The Rooted Leader: Why Steady Beats Loud in Uncertain Times
- Ashley Nelson & Barbara Boselli
- Jul 29
- 4 min read
We're thrilled to have two guest authors on the blog this week, Ashley Nelson & Barbara Boselli, the creators and facilitators of The Leadership Experience. They're sharing a special, three-part blog series on what it means to become a more rooted leader—not by offering quick fixes or leadership hacks, but by sharing practical ideas and simple practices that have transformed the way leaders show up for themselves and the people they lead.
We’ll begin with a simple question: When was the last time your presence changed a room before you ever spoke?
It's easy to believe great leadership is about having the right answers, reacting the fastest, or being the strongest voice in the room. While those qualities certainly have their place, the leaders who consistently earn trust bring something even more powerful: a grounded presence.
While urgency often feels like the way forward in our “always on” culture, rooted leaders offer something critical. They create the steadiness that allows others to think more clearly, communicate more honestly, and navigate uncertainty with greater confidence.
Steadiness isn't passive. It's one of the most underrated leadership skills we can develop.
What Does It Mean to Be a Rooted Leader?
Being rooted doesn't mean having everything figured out, remaining calm every second of the day, or pretending uncertainty doesn't exist.
It means developing the self-awareness to notice what's happening within you before reacting to what's happening around you.
Rooted leaders pause before responding. They stay connected to their values, even when circumstances become challenging. They bring consistency to their teams, even when the path ahead isn't perfectly clear.
This kind of leadership is quiet. It isn’t about commanding attention, but about creating the conditions where others can do their best thinking and best work.
And the truth is, our leadership style is contagious.
When a leader rushes into a meeting visibly stressed or distracted, that energy has a way of spreading. Likewise, when a leader enters with focus, curiosity, and presence, they give everyone else permission to slow down and do the same.
There's actually a scientific reason behind this: Our brains are hardwired to constantly scan the people around us for cues about whether we're safe or under threat. Long before anyone speaks, we're picking up on facial expressions, body language, and emotional state.
As leaders, that means people are often taking their cues from us, whether we realize it or not.
That's why leadership isn't only about managing projects, problems, and people– it's also about managing your own presence. Because your team experiences how you're showing up long before they experience what you know.
A Practice to Try This Week: The Moment to Arrive
One of the simplest practices we teach in The Leadership Experience is called Moment to Arrive.
Think about your last day of meetings. Chances are, you didn't walk into each conversation with a clean slate. You likely carried the stress from one meeting into the next, or maybe even the frustration from a difficult conversation that was still going on in the background.
Without realizing it, we bring that emotional residue into every room we enter.
Instead, try this before your next meeting:
Pause for one minute before you walk in.
Take three slow, intentional breaths.
Notice what you're carrying with you.
Ask yourself: How do I want to show up in this moment?
It may seem surprisingly simple, but this brief pause interrupts autopilot and allows you to show up intentionally.
Over time, small shifts like this begin to change our leadership and how others experience us.
Why Stepping Away Makes Us Better Leaders
Many leaders believe the answer to uncertainty is to push harder, work longer, respond faster, and fill every available moment.
But some of the most important leadership work doesn't happen while we're doing more; it happens when we create enough space to slow down and reflect.
A change in environment has a remarkable way of creating perspective. It gives us enough distance to notice the patterns we've been too busy to see, reconnect with what matters most, and return with greater intention.
That's one of the reasons we're excited to partner with ALTAR for The Leadership Experience this October. We share the belief that where we learn matters, and ALTAR has created the kind of safe space where meaningful reflection and lasting growth can happen.
A Question to Carry With You
Before your next meeting this week, consider this question: How do I want people to feel after spending time with me?
Not just what do you want them to accomplish or what decisions you want them to make, but how do you want them to feel? Respected? Heard? Trusted?
The answer to that question shapes your leadership long before your agenda ever does.
This is the first reflection in our three-part Rooted Leadership series. Next month, we'll explore another challenge leaders face every day: finding clarity amid competing priorities and learning how to decide what truly deserves our attention.
If these ideas resonate with you, we'd love for you to join us this October for The Leadership Experience. Together, we'll explore practical tools grounded in emotional intelligence, neuroscience, and mindfulness, while connecting with a community of leaders committed to showing up as their best selves.
