Marketing
The Iceberg Of Leadership: What You Don’ t See Is What You Need
By Catherine Awuor
The Hidden Depths of Authentic Leadership
Leadership often looks like a highlight reel. We see the crisp suits, polished speeches, and the glow of spotlight moments. But what if we told you that the real power of leadership lies not above the surface, but beneath it where no applause is heard? What you don’ t see is actually what matters most.
Leadership, like an iceberg, reveals only a fraction of its power on the surface. We often praise what’ s visible: quarterly wins, but it is what lies beneath that sustains true impact: character, conviction, emotional intelligence, vulnerability, and self-awareness. These qualities don’ t always trend. They’ re not celebrated in headlines. But they’ re what define a leader when the lights dim and the room empties.
Above the Surface: The Visible Side of Leadership
Leadership is often captured in powerful images and polished moments standing on global stages, delivering keynote addresses, sharing a bold vision for the future. It is the part we all see: the confidence, the strategy decks, the carefully crafted posts about innovation, purpose, and progress. These moments are important they reflect clarity, direction, and the ability to mobilize others around a shared mission.
But as valuable as these visible elements are, they are only a fraction of the story. They represent the outer shell of leadership the part that inspires from afar. It is in the quiet, often unseen moments where the deepest impact is made.
Below the Waterline: The Grit Behind the Glamour
Leadership is gritty. It is built on character. It is forged through sleepless nights filled with doubt, imposter syndrome whispering in your ear, and moments of silence after difficult decisions. It is found in the leader who listens more than they speak, who absorbs the room’ s tension and diffuses it with empathy. It is not always about being right, but often about doing right.
Beneath this glossy exterior lies the true terrain of leadership the raw, often invisible work that shapes who a leader really is. It is in the quiet decisions to stay anchored in values when compromise might offer an easier way out. It is in bouncing back from criticism or rejection, reworking a failed strategy with grit and grace while shielding your team from the fallout.
The Authentic Leader: Strong Enough to Be Soft
True leadership is deeply personal. It requires the courage to know yourself, the humility to grow, and the wisdom to build others.
As leadership expert Bill George puts it,“ Authentic leaders are not perfect. They’ re real.” Self-awareness is the cornerstone of leadership. Without it, even the most skilled leader risks becoming a hollow vessel loud, impressive, but disconnected from purpose. With it, a leader becomes grounded, authentic, and valuable. And value is what people remember.
Shaping the Hidden Stories of Leaders
People don’ t follow charisma. They follow clarity. They are not moved by how loud a leader is, but by how anchored they are.
Visibility is often mistaken for influence, impacting on our role as marketers, the communicators, the brand storytellers who carry a sacred responsibility as curators of meaning, the architects of reputation, the bridge between image and impact. And in that role, we have a unique power: to shape the hidden stories of leadership.
It is in our purview to tell the story behind the success. Position leaders as humans with deeply held principles. Communicate their purpose. Help the audience connect with who they are, not just what they do. When we humanize our leaders, we make them relatable. And relatability fosters trust.
Leaders Are Icebergs
The strength of leadership lies in what’ s unseen: integrity, resilience, humility, empathy. And that’ s the part that keeps the iceberg afloat.
Let your leadership be more than presence, let it be substance. The applause may follow the performance, but trust is built in the quiet moments when no one is watching, and you still choose to do the right thing. This is a call to every aspiring or seasoned leader: Don’ t just lead, anchor. Be the calm below the surface, the depth behind the direction, the still strength others can trust.
This is what keeps the iceberg afloat. As author Simon Sinek once said,“ Leadership is not about being in charge. It is taking care of those in your charge.”
Be the leader who listens first. The one who speaks last. The one who leads not just with strategy, but with soul. So, stand tall, but stay anchored. Shine and let others see what fuels your light. Lead, but never forget to ask yourself- What truly inspires me?
Catherine Awuor is Head of Marketing and Corporate Communication at UBA Kenya. You can commune with her via mail at: Awuorcate8 @ gmail. com.
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