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The Power of Transformative Leadership: Stepping Into Shared Power, Healing, and Collective Growth

Published on The Kind Power Blog

Watch the full webinar replay here: https://youtu.be/2oZ99nXaahQ


At The Kind Power, we believe leadership is more than a role—it is a responsibility, a service, and a chance to transform communities from the inside out.


Our recent webinar, “The Power of Transformative Leadership,” brought together a global community of midwives, social advocates, nonprofit founders, doctors, and mission-driven leaders to explore what healthy leadership truly looks like—especially in environments impacted by trauma, inequality, and limited resources.



What unfolded was a powerful, honest, and inspiring discussion about how we can lead differently: with empathy, healing, shared power, and integrity.

This blog post captures the heart of the conversation.


Leadership Is Not a Title—It’s a Responsibility to Your People

In the session, Juliana (Founder of The Kind Power) shared:

“Leadership is not about saying ‘I’m a leader.’ It’s about being responsible for people, systems, and outcomes—and doing what’s right, even when no one is watching.”

Drawing from her experience leading large global teams at Apple, she emphasized how leadership carries weight:

  • The livelihood of families

  • The stability of entire systems

  • The experience of millions of customers

  • The emotional and psychological wellbeing of team members

Healthy leadership elevates others. Unhealthy leadership controls, silences, and harms.

This distinction set the stage for exploring the three types of power shaping our leadership styles.


Power Over, Power With, and Power To


Power Over, Power With, and Power To

Power Over

A fear-based model. Control, dominance, intimidation.Often seen in militarized systems and authoritarian structures.

Brendah Okello, midwife and gender-equality advocate, shared how power over:

  • Creates fear and silence

  • Prevents innovation

  • Builds dependency

  • Stops teams from functioning when the leader is absent


Power With

A collaborative model.

  • Shared decision-making

  • Team unity

  • Respect for everyone’s voice

This is what empowers people to take responsibility and act confidently.


Power To

A leadership model rooted in empowerment.

  • Enabling people to lead

  • Expanding their capacity

  • Giving them tools, trust, and autonomy

It ensures that the community or organization can thrive—even when the leader steps away.


Transformative leadership means shifting from control to collaboration and empowerment.


How Misuse of Power Harms Communities

Misused power doesn’t just hinder progress—it creates trauma.


Examples shared during the webinar included:

  • Patriarchal decisions that silence girls’ voices

  • Forced child marriages after sexual abuse

  • Workplaces where fear stops people from contributing

  • Teams where innovation dies because no one feels safe to speak


Misuse of power:

  • Creates mistrust

  • Silences voices

  • Breeds burnout

  • Perpetuates inequality

  • Hurts the most vulnerable first


Transformative leadership must disrupt these cycles.


Building Leadership Character That Inspires Trust


Building leader that inspires trust

We explored five traits every trauma-informed leader must cultivate:


1. Integrity

Doing what’s right when no one sees it.


2. Transparency

Open communication that builds psychological safety.


3. Consistency

Reliable behavior that makes people feel secure.


4. Humility

Owning mistakes and learning from them rather than defending them


5. Courage

Standing up for your values—even under pressure.

Trust is not declared. It is earned, moment by moment.


Insightful conversation

Leading Through Influence, Not Intimidation

Intimidation forces compliance. Influence creates followership.


Building influence requires:

  • Emotional intelligence

  • Respectful conflict resolution

  • Openness to diverse opinions

  • Authentic presence

  • Clear vision and credibility

As Brendah shared, good leaders handle conflict with dignity, empathy, and respect—not humiliation or fear.

When people feel safe and valued, they innovate. When they feel intimidated, they shrink.


Creating Inclusive, Trauma-Informed Environments

Ocean—a community advocate—highlighted how easily leaders can unintentionally re-traumatize others:

  • Making “casual jokes” about war, displacement, or loss

  • Trying to relate to trauma by oversharing your own painful experiences

  • Assuming everyone can emotionally engage with heavy topics


We discussed three core principles:


1. Know Your Audience

Understand their history, challenges, and potential triggers.


2. Lead With Empathy

Ask, listen, and remain curious instead of assuming.


3. Protect Privacy and Dignity

Never force someone to share their story in front of a group.

Trauma-informed leadership is compassionate leadership.


Accountability With Empathy


Accountability with Empathy

Empathy does not mean lowering standards.


Effective leaders:

  • Set clear expectations

  • Address issues early and privately

  • Focus on behaviors, not personal attacks

  • Support growth and repair

  • Guide without shaming or punishing

Accountability with empathy creates a safe environment where people can learn without fear.


Leadership vs. Management

Dr. Ogwang Oscar—surgeon and humanitarian—raised an important insight:

“Many of us were trained to be managers, not leaders.”

Managers often focus on:

  • Tasks

  • Control

  • Short-term results

Leaders focus on:

  • People

  • Purpose

  • Transformation

Leadership requires communication, emotional intelligence, and self-awareness—skills that must be actively cultivated.


Empowering Others to Rise With You

Transformative leaders do not stand alone on a pedestal.


They:

  • Share knowledge and tools

  • Delegate responsibilities

  • Celebrate others’ achievements

  • Create pathways for others to grow

  • Build teams that can lead alongside them


As Brendah said:

“When your team levels up, you level up too.”

Great leaders are not threatened by others’ growth—they create it.


Making Decisions in Uncertain Situations

One of the most powerful questions came from Lucy:

How do leaders make confident decisions in uncertainty?


We discussed:

  • You will never have perfect information

  • Mistakes will happen—and that’s okay

  • Integrity must always guide decisions

  • Bring your team into the process when appropriate

  • Learn, adjust, and move forward


As Cindy added in the chat:

“If the motive is right, go ahead. If you fail, own up and try again.”

This is how innovation is born.


Leadership as Service

At The Kind Power, we believe leadership is service.

It means:

  • Supporting the mission

  • Serving your people

  • Building systems that outlast you

  • Creating opportunities, not barriers

  • Empowering others to lead

Service-oriented leadership creates loyalty, resilience, and sustainable impact.


Join Our Community of Purpose-Driven Leaders


At The Kind Power, we are building:

  • A global community of trauma-informed leaders

  • Partnerships with mission-aligned organizations

  • Tools, trainings, and resources for grassroots change-makers

  • Pathways for leaders to learn, grow, and uplift each other


The Kind Power call to action

If you want to grow as a leader—and help create inclusive, empowered communities—you are welcome here.


👉 Watch the full webinar replay:https://youtu.be/2oZ99nXaahQ

👉 Explore more resources at:https://thekindpower.org


👉 Join our global community:

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