Before I ask the question, let me provide some context.
Are You Being Active—or Aggressive?

I did a yoga this morning and my instructor offered a powerful distinction: be active, not aggressive.

Enter each pose with focus and intention. Pay attention to where your body naturally stops, breathe, and gently go one step further. That’s how you expand your range over time. Force yourself into a deeper pose to keep up with others, and you might hit a moment of success, but you lose the long-term gain.

It made me think: how often do we confuse aggression for progress in our careers?

Early in our careers, we push hard, long hours, endless tasks, solving every problem. It works for a while. Then come the consequences: burnout, stress, and the realization that pushing isn’t sustainable.

Here’s the shift:

Being Active is intentional, grounded, and inwardly guided. It builds self-esteem, confidence, and long-term, unshakable success.
Being Aggressive is impulsive, externally driven, and competitive. It fuels other-esteem, where success depends on validation from others and can vanish overnight.

So here’s my question to you:

How would your leadership change if you led from active intention rather than aggressive drive?

Let me know what comes up for you—I’d love to hear it.

Let’s see what lesson my next yoga class brings.