Leading Starts With You: The Inner Work Every Warrior-Leader Must Do

If you’ve ever wrapped a long day and thought, “I looked like a leader, but I didn’t feel like one,” pull up a chair. I’ve strutted onto stages with polished shoes and big plans—only to learn the hard way that leadership isn’t performance; it’s presence. And that’s exactly why Ali Ennenga’s new book, Leading Starts With You, hit me square in the heart. It’s not about becoming shinier—it’s about becoming truer. 

Why This Book Matters for Networking Warriors

We’re builders, connectors, rainmakers. But even the best network can’t outrun an inner life that’s out of alignment. Ali lays out five pivots that turn strain into strength and momentum into meaning:

• Remember your worth: Worth precedes performance—stop over‑earning what’s already yours.
• Align values and vision: Choose truth over predictability; clarity shortens meetings and strengthens trust.
• Master your inner dialogue: Change the sentence, change the room.
• Lead with empathy (and boundaries): Care deeply without rescuing. Empathy includes you.
• Model authenticity: Culture copies what you model.

Friend, when you steady the inside, the outside starts to move.

The Warrior’s 5×5 Playbook

Take these five small hinges and swing some very big doors this week.

Three-Breath Reset

• Inhale for four, exhale for six—three times before any hard moment.
• Speak on the exhale. Calm beats clever.

The Yes Filter

• Ask: Does this honor my values? Advance my 90‑day vision? Fit my energy this week?
• If you can’t get two yeses, it’s a no—or a yes with clear conditions.

Inner Boardroom (90 seconds)

• Let the Pleaser, Perfectionist, and Protector speak for 20 seconds each. Thank them.
• Then let the Leader decide one action: “Because I value X, I will do Y by Z.”

Empathy With Ownership

• CARE: Center → Acknowledge → Reflect → Explore ownership.
• End with, “What will you do next, and what support do you need from me?”

Repair Ritual

• “I missed X; it impacted Y. Here’s my fix by Friday.”
• Fast repair builds more trust than slow perfection.

A 7‑Day “Presence Over Performance” Challenge

• Day 1: Write a 12‑word mission. Put it where you’ll see it.
• Day 2: Name three daily behaviors that prove your mission. Do them before noon.
• Day 3: Serve three people with a no‑strings‑attached introduction or encouragement.
• Day 4: Have one hard conversation—clear, kind, brief.
• Day 5: Run the Yes Filter on a real request; say no cleanly or yes with conditions.
• Day 6: Ask a mentor two sharp questions; apply one insight the same day.
• Day 7: Sabbath + Strategy—rest, then plan next week’s top three outcomes.

Repeat for four weeks. You won’t just look different—you’ll lead different.

For the Warrior Networking Community

Lone wolves look cool in movies, but in real life they go hungry. At Warrior Networking, iron sharpens iron—your clarity strengthens my courage, and my boundaries improve your bandwidth. Bring your truth to the room and watch accountability turn into acceleration.

• Share wins and lessons—no theatrics, just traction.
• Trade introductions that move needles.
• Keep small promises fast; trust compounds.

Grab the Book, Join the Conversation

Ali Ennenga’s Leading Starts With You is practical, personal, and powerful. It’ll hand you language you can use in your next 1:1, your next meeting, and your next brave decision. If you’re ready to trade performative leadership for present leadership, get your copy and mark it up.

• Get the book: Leading Starts With You by Ali Ennenga.
• Then come back and tell us:
  • What sentence are you retiring—and what sentence will you lead with now?
  • Which pillar (Worth, Alignment, Inner Dialogue, Empathy, Authenticity) do you need most this month?
  • What’s one boundary you’ll state kindly this week?

Final Nudge

You don’t have to be great to start—but you have to start to be great. Choose one aligned step today. Post your takeaway and your next move in the comments, and let’s get you—and your network—moving in the right direction. See you at the top.