Have you ever felt like no one else could possibly relate to your situation or circumstance? Have you ever been afraid to share some of your deepest pain or struggles as a leader for fear of what others might think or worse, losing your leadership role?
Subscribe to the podcast here
This post contains affiliate links, which means if you choose to make a purchase via one of the links, we will receive a commission at no extra cost to you. This helps to support the costs of running the podcast and blog.
Many leaders feel alone, struggle with being vulnerable, and find it hard to make time for soul care even when they know how important it is for their well being. In this episode, Holly and I chat with Bonnie Gray as she shares why it’s vital to share the truth about your story, how panic attacks impacted her leadership, dealing with rejection, finding rest in chaos, and how she found belonging in a culture of loneliness.
Key Points Discussed:
- Bonnie’s leadership journey
- Leadership lessons
- How panic attacks impacted her leadership
- Finding healing from past hurts
- Bonnie’s multiple career and life pivots
- Writing ‘Sweet Like Jasmine’
- Encouragement for women who are lonely or in the minority
- How writing helped Bonnie heal & the importance of vulnerability
- Combating loneliness and division
- Finding rest and soul care
Key Quotes:
“God was showing me a new way of leadership, which is vulnerability, authenticity and honesty.”
“It’s who I am that makes my life a ministry to God.”
“Your faith is not an eraser.”
“We [leaders] need soul care, we need safety–maybe even more than others because we’re pouring out all the time.”
“Sometimes we pray for clarity, but God wants us to step out in faith.”
“Just because somebody says it’s true doesn’t mean it’s true.”
“God doesn’t need us to protect his name by hiding the truth.”
“Loneliness is just a human condition–doesn’t matter what color you are, we’re all lonely.”
Connect with Bonnie Gray:
Bonnie Gray has been a leader in ministry & business since college (UCLA) and has been a published author since 2014. She has written about her unique Chinese American journey from loneliness to belonging. She invites women to drop striving and people-pleasing so they can discover their deep value and beloved-ness. Bonnie helps women find God in the grind of daily life.
After graduating UCLA with a computer science and engineering degree, Bonnie worked as a high-tech professional in Silicon Valley for 15 years – as well as a missionary to Asia and a ministry entrepreneur in the U.S. Today she is a Christian author, writer and speaker – calling women into connection, rest and wholeness. Her new book, Sweet Like Jasmine, recounts stories of her childhood in Chinatown (San Francisco), her ministry, her family secrets, and her journey to belonging.
Podcast Sponsor:
Confident Conversations is a mini-course designed to help you initiate and lead hard conversations as a Christian woman… even if you struggle with confrontation, aren’t sure what to say, and want to avoid hurting people in the process.
Find out more and grab this mini-course here: http://confidentconversations.co/
Stay Connected:
Subscribe on your favorite podcast app. Click here to find all the options where you can find the podcast
Join our Purposeful Leadership Facebook group! In the Facebook group, we can chat about what you need as a leader, what your challenges are, as well as celebrate the wins. This is a great community to learn and grow together. We want to get to know YOU.
[convertkit form=5179709]
Other Ways to Connect with Esther and the Christian Woman Leadership Podcast:
