Leigh’s Leadership Lessons: Mad, But Not Mean

The Heart of This Episode

Anger is everywhere right now. You can feel it—in the headlines, in conversations, in your own body. In this solo episode, Leigh steps directly into that tension—not to dismiss anger, but to reclaim it. Because the real question isn’t whether anger is justified. It’s whether we can hold it without becoming the very thing we’re fighting against. This is a deeply personal reflection—sparked by lived experience, recent events, and a powerful conversation with John Wood Jr.—on what it means to feel anger fully without letting it harden into self-righteousness or dehumanization.

Leigh explores the fine but critical line between:

Righteous anger — grounded in moral clarity and care
Self-righteous anger — rooted in ego, superiority, and division

And why crossing that line—often unconsciously—can quietly reinforce the very injustices we oppose.

Why This Conversation Matters Now

We are living in a moment where outrage travels fast. Where certainty feels safer than curiosity. Where it’s easy to justify our anger—and much harder to examine it.

This episode invites you into a different stance:

Not suppressing anger
Not exploding with it
But working with it—intentionally, humanely, and with agency

Because anger, when expressed well, can fuel change. But when distorted, it corrodes connection—and deepens the divide.

A Personal Reflection

Leigh shares her own experience of grappling with anger while witnessing deeply troubling events—moments that stirred heartbreak, outrage, and moral urgency.

And alongside that anger, a harder question:

Can I hold my anger… and still see the humanity in the people I disagree with?

This is the tension at the center of the episode. Not theoretical. Not abstract. But lived, messy, and real.

Key Ideas Explored

1. The Difference Between Righteousness and Self-Righteousness

Righteousness is rooted in values and a desire to reduce harm
Self-righteousness often shows up as:
- Blame
- Othering language
- Moral superiority
- All-or-nothing thinking

One builds movements. The other fractures them.

2. Anger as Energy—Not Identity

Anger is not the problem. It’s information. It’s energy. It’s a signal that something matters. But:

Suppressed anger → festers
Weaponized anger → harms
Directed anger → transforms

3. “Mad, But Not Mean”

Inspired by a powerful reflection from Michelle Obama:

We don’t lose the rage.
We find purpose in it.

This is the invitation: Feel it. Honor it. But don’t let it dehumanize.

4. Accountability Without Dehumanization

This is NOT about passivity. It is about saying in ‘the space in between’ where BOTH accountability matters and so, too, does holding ‘right anger’ towards unjust and unneeded suffering.

The trick is being self aware enough to know that HOW we hold people accountable—the spirit we bring—determines whether we create change… or, risk escalating harm itself. This is both a deeply spiritual calling and, practical.

5. Cultivating Agency in the Heat of Anger

Three practices to work with anger in real time – they are practices I’ve talked about many times because they WORK and are DOABLE for us all:

Know Your Boiling Points
Recognize the physical and emotional signals before reaction takes over.

Pause (even briefly)
A moment of pause can interrupt the spiral.

Find Other Seekers
People committed to holding complexity—not collapsing into polarization.

The Deeper Invitation

This episode is not asking you to be less angry. It’s asking something harder:

Can you stay human in your anger?
Can you resist the pull toward certainty, superiority, and “othering”?
Can you hold conviction—and still build connection?

That is the space in between.