Leadership That Heals: What We Learned from Grace Harding’s Talk at the MANCOSA Jacaranda FM Business Breakfast

06/10/2025

At MINDSHIFTERS, we believe leadership isn't just a skill set—it's a way of caring for people that transforms culture, performance, and wellbeing. Grace Harding's talk landed squarely in that sweet spot where human psychology, practical leadership, and everyday courage meet. Drawing from the stage, the stadium, and the kitchen, she showed how leaders create meaning, not just metrics; belonging, not just compliance.

The People Behind the Curtain Are the Heroes

Grace began by reminding us that the "show" only works because of the backstage crew—the early risers, the unseen hands, the steady hearts. In our coaching practice, we see how recognition changes nervous systems: when people feel seen, they regulate better, think clearer, and collaborate faster. Leaders who spotlight backstage contributions build psychological safety—and safety is the platform for sustainable performance.

Ego Beliefs vs. Spirited Beliefs

One of Grace's most useful frames is her "belief wheel":

  • Ego beliefs ("I'm better," "They're the problem") trigger controlling behaviour—micromanaging, criticism, volatility—which cascades into fear, gossip, and disengagement.

  • Spirited beliefs ("I'm okay, you're okay") create humility and ownership. Leaders regulate themselves, take responsibility, and invite the team into shared accountability.

From a MINDSHIFTERS perspective, this is inner work: notice the belief → name the feeling → choose the behaviour. Leaders don't rise to the level of their intentions—they fall to the level of their inner patterns. The work is to upgrade those patterns.

Context → Role → Call to Action → Feedback

Grace's "upside-down triangle" is gold for any leader or team lead:

  1. Context (Why it matters): Start with meaning. Humans move when the story moves them.

  2. Role (Who I am in the story): Job ≠ Role. A BMW technician's job is to fix cars; his role is to make you buy another BMW—through trust, care, and excellence.

  3. Call to Action (What to do): Only after meaning and identity are clear should you assign tasks.

  4. Feedback (Close the loop): Feed back to the why and the role, not just the task. That's how you reinforce identity and keep motivation intrinsic.

"Mise en Place" for Leadership

Borrowed from the kitchen, mise en place—putting everything in its place—means you set the inner table before you serve the outer world. In practice:

  • Prepare your state: Breathe, center, choose spirited beliefs.

  • Prepare the environment: Make the path to good work obvious—clear information, easy access, low friction.

  • Prepare the story: Connect the dots so the team knows where we're going and why it matters now.

Meaning Fuels Mastery

Grace showed how chefs meeting guests, or a spice-factory lead seeing their product in people's hands, converts "tasks" into purpose. Neuroscience agrees: meaning flips effort from draining to energising. As a leader, design moments where people witness the impact of their work. Purpose is the ultimate renewable energy.

Vulnerability Is a Performance Tool

Referencing elite sport, Grace highlighted leadership that owns the bad days without shaming people. That posture—candid, accountable, future-focused—keeps teams in a learning state instead of a defensive one. In coaching language: name reality without blame, name responsibility without shame. That's how high-trust, high-change cultures are built.

Try This with Your Team This Week

  1. Two-Minute Reset: Before meetings, write one ego belief you'll release and one spirited belief you'll embrace.

  2. Open with Context: Start your next briefing with a 60-second "why now" story.

  3. Role Clarity Check: Ask each person to finish this sentence: "My role (not job) in this mission is to…"

  4. Feedback That Lands: When recognising someone, tie it to the bigger story ("Because you did X, our customers experienced Y, which moves us toward Z").

  5. Backstage Spotlight: Publicly thank the unseen contributors. Make it specific.

Our Takeaway for Leaders and Teams

Grace's message echoes our core belief at MINDSHIFTERS: healthy leaders create healthy systems, and healthy systems create extraordinary results. If you do the inner mise en place, lead with spirited beliefs, and frame work through context, role, and feedback, you won't need to push people—they'll move.

If your team is ready to turn pressure into purpose and performance into growth, we'd love to help. Let's re-write the scripts your culture is running—and put meaning back at the center of your work.

Share