Want to keep your soul in leadership? Stop playing like the game is fair.

Much of it is rigged toward shareholder value and short-term profit. Doing the "right" thing for people has become the exception, not the rule. That's not cynicism—it's systemic reality.

You have three choices:

1. Leave leadership altogether
2. Stay and slowly get reshaped by the system
3. Stay without denaturing yourself

That last one takes deliberate work:

• Pick the right arena — Companies where ethics aren't just PR
• Define your red lines — What you will and will not compromise on
• Shield your team — From toxic incentives and unrealistic demands
• Blend your work — Roles that fund lower-paying, high-alignment projects
• Audit your alignment regularly — Catch the slow drift before it's too late
• Build a peer circle — Principled leaders who remind you you're not crazy
• Stay close to the craft — Real problem-solving keeps you grounded

The hardest truth? You can't save everyone. But you can make a real difference in the corner you control.

What's one red line you'll never cross as a leader?

Related Resources

• LinkedIn post