid part of strategy. Everyone has an internal compass, but we’re taught to override it because the illusion of power and wounded egos don’t know how to coexist with trust.
And lately, that illusion has been crumbling. Towers built on ego, greed, and ketamine are falling. It’s going to get uglier before it gets better. But if you can hold onto your own sense of power through the chaos, you’ll make it through.
Whatever your opinion of Jacinda, I see her as someone who reached the pinnacle of power early and then walked away while still full of potential. But now she gets to express what she learned in whatever way she wants. That, to me, is the real win. She led a country through crisis with kindness and she proved that compassion can be effective.
Reading her story, I couldn’t help but trace the breadcrumbs. Little moments that led to bigger ones. It felt destined, and I wondered if all of us are given that kind of choreography? Are some moments laid out like steps in a dance, while others are improv? Probably both.
What I’ve come to understand through my years of seeing the unseen is that the only thing set in stone are the themes of your life. The patterns you came here to explore and how you explore them is up to you.
For some, one of those themes may be power, or how to embody it without domination. To lead without fear and to create new models that haven’t been done before.
What I know for sure is that when we have people in leadership positions who lead with dignity, kindness, and emotional maturity, it recalibrates something in the collective. It offers a model, a feeling, and a vision of something larger than yourself, and you want to be part of it.
Jacinda wasn’t perfect, and I’m still annoyed she didn’t take a public stance on cannabis legalisation. But she’s someone I’ll keep circling back to as a blueprint for what leadership could feel like when it’s done with grace. Doesn’t mean she got it right, but she showed it can be done.
And I’ve realised this in my own work: people who are not fear-based don’t need to dominate. Domination is compensation for inner powerlessness, and if you truly know you have power, why would you need to control anyone or an outcome?
People who haven’t learned how to feel safe inside themselves will always try to create safety through control. And that fear? It needs somewhere to go, so it spills outward and manifests into blame, manipulation, and aggression.
And it’s silly because people in denial of their fear are also in denial that they’re in denial, and it creates a loop. They can’t look at the real belief underneath, so they build illusions to protect themselves. They try to control reality, not realising the only real control is internal. And that’s terrifying for some.
If you want a different world and want to be a true leader in it, start there. Drop the fear and look in the mirror. True leaders show people they are already powerful, that they can create and innovate what they want without harming others in the process.
Because the path you’ve walked still matters. And the stones you once stood on, even the ones you clung to or outgrew, weren’t detours. They were initiations, each teaching you something about who you are, what you value, and how you lead. Don’t disregard them and throw away the lessons. Use them for your benefit.
The themes may stay the same, but the path you take from here will be different. And it’s yours to choose: will you lead yourself through control and fear, or through kindness and trust?
The next stone is waiting. You just have to be willing to leap.
Wonderfully written and explained!