The journey to transformational leadership: Embracing the inner work

Mesirow is the founder of the Elected Leaders Collective.

History’s most legendary leaders took their inner struggles and turned them into strengths to unite us. In contrast, the most reviled leaders allowed their inner turmoil to project outward, harming us. As leaders today, we each face a choice: Who do we want to be remembered as?

Figures like Abraham Lincoln, the Roosevelts, Martin Luther King Jr., and Nelson Mandela stand as pillars of transformation and healing. Their journeys were not paved by chance but by deliberate inner work, where personal growth intertwined with public service, a concept Aristotle called "arete."

Arete, a core Aristotelian value, represents the intersection where personal talents and passion meet public needs, elevating the public interest above personal gain to achieve one's highest potential in service. These leaders did more than succeed — they embodied transformation and built legacies that extended far beyond their own lives. This was no accident, and it was not magic.

Each of these lionized leaders was a prominent figure even in their youth. But it was only through bouts of depression, the struggles with polio, electoral losses, near-death experiences or incarceration that they transformed into something greater — leaders who discovered their arete.

It's not about the physical challenges you face but how you respond to them. Like Mandela, MLK, the Roosevelts and Lincoln, you can transform your struggles into the source material for growth. These leaders didn’t merely endure their hardships; they used them as a microscope into their inner world, connecting empathetically with others and emerging from their chrysalis, ready to serve with the entirety of their being. This is a long road, a hard road and an uncertain road. But it is also the only path to transforming society — and, in the process, becoming legendary.

Interestingly, the cosmological gift of rising to a higher calling is inner peace. Like Viktor Frankl, who found inner purpose, community, clarity and empathy through his inner work in the external hell of Auschwitz, these leaders turned their prisons into paradises in their minds. They emerged not just as survivors but as examples of the possible, their personal struggles fueling their public missions.

In contrast, leaders like George Wallace and Joseph McCarthy took the easy path. They were the darlings of their time, attracting votes and attention by dividing us. They rose quickly, but their legacies are buried in infamy. Mandela stayed on Robben Island for 28 years, yet he lives in eternity. McCarthy rose overnight, but his actions left lives strewn in his wake, a dark memory in our history.

The communal meal takes time but leaves the palate and soul full. Fast food is accessible and cheap but leaves a trail of harm to your heart, your health and our environment.

Today, as leaders, we are all in a challenging place. The world is coming at us with public hate, threats, misinformation and division. It can be overwhelming, isolating and maddening. We can all retrench to our worst impulses — I have. It’s normal and not your fault. You were never taught how to make your biology work for you rather than you for it. As an elected leader, I found myself short-tempered, reactive, angry, stressed, anxious and wondering what I was even doing. Was it worth it? Then, I applied the inner work.

With new tools and approaches, each challenge became a key to unlocking greater potential. Each conflict became an opportunity to heal. My universe expanded. Gridlock became teamwork. Advisories became collaborators. My anxiety fell. My alcohol consumption fell. I became clearer, more courageous and happier. I accomplished more with my community than I ever could have done for it, and others began to notice.

There is a movement afoot. A small group of brave leaders — electeds, staffers and non profit workers — are ready to do something different. We want to break out of partisan gridlock, stop feeling angry, and start connecting, doing, and leading from the heart with joy and possibility because we have the tools, practices and community to do it.

We are committed to cultivating leaders who lead like Lincoln, train like Teddy, and win like Winston. If you feel the call to rise above and lead with purpose, your journey to your highest potential starts with the first step inward.

You already know who you are in your heart. You know your arete. We welcome you if you seek the magic sauce to manifest it and are tired of doing it alone.

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