When the Room Turns Against You
If you read Blog 4 — The Quiet Power of Listening Before Leading — you already know some of this story.
You know I stepped into a government role in Palau young, female, and responsible for work that was never going to be neutral. You know the pressure came. Political noise. Newspapers. The kind of public friction that finds its way into conversations you weren't in.
What I didn't talk about in that post — because the lesson there was about listening — was what it actually took to stay.
There was a morning I picked up a newspaper and saw my name in it. Not in the way you hope for. And I remember sitting with that for a moment — the weight of it — and thinking: the easiest thing right now would be to go quiet. To pull back. To wait for the storm to pass and come out the other side with fewer bruises.
I didn't do that. But I want to be honest — it wasn't because I wasn't tempted.
What Kept Me Standing
What I held onto — the thing that kept me from going quiet — was the people who believed in the work.
Not the people who agreed with every decision. Not the ones cheering from the sidelines. But the colleagues, mentors, and leaders who understood what we were trying to accomplish and why it mattered. People who didn't flinch when things got noisy.
That kind of support is rare. And when you have it, you protect it.
I also came to understand something important about political pressure: most of it is not actually about you.
It is about the change you represent. The disruption to systems that have always worked a certain way. The discomfort of accountability arriving somewhere it hasn't been before.
When you can see the pressure for what it actually is — resistance to change, not a verdict on your character — it becomes something you can stand in without being swept away by it.
Resource recommendation — An amazing book that helped me through some tough times : Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts by Brene’ Brown. Amazon Link —→ https://amzn.to/4tvST3W
What Staying in the Room Teaches You
I have worked with leaders across government, higher education, and the nonprofit sector who have faced this same kind of pressure. And the ones who navigate it best share one thing in common:
They don't abandon the work to protect their comfort.
They stay in the room. They stay in the conversation. They keep showing up — even when showing up is hard.
That doesn't mean being reckless. It doesn't mean ignoring the noise entirely. It means having enough clarity about your purpose that the noise doesn't become louder than the mission.
Looking back, those early experiences in Palau shaped something in me that I carry into every engagement at WeRise. When organizations are navigating change, there will always be friction. There will always be moments when the easiest path is also the one that leads backward.
The work of leadership is choosing, again and again, to face forward.
"The pressure wasn't about me. It was about the change I represented."
Additional Resources that has helped me through the years!
The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins - Amazon Link —> https://amzn.to/3QCu3Rf
The High 5 Habit: Take Control of Your Life with One Simple Habit by Mel Robbins - Amazon Link —> https://amzn.to/4czHzwl
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen R. Covey - Amazon Link —> https://amzn.to/491Qd5L