Career Clarity – Ruthann M. Wilson

Leading from Within: Why Personal Leadership Comes First

Inner clarity ripples outward.

What comes to mind when you hear the phrase leading from within? I invite you to pause, take a deep breath, and reflect on what that phrase stirs in you. Whether you’re guiding a family, a team, a community, or a congregation, authentic leadership begins within. It is shaped by inner clarity, rooted in vision, and attuned to what feels most true for you.

Guiding ourselves is a lifelong practice, shaped by reflection, realignment, and the courage to return to what feels true. This inner work is what shapes and builds integrity. Integrity is not a fixed state. It is a return to wholeness, a noticing of misalignment, and a gentle guiding back to congruence.

Personal leadership is the practice of living in alignment with your values, your rhythm, and your truth. Your values act as an inner compass, guiding what you embrace, what you release, and how you show up each day. Your rhythm is the pace and pattern that honors your energy, your seasons, and the flow of feeling. And your truth is what feels real and congruent. It is inner knowing that lives beyond performance and outside of the need for approval.

This kind of knowing becomes the foundation for making decisions that align with your values and support your growth. It nurtures relationships that feel safe and rhythms that sustain rather than drain your energy. When we lead ourselves with clarity, its impact begins to ripple outward. Outward leadership becomes more trustworthy, attuned, and sustainable so others may lead with clarity too.

This kind of leadership feels especially important right now. Many of us are rethinking how we live, work, and lead. Many of us are also feeling the pace and the pressure to perform, and finding reason to pause and reassess.

In a time when everything seems to be moving faster and trust feels fragile, inner clarity becomes a source of steadiness. It helps us shape lives that feel true and relationships that feel safe. It allows us to lead in ways that energize and inspire others.

Inner clarity shapes how we show up, how we speak, move, and reset. When we honor our personal rhythm, we show up with more presence and ease. When we speak from a place of alignment, our words carry weight and the potential to shape trust and what comes next. When we pause, reflect, and reset, we return to ourselves, able to lead from a place that feels steady, true, and sustaining. How we live becomes how we lead. And how we lead authentically begins with clarity within.

Reflections on Personal Leadership, shared in support of your leadership journey.

Personal vision begins within
Personal vision is inner clarity about what matters and what is yours to bring to life. Leadership guided by inner clarity offers steadiness, not because every step is mapped, but because the direction is true.

Values are your compass
Values are the principles and priorities that shape how you live, work, and lead. Values guide not only what you say yes to, but also what you release. When your values are clear, decisions become less about seeking approval and more about honoring what is true. Leadership begins when you choose alignment instead of approval.

Emotional clarity is foundational
Emotional clarity begins with noticing what feels true, what feels stirred, what feels off. This kind of clarity allows you to respond rather than react. It helps you lead with steadiness and create space for others to show up fully, because you have made space for yourself first.

Boundaries protect your energy and enable integrity
Boundaries clarify your role and create the conditions for sustainable leadership. Clear boundaries allow you to lead from a place of wholeness. When you honor your own rhythm, you lead in a way that feels true and steady.

Presence is powerful
People feel when you’re fully engaged: not distracted, not performing, simply present. Whether it’s in a meeting or a conversation, your attention communicates more than words. It shows that you’re listening. It shows that you care. Build trust by consistently offering others the gift of your full attention.

Leadership inventory offered as a way to reflect, realign, and return to what feels true.

What values are guiding me right now?
Are they clear, or do they need revisiting?
Where am I honoring my rhythm, and where am I overriding it?
What shifts might support more ease?
What feels congruent in how I’m showing up?
What feels off or performative?
Where might a boundary support my energy or integrity?
What would it look like to honor that boundary?
How does my presence feel to others?
Am I leading with attention, or distraction?

Move through the questions at your own pace. Let them deepen your inner clarity, and help guide how you lead from within.

Lead with clarity. Make space for others to do the same.

Thank you for pausing here. If my writing has offered meaningful insight or sparked a shift in you, I would be honored to hear what stayed with you.

You are welcome to follow the blog to receive new reflections, subscribe to the mailing list for updates in your inbox, or connect with me on social media, whatever feels most supportive.

All the best,
Ruthann

Career Journey: Things I’ve learned along the way

I’m grateful for a fulfilling career across multiple industries. In this post, I’ve shared a few practical lessons that helped me grow, adapt, and lead with purpose.

Be where you are

Know what’s expected of you and do it well. Being present means making the most of your current role: learn, grow, excel, and enjoy the work in front of you. It has a way of opening doors and drawing people and opportunities to you that will enable you to grow into your next role.
Learn from the past. Plan for the future. Live in the present by making the most of where you are right now.

Develop transferable skills

Develop skills that are relevant across roles and industries (e.g., communication, collaboration, problem-solving, adaptability, etc.). My career has spanned several industries including pharmaceuticals, telecom, consumer goods, and hospitality, made possible by developing and applying transferable skills.

Stretch Through Projects and Roles

Welcome assignments that help you stretch and grow. Growth doesn’t always come through promotion. Sometimes it’s a lateral move or a stretch assignment that helps you build new capabilities and prepare for what’s next. Embrace the journey of growing into your next role. Be as open to a lateral move or stretch assignment in your current role as you are a promotion if it will help you grow and ultimately achieve your career goals.

Listen & Learn

Feedback is a gift. Be open to constructive feedback from peers, managers, leaders, etc. Solicit feedback in a way that it is constructive and enables you to grow (e.g., behavior-based, example-based, suggestions for improvement, etc.). Ideally, leaders should include feedback gathered from business partners, peers, etc. as a part of mid-year and/or year-end conversations. If you’re not receiving regular feedback, ask for it, and be open to what you hear.

Surround yourself with people who want to see you grow

Spend time with people who genuinely want to see you grow. We all need inspiration, encouragement, reality checks, and people with whom we can be vulnerable in our personal and professional lives. Spend time with people who genuinely want to see you grow and be that person for others too.

Own Your Career by Knowing Yourself

Know your values, gifts, talents, passions, abilities, and areas of opportunity. Define what success means to you and revisit that definition as you grow. Your vision may evolve, and that’s part of the journey. Create a plan of action to bring your vision to life. Consider working with a mentor and/or coach. Know the difference between the two and work with them accordingly.

Thank you for pausing here. If my writing has offered meaningful insight or sparked a shift in you, I would be honored to hear what stayed with you.

You are welcome to follow the blog to receive new reflections, subscribe to the mailing list for updates in your inbox, or connect with me on social media, whatever feels most supportive.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Career Clarity through Values: Charting Your Path Forward

Clarity is powerful, and it begins within. This post was inspired by a question: can my book, Be True to You: A Practical Guide to Pursuing an Authentic Path, support career development? The answer points us back to values, the foundation of both life and career clarity.

Thank you for taking the time to watch this video. If you know someone who might gain from the message, please share by clicking on a share button below.

Learn more and purchase a copy of Be True to You: A Practical Guide to Pursuing an Authentic Path through Amazon.com.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Master Prioritization: Align Your Actions with What Matters

“Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.”—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

Prioritization is a powerful way to bring clarity and focus to your life. Becoming aware of where you have gaps between what you say is important and what you actually do on a day-to-day basis is the first step to creating better alignment between priorities and actions.

This week’s challenge:

🔸Begin each day with a list of your three most important priorities and actions.

🔸End your day by reviewing your priorities and actions.

🔸Did you focus on your most important priorities? If so, make note of what helped you stay focused on your top priorities. If not, why not? Use what you learn to make changes/adjustments.

If there is a gap between your priorities and action, see it as an opportunity for personal growth. Recommit to your list of priorities and take action.

The same practice of prioritization that brings clarity to life also strengthens your ability to focus on career goals and professional growth.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Start Small: Overcoming Procrastination

This week, I invite you to get started on something that you have been putting off. Start small and gain momentum if procrastination is an ongoing challenge.

Envision a desired future state and write it down and/or find an image that captures what you envision. Keep your vision in a place where you can see it on a regular basis.

Outline the steps needed to bring your vision to life as well as a date for completing each step.

Create an affirmation that aligns with your future state and work with it on a daily basis.

Each day, commit to taking three actions to move toward your desired future state.

Hold yourself accountable by assessing your commitment to action at the end of each day.

Don’t wait until you are “ready” to begin. Start small, gain momentum, and bring your vision to life. Plan and prepare for it or something better to happen.

The same discipline of starting small and building momentum applies in your career. Each step forward strengthens your confidence and clarity.

Believe in your ability to succeed.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

Embrace Your Career Journey: The Power of Being Present

In addition to being a writer/author, I’ve had a long and fruitful career in corporate America. I had an opportunity to speak with a group of graduating students about my work and experience growing a career in a corporate setting. The students were a part of intensive training program that provided them with technical and professional skills. I love new beginnings and the energy of new graduates about to embark on their careers. I recall graduating from college and being excited about my first job post graduation. I had a very supportive supervisor and transition into my career.

One of the six career lessons that I shared with the graduates is to be where you are. The lesson was shared through a corporate lens; however, it’s also a powerful life lesson.

My message as it relates to being where you are in a corporate setting is to know what is expected of you, do your current job really well, and be open to new assignments/opportunities that can help you stretch and grow into the next role. Oftentimes, when people are early in a career, the goal is get to the next level quickly. The focus often becomes getting promoted/getting to the next level instead of learning, growing, excelling, and enjoying their current role. Moving too quickly can be problematic when an employee is promoted and not prepared for their next role. I encouraged them to be fully present and embrace the journey of growing into their next role.

The bigger life lesson is to live in the here and now; not in the past or in the future, but where you are right now. You can make the most of where you are by cultivating habits and practices that enable you stay grounded and present in your life. A few things to consider:

Give thanks for your life, even if it’s not exactly as you wish it to be
Reduce multi-tasking and focus on doing one thing at a time
Give other people the gift of your full attention
Spend time in nature and literally put your feet on the ground
Be intentional with your time
Breathe deeply
Meditate/embrace silence

Being where you are is about making the most of where you are right now. It has a way of opening doors and drawing people and opportunities to you.

Thank you for taking the time to read this post. You can receive notifications of new posts by clicking on the follow button or click here to join my mailing list to receive email updates. If you know someone that might benefit from this message, please share by clicking on a share button below.

All the best,

Ruthann

In-Progress, LLC | Walk your path with intention, at your own pace

First Things First: Mastering Your Priorities for a Fulfilled Life

“Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of things that matter least.”

—Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

First things first is a phrase that basically means things that are truly important should be prioritized over less important things. What are less important things? Whatever you decide based on the type of life that you want to live.

First things first is something we all know, but many of us struggle to put into practice on a regular basis. There is often a gap between what we say is important and what we actually do. Over time, the gap can contribute to feelings of being inadequate, inauthentic, off track, etc.

Becoming aware of where we have gaps is the first step to creating better alignment between actions and priorities. If you are experiencing a gap between what you say is important and what you actually do on a day-to-day basis, take a step back and explore the gap. Use what you learn to make changes/adjustments to your personal and/or professional life.

Here’s an activity, best accomplished in writing, to get you started:

Create a list of 3-5 things that are important to you. Be specific as possible. Put them in order.
Reflect on the past three months and record the order in which these things have been a priority in your life.
Is the first thing on your list, first in your life? If not, why not?
Do the things on your list reflect what you (vs. someone else) want for your life?
Identify steps you can take to align your actions with the order of the priorities on your list.
Ask someone you trust to lovingly hold you accountable.
Take action

Priority setting is an effective tool to create focus in your life. It will help you stay true to what matters most in your life.

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All the best,

Ruthann

Effective Goal Setting: Stay Focused and Thrive

One of the best ways to focus your time, energy, and money is to set a goal. Goals enable you to go from hoping and wishing to manifesting what you desire.

The journey from setting to achieving goals is fraught with obstacles, challenges, and distractions. If we are not laser focused on what truly matters, little by little, we can lose sight of our goals.

It is a great time in the new year to do a progress check. Spend some time today considering the following questions:

Is the way I am spending my time, energy, and money helping me create what I envisioned for my life?
Am I creating and nurturing the relationships I need to bring my goals to life?

If you don’t feel like you are making progress toward your goals, consider taking the following actions:

Keep track of how you are spending your time, energy, and money in a journal or notebook every day for the next seven days. Use the results to see where you need to make adjustments in support of your goals. Small changes on a daily basis can have a big effect.
Make a commitment to nurture your personal and professional network. Commit through action: make a call, send an email, or set up time to meet in person.
Ensure your goals are SMART, use positive language, and affirm what you want to create versus what you want to avoid.

Have fun, make changes where changes are needed, and trust the process in life and in your career as you bring your goals to life.

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All the best,
Ruthann

Why Clarifying Your Values Matters

The next time you find yourself looking for a reason why you haven’t started, completed, or followed through on something, take a step back and ask yourself if it is really important to you. If the answer is yes, spend some time exploring why it is important. When you ask yourself why something is important, you are tapping into your personal values.

Your values are always at work in your life whether you are fully aware of them or not. Clarifying them and using them as a guide can change your life. If you haven’t taken the time to clarify your values/what is most important to you in writing, I encourage you to make it a priority. Life flows when you are clear on your values.

We are likely to struggle to keep commitments when they are not clearly connected to personal values. When this happens, commitments tend to be rooted in fear and obligation rather than rooted in your heart.

Today is a great day to evaluate your commitments to ensure they are in alignment with your values. If not, give yourself permission to make changes or let them go.

Clarify what is most important to you and why. It will help you manifest what you desire.

Clarifying your values ensures that your career choices are authentic and sustainable, guiding decisions about roles, promotions, and leadership.

Need support? Be True to You: A Practical Guide to Pursuing an Authentic Path is designed to help you clarify what is most important to you and bring it to life. Click here to learn more about Be True to You.

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All the best,
Ruthann

Understanding Commitment vs. Attachment in Goal Setting

“Be committed, not attached; but more importantly, know the difference.”

—Anonymous

The difference between being committed vs. being attached is trust.

Trust enables you to dream big, set goals, work toward your goals, and stay open to more than one outcome. Trust enables you to ask “what did I learn?”, “how did I grow?” when things don’t go as you planned.

Commit to taking the action needed to bring your goals to life, but don’t become attached to a specific outcome. When we are attached to a specific outcome, we try to control the process rather than trust the process. Trust will enable you to keep your mind focused and your heart open to possibilities as you pursue your goals. The true power of commitment lies in your ability to make decisions, act on your decisions, and trust the process of bringing your goals to life.

In your career, commitment means taking consistent action, while trust keeps you open to opportunities that may unfold differently than planned.

Need help staying open to guidance? I invite you to read my post Embrace Possibility: 3 Transformative Tips.

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All the best,
Ruthann