Showing Up Fully: Why Real Leadership Starts with Real Conversations 

Leadership Link

This week, I became the interviewee in my own class. 

Not because it was on the syllabus. Not because I planned it. But because one of my students could simply not find a woman willing to talk, really talk, about body dysmorphia in a professional setting. 

So I said yes. I chose to say yes. I chose to have an honest, real, heart-felt conversation about a topic so raw.  

I teach a course called Women, Power, and Status at Drake University. This class is rooted in boldness, reflection, and reclaiming our voices. The semester project invites students to choose a topic that intersects gender, power, and leadership. They dig into the research. They explore how it shows up in the workplace. They interview someone with real-world experience. They examine how the topic is portrayed in media. And then, they reflect on what it means for how they want to lead. 

The goal? Transformation. Not just learning. Synthesis. Not just consuming information. Impact. Doing something about it. 

This student had chosen a topic that many experience but few feel comfortable naming: body dysmorphia and its impact on leadership identity. She searched for someone to interview. Most people declined. Some did not even respond at all. The topic was too vulnerable. Too raw. Too personal. 

And that is exactly why I knew I had to say yes. 

We sat down for the interview. She asked thoughtful, intelligent questions. I answered from my truth, not from a script or a credential, but from my lived experience. Eek.  

What emerged was something bigger than just a student assignment; and thus, why I am sharing with you here today on WorkersCompensation.com.  

The Invisible Pressure of Professional Perfection 

In the workers’ compensation industry, we talk a lot about visibility. Documentation. Outcomes. Compliance. Strategy. But there is an additional layer of leadership we do not talk about enough: the emotional, unspoken reality of what it costs some people just to be in the room. 

For many women, body image is more than clothing or confidence as it becomes framed around identity. Worth. Belonging. The internal math of asking: Will they take me seriously if I don’t look the part? Do I need to shrink to be accepted? How much of myself do I have to alter to be seen as credible here? 

Body dysmorphia in professional spaces is not vanity. This topic is a quiet form of self-erasure. And it shows up everywhere: second-guessing how we appear on Zoom. Withholding ideas because we feel self-conscious. Distracting ourselves with negative self-talk before a major presentation. These are not surface-level insecurities. These are deep, leadership-impacting experiences. 

And they rarely get talked about. 

That is why this moment in class mattered so much. It was so much more than about being brave, it was about being real. And real is where change begins. There is that little voice inside that pushes you to take the jump, have the conversation, and speak. Speak from this deep place inside, the voice we have long silenced needing to be heard to help others find validation through their own lived experience. And find healing within on your own. 

Media Mirrors and Missed Narratives 

As part of their projects, my students are now analyzing media portrayals of their chosen topics. These students are comparing what they hear in interviews to what they see on LinkedIn, TikTok, television, and news outlets. 

One of my students pointed out something powerful: in places like social media, women professionals are starting to open up. These professional women are sharing stories about the tension between being high-performing and feeling unseen. On TikTok and Instagram, these stories feel raw and relatable. On LinkedIn, they show up more polished, but the vulnerability is still there. Social media posts are now coming to light of women navigating burnout, motherhood, leadership, and appearance-based pressure. 

And then there is television. 

We watch women in legal dramas and corporate storylines dominate boardrooms and handle crises in stilettos. It looks glamorous. Controlled. Empowered. 

But what’s missing? 

The mental load. The body shaming. The internalized pressure. The lack of safety to not be perfect. 

Media matters because it shapes what we believe is possible. Art impacts life. Life impacts art. If all we see are success stories or fictional perfection, we miss the middle:  the real, messy, human part. And that part is where empathy, authenticity, and connection are built. 

Leadership as Personal Agency 

So what does this have to do with workers’ compensation? 

Everything. 

If we want to build systems that actually support people, especially injured workers, caretakers, claims professionals, and leaders, we have to start talking about what it really means to show up as a whole human. 

The truth is, many people in our industry are navigating unseen struggles while trying to lead, perform, and serve. We all have psychosocial issues. What do you want to do with it? What do you want to do about it? And how do you help others along the way?  The only way to shift culture is to model something different. 

That is what I am doing. I am using my personal agency. As a woman, a professor, a COO, and a speaker. I am here to show up differently. Not with perfection, but with presence. 

As I told my class: 

• Showing up fully is the most honest form of leadership I know, even when the topic is hard. 

• If I ask my students to lead with vulnerability, I have to be willing to go first. 

• It was never about being brave. This is about being real. And real is where change begins. 

I believe we need to normalize real talk in professional spaces. Not oversharing. Not trauma dumping. But truth-telling. The kind that says, “You are not alone,” and “Your story belongs here, too.” This is connection to the human spirit at its fullest, during the most important times. 

A Challenge for the Industry 

To those of us in workers’ comp leadership roles, HR, and corporate culture shaping,  I offer this challenge: 

Be willing to go first. 

Say the thing you wish someone would say out loud. 

Make it safe for someone else to feel seen. 

We can’t build inclusive workplaces if people are hiding behind emotional armor every day. We can’t support recovery if we don’t understand the emotional landscape people are navigating. And we can’t claim to be trauma-informed leaders if we’re unwilling to face the quiet traumas happening all around us — including the ones that have nothing to do with an injury report. 

It starts with us. 

Not with a policy. Not with a poster. But with a conversation. 

To Macy, Alicia, and every student in this class: Thank you for your honesty, your brilliance, and your boldness. You are already reshaping the world. And I am honored to witness your leadership take form. 

And to you, my dear reader: Your story matters. Even if it has never been told before. Maybe today is the day you decide to tell it.  

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