Growth Lives in the Awkward
When I spoke at the MomCo Leadership Summit Retreat, I was excited to lean into their annual theme this year: Make it Awkward.
Leadership has taught me so much over the years and one consistent theme is how awkward, messy, and uncomfortable it is. The most powerful growth doesn’t come from the peak of success. It comes from the moments we stretch and struggle.
Leadership isn’t a title—it’s an energy.
It’s the way we influence others. It’s an attitude and mindset. It’s how we show up, and how we respond when things don’t go as planned. And most of the time? That means it’s going to feel awkward - and even messy, at times.
Once we can acknowledge the influence we carry daily, we realize that we are all leaders. We influence our families, our colleagues at work, our peers in our community, and most importantly, we lead ourselves.
Awkward shows up in all kinds of ways:
Delegating tasks
Letting go of perfection, especially when it isn’t done your way
Trusting others
Saying “no”
Saying “yes”
Receiving feedback
Sharing feedback
Setting boundaries
Keeping to your boundaries
Learning new skills
Demonstrating patience
Establishing new habits
Regulating your emotions
Knowing when and how to protect your energy
Confronting a difficult situation
Having a hard conversation
Asking for help
Listening to seek different perspectives
Apologizing
Showing vulnerability
Taking ownership
Holding others accountable
Admitting you do not have all the answers
Being honest about how you feel
That’s the real work of leadership.
When I opened my first Burn Boot Camp location, I had zero business experience in the driver seat. Just weeks in, a key employee resigned. Overnight, I was running the gym with the bulk of the operations on my back—living out of a hotel in St. Louis while my family remained in North Carolina.
By the time I opened my second and third locations, my growth had outpaced my systems. Passion and hustle could only take me so far—I needed structure, strategy, and support.
A few months later, the pandemic hit and we were forced to shut down for three months. In between building processes and writing playbooks, I was researching disinfectants and tending to the one thing that felt constant - membership suspensions. My team and I worked around the clock trying to hold everything together.
And, we did.
I opened my fourth gym in September 2020.
And my fifth in 2023.
Each season—whether marked by celebration or hardship—pushed me into new roles, new challenges, and new levels of resilience. My team only got stronger, and our operations became more sophisticated. I learned to lead through instability, to navigate discomfort, and to rise even when the ground beneath me felt shattered. Through all this, self-reflection and personal responsibility kept me grounded and growing. It’s easy to point fingers; leadership is not.
I had to stretch into difficult conversations with my team, my family, and myself. I had to create boundaries to keep my chin up and my heart stable. I had to ask for help—again and again—and trust others to carry what I couldn’t. I had to stop clinging to control and start leaning into my own authenticity. Fast forward to today, none of this changes. There is no finish line - we simply continue to sharpen our skills.
All of this was, and continues to be awkward. And, all of it was necessary.
At MomCo, we didn’t just talk about it—we experienced it. I guided the group through connection exercises designed to go deeper, faster. We created space to reflect, to get honest, and to see that awkwardness doesn’t mean we’re doing it wrong—it means we’re in the middle of growth.
Sure, it was uncomfortable. But until we break through the barriers of discomfort, change remains a distant dream.
If you’re feeling frustrated in any area of your life right now, I encourage you to look at what you might be avoiding:
Have the conversation
Set the boundary
Take personal responsibility
Self-reflect
Hold your standard
Reprioritize
Fail forward
Seek to understand
Risk your ego
Ask for help
Let it be awkward
Because awkward is where leadership lives.
And it’s where your next level begins.
