The Courage to Not Be Fine
- Cassandra Nadira Lee
- Feb 5
- 2 min read
LIFT Newsletter 016
Read Time: 5 minutes
Content: Courage, stigma, mental well-being, leadership
“I need you to be our rock”
How many times have you heard this as a leader? How many times have you said it to yourself?
For all our progress in leadership development, one truth remains stubborn: we still expect leaders to be unbreakable.
We expect leaders to inspire, motivate, and carry the weight of uncertainty. But when they are the ones who need help? Silence often feels safer than honesty.
This silence has a cost. It breeds burnout behind closed doors. It creates cultures where people pretend to be fine while quietly unraveling.
Cutting Through All the Corporate Wellness Platitudes
As a young HR leader, she faced a choice every leader knows: suffer in silence, or risk everything by being honest about needing help.
She chose honesty. Here's what happened next.
In doing so, she showed that vulnerability isn’t the opposite of leadership - it’s one of its strongest expressions.
3 Leadership Lessons from Nicole
Seeking help is not weakness, it’s wisdom.
Nicole’s credibility wasn’t diminished by asking for support; it was strengthened. Openness builds trust.
When leaders are real, they give others permission to be real too. Trust grows not from flawless performance, but from shared humanity.
Breaking stigma changes culture.
Every leader who normalizes conversations about mental well-being chips away at the walls of silence. That ripple can turn a workplace from guarded to genuinely supportive.
Your Reflection This Week
Take a pause and ask yourself:
Am I pretending I’m fine, when I actually need support? What would it look like to take one small step toward honesty?
Do I create space for others to admit struggles safely? Think of one way you could model openness this week.
How can I weave well-being into leadership? Not as an HR program, but as a daily practice in how you lead meetings, set expectations, or respond to challenges.
Why This Matters
Mental well-being is not a “personal issue” to be managed in silence. It is a leadership issue and a culture issue.
When leaders normalize seeking help, they don’t just protect their own health - they shape cultures where trust, resilience, and humanity can thrive.
Nicole’s courage is a reminder that leadership in uncertain times isn’t about carrying it all. It’s about knowing when to share the load, and showing others it’s safe to do the same.
Watch Nicole’s Story
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Nicole's courage reminds us: leadership in uncertain times isn't about carrying it all. It's about knowing when to share the load and showing others it's safe to do the same.
Your team is watching. They're waiting to see if it's safe to be human at work.
What will you show them?
Lead Beyond Yourself. Rise Beyond Limits
With belief in your courage,
Cassandra & the LIFT Team
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