The moment I realized leadership was different than I thought

This is part of Foundation @ The Operators Edge—where I get to know new readers, and you get a deeper look at how I think.

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There’s always a moment. The one that forces you to grow, whether you’re ready or not.

For me, it wasn’t a single flash of insight—it was a slow, uncomfortable realization.

When I first became a manager, I went from being one of the team to leading the team. The shift was more than just a title change—it was a complete identity shift.

I had spent years building trust and friendships with my peers. We vented together, gossiped, shared everything. Then, suddenly, I was in a new room—surrounded by leaders I hadn’t built those same relationships with. And worse? I was still operating like I had before.

I kept my old habits.

I overshared when I shouldn’t have.

I undermined other leaders’ authority by staying too close to their teams.

Rookie mistakes.

And I paid for them (in embarrassment and some tough conversations).

But it didn’t set me back.

The moment everything changed for me was when I made a conscious decision to step fully into leadership. To elevate how I carried myself, how I communicated, and how I built trust—not just with my old peers, but with my new ones.

Leadership isn’t just about what you know—it’s about who you decide to become. And deciding to actually be a leader—even when it felt uncomfortable—was the moment everything shifted for me.

Now I want to hear from you.

What’s the leadership moment that changed you? Drop a comment and share.

Ashley

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P.S. If you’re new here and want to catch up on my best writing, here’s a piece a lot of people tell me hit home: