The leadership test no one prepares you for
What happens when leadership loses its moral center?
Not when leaders make mistakes—
but when truth itself becomes optional,
and loyalty is redefined as silence.
In this gripping conversation, former Army JAG officer and Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Donovan pulls back the curtain on what leadership looks like inside high-stakes institutions when integrity is tested—and often compromised.
This isn’t theoretical.
It’s about what happens in the room when the truth is known…
and the cost of saying it out loud.
Because one of the most unsettling realities Margaret names is this:
holding a position of authority does not make someone a leader.
In fact, when leaders begin to prioritize appeasing those above them rather than serving the mission or the people entrusted to their care, something begins to fracture. Trust erodes. Credibility weakens. And those who still value truth are forced into a difficult decision:
Stay silent—and protect your place in the system.
Or speak—and risk losing it.
Margaret has lived inside that tension.
Drawing from her experience in both the military and the Department of Justice, she offers a clear and often countercultural insight: true loyalty is not about protecting people—it’s about telling the truth. Even when it’s unwelcome. Especially when it’s costly.
This conversation moves beyond abstract ideas of leadership and into something far more concrete:
What do you do when the system you serve no longer reflects the values you were trained to uphold?
How do you lead when integrity puts you at odds with power?
Because when the pressure comes—and it will—you don’t rise to your ideals.
You fall back on what’s been shaping you all along:
your habits, your convictions, your courage—or your fear.
You fall back on what has taken root in you:
the truth you trust, and the character God has been forming over time.
So the question isn’t just what kind of leader you admire. It’s this:
When the moment comes—will you tell the truth?
Even if it costs you?
If this question feels close to home, you’re not alone.
The kind of courage Margaret talks about, to tell the truth in hard moments, is not accidental—it is formed over time, in your relationship with God, in your habits, in your small, everyday choices, and in the quiet shaping of your character.
That’s why this season of Lent matters.
The Neuro-Based Enneagram Lenten reflections are designed to help you slow down, grow in self-awareness, and strengthen the inner life that shapes how you lead when it counts.
Explore the Lent reflections here.
The Nine Lenten Pathways
Christ meets us within our sorrow—but He does not meet us all in the same way.
The pathways below reflect nine common ways we protect, cope, and hope. Each one is an invitation to walk Lent with greater honesty, trust, and gentleness.
1 - Mapping — For those who respond to sorrow by trying to get it right, Lent becomes an invitation to loosen perfection and receive mercy instead. Paperback here. Kindle here.
2 - Caregiving — For those who carry others’ pain before their own, Lent offers a way to remain compassionate without disappearing. Paperback here. Kindle here.
3 - Producing — For those who cope by staying busy and effective, Lent becomes a season to rest in belovedness rather than achievement. Paperback here. Kindle here.
4 - Immersing — For those who feel sorrow deeply and personally, Lent affirms that grief itself can be a place of communion with God. Paperback here. Kindle here.
5 - Preparing — For those who seek understanding and clarity, Lent invites trust when answers are incomplete and mystery remains. Paperback here. Kindle here.
6 - Questioning — For those unsettled by uncertainty or fear, Lent offers a path toward faith grounded in God’s steadiness, not control. Paperback here. Kindle here.
7 - Seeking — For those tempted to outrun pain or distract themselves from it, Lent becomes an invitation to stay present and discover a quieter joy. Paperback here. Kindle here.
8 - Directing — For those who take responsibility and hold everything together, Lent teaches surrender as a different kind of strength. Paperback here. Kindle here.
9 - Harmonizing — For those who keep peace by staying silent or small, Lent creates space to remain present without numbing or withdrawal. Paperback here. Kindle here.
