What an Executive Coach Taught Me About Leadership (It's Not What You Think)
I recently had a conversation with Dawn Kasey Lovelace, a certified coach who spent over 25 years in the music industry before transitioning to coaching. She works with everyone from Fortune 1000 executives to world-renowned musicians and creative artists in television and film. What she told me about creativity and leadership made me take another look at both.
And I’ll bet you know more about leadership than you think. The moments when you've brought a team together, navigated a difficult decision, or created something new—those weren't just skills you deployed. They were expressions of who you are.
Dawn made a clear distinction that many people don’t see: She said creativity isn't just something you do—it's a way of being.
The Difference Between Doing and Being
Most of us think about creativity as a skill set. You're creative if you can write, design, compose music, or solve problems in innovative ways. But Dawn challenged that assumption. "There are people who have creative skill sets and they can apply them well," she explained. "And there are people who are just creative."
What's the difference? One is about application. The other is ontological—it's about who you are at your core.
This applies directly to your leadership journey. You might think leadership is something you do—hold meetings, delegate tasks, make decisions. But what if leadership, like creativity, is actually a way of being? What would change if you approached it from that perspective?
When you lead from your authentic self—bringing your core values, your passion, your unique perspective—you're not just managing people. You're creating something entirely new. You're designing your own personal brand of leadership.
Stillness as Your Creative Practice
Dawn shared something practical that every leader can use: the power of stillness. Not meditation apps or complicated practices, but simple seated stillness. "You can sit anywhere and be still within yourself," she said.
Five to ten minutes of closing your office door and being still—not checking email, not planning your next move. Just being present with yourself, and that's where creativity emerges. That's where the best leadership decisions become accessible. This means you can make better decisions without adding yet another productivity system or leadership framework to your already full plate.
The truth is, when you create space for stillness, you create space for your authentic leadership to emerge. You hear that inner guidance system. You access creative solutions that weren't visible when you were caught in the doing.
Your Authentic Leadership Brand
Here's the real breakthrough from my conversation with Dawn: She helps her clients design their own personal brand of leadership by utilizing "all of you—your head, your heart, your gut.
Your head brings strategic thinking and process. But your heart? That's where your passion, purpose, and core values live. As Dawn put it, "Just like your heart pumps blood into every cell in the body, there's an intangible part of your heart called passion, purpose, core values."
When you lead from this integrated place, you're not copying someone else's leadership style. You're not following a model from a book. You're creating something that's authentically yours.
Think about this: How creative is your passion? How does your purpose show up in your leadership? These aren't abstract questions—they're practical ones that shape how effectively you lead.
Bringing This Into Your Daily Leadership
The professionals I work with often struggle with leadership because they're trying to replicate what they've seen others do. They're groomed for a role and think they need to manage or lead the same way as the person before them.
But Dawn's insight changes that. When you bring what's most important to you—your core values—to leadership, you are in your personal brand of leadership. You're not performing leadership. You're embodying it.
This is the creative practice of leadership. It's designing teams that foster innovation. It's collaborating in ways that leave room for other ideas. It's asking "What's possible?" instead of defaulting to "Here's how we've always done it."
Start by asking yourself these questions:
What are my core values?
How do they show up in my leadership?
Where am I trying to copy someone else's style instead of creating my own?
Take five minutes today to sit in stillness and just be with those questions. Don't force answers. Let them emerge.
How do you see creativity showing up in your own leadership? Share your thoughts in the comments—I'd love to hear from you.
I’m Richard Taliaferro. I’m a certified career coach specializing in helping mid-stage professionals gain clarity on their career journey. I’ve written a guide on how to escape the work hamster wheel. Click here to download yours.