The Weight of Integrity

My leadership was doubted.
My kindness was taken for weakness.
My integrity was mistaken for inexperience.

All because I refused to do what I knew was wrong.

I would not fire a man for being robbed. A man who had broken no laws, no rules, who simply had misfortune fall upon him.

But my refusal became their reason.
And leadership chose to believe assumptions, whispers, and half-truths instead of the evidence of years of dedication.

A man who had been absent for six years returned, spent a week in town, and in only a few hours decided I was unfit to lead the operation I had built, nurtured, and carried forward.

They may have thought they hurt me.
But all they did was fulfill what was already written.

At the beginning of that year, I had whispered to myself: This will be the year I leave.
And God heard me.
They only moved the plan into motion.

Now I stand in a new space.
A position of greater power, responsibility, and voice.
I lead more people. I carry more weight.
And I do it without fear of their doubt.

Because I am twice the leader I was.
Twice the leader they will ever be.

And I will never apologize
for leading with integrity.