The Moment Leaders Hear Their Inner Voice
There’s a moment in every leader’s life when the inner voice gets loud enough that you can’t ignore it anymore. The question is, do you listen?
Yesterday I met someone who reminded me just how important that moment is.
Take your mind back 30+ years…
Ford’s Broadmeadows Assembly Plant 2.
A giant humming world of metal, torque wrenches, moving belts, and newly assembled cars.
There I was on the line checking torques…
... And there he was - a man in glasses, walking the aisle in that unmistakable grey engineering coat.
Someone you instantly felt you could approach if things went wrong.
Even back then, there was something steady, grounded, and human about him.
Fast forward to yesterday - and we met again after many years.
And the conversation… Was rich.
Not small talk. Not updates.
But the kind of conversation two people have when they’ve lived a few decades, fallen a few times, risen a few more, and learned how to listen to the quiet parts inside.
Parth told me how people used to line up outside his office - not for tasks or approvals, but for guidance… For counsel… For meaning.
And little by little, by following the joy in those conversations, he realised that this was his path.
Today, his mission is simple and beautiful:
Inspiring people and organisations to lead themselves to fulfilment.
And you can hear it in his voice - warm, alive, deeply anchored.
He nourished the thing inside him that wanted to grow.
It made me reflect on how leadership vision is born.
Not from strategy decks.
Not from KPIs.
Not from role titles.
But from tuning in to that inner voice that whispers at first…
then knocks…
then insists.
The voice that says:
“This brings me joy.”
“This is who I am.”
“This is the contribution I’m meant to make.”
Nourish that voice - and leadership becomes alive.
Ignore it - and leadership becomes labour.
And here’s the truth:
Clarity, Care, and Commercial Performance can coexist - but only when the leader is anchored in their own inner truth.
So let me ask you gently:
What is your inner voice saying right now - and are you nourishing it or neglecting it?
Make a little time to listen.
There’s gold in there.
Former Fortune 10 C-Suite and 2022 HR Leader of the Year. I coach executives, solve complex organisational issues, and advise boards.