Showing Up on Purpose - How Inner Work Made Me a Better CFO
- teo.elynn
- Apr 8
- 3 min read
But that’s exactly what happened.
For most of my corporate career, I operated in the way most high-achieving profession
als do — on competence, performance and results. I was good at my job. I hit the KPIs. I led my teams. I delivered.
But if I’m honest, there was a version of me in those boardrooms that was performing. Not lying — but not fully present either. Showing up as the version of myself I thought was expected. Polished. Certain. In control.
What I didn’t realize was how exhausting that was. And how much it was quietly costing me — in energy, in connection, and in the quality of my leadership.
The shift happened when I started doing my own inner work.
Not in the boardroom. Not in a leadership course. But in the quiet, sometimes uncomfortable space of looking honestly at myself — my patterns, my fears, my blind spots.
Inner work didn’t make me softer. It made me more authentic.
And authentic leaders — I have come to believe — are the most effective ones.
Showing Up on Purpose as an Authentic Leader
Here is what concretely changed when I started showing up on purpose.
I stopped moulding people — and started discovering them.
Early in my leadership, I focused on getting my team aligned to company vision and goals. I thought that was good leadership.
What I know now is that the most powerful thing I can do for someone is help them find their own values and purpose within the organisation.
When people understand why their work matters to them — not just to the company — they show up differently. And together we find the right role and scope that brings out the best in them. That is when performance becomes sustainable.
I no longer need to be the loudest person in the room.
I used to equate presence with volume. Confidence with certainty. Leadership with having all the answers.
Inner work taught me that the most powerful thing I can do is speak with authenticity — whether I’m presenting at board level, in conversation with my bosses, or sitting across from a first-year analyst.
The same voice. The same honesty. The same person. That consistency — more than any title or authority — is what builds real trust.
I stopped trying to be the driver of success — and started building teams that succeed together.
For a long time I carried the weight of outcomes personally. If the team won, I pushed harder. If something fell short, I took it on.
What I’ve learnt is that truly effective leadership is not about being indispensable — it’s about being generative. Building a team where everyone contributes, everyone grows and success belongs to all of us. That shift — from driver to builder — has been one of the most freeing of my career.
I’d love to hear from you.
What does authentic leadership mean to you — and how do you bring it into your workplace? Is it in the way you communicate, the way you make decisions, or the way you show up for your team?
Drop your thoughts in the comments below. Because I believe the most powerful leadership conversations don’t just happen in boardrooms — they happen when we’re honest with each other. 🌸
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