Inbound

September 30, 2025

Stop Waiting to Be Perfect: Glennon Doyle on Resilience and Real Leadership

If you've ever felt like you need to have it all figured out before you can lead, Glennon Doyle has news for you. At INBOUND 2025, the bestselling author and activist sat down with leadership expert Anne Morriss to share that the strength to lead others doesn't come from perfection, but from the courage to be real about your own struggles while still getting the work done.

With nearly 2 billion podcast downloads, millions of books sold, and a community that's raised $56 million for people in need, Doyle has built something extraordinary by doing one simple thing: showing up exactly as she is.

SHOWING UP IMPERFECT IS STILL SHOWING UP

To Doyle, resilience isn’t about bouncing back polished. She reminded us that life rarely gives you the luxury of feeling 100% ready before you step up. The work still matters even when you feel messy, uncertain, or unfinished. In fact, showing up in that state often gives others the courage to do the same.

“We can’t wait to be perfect before we show up for each other.” — Glennon Doyle

She told the story of how, in her own life, she used to think she needed to retreat, “fix herself,” and then return when she was better. But the truth she’s discovered is that there’s no finish line where we suddenly become perfect humans, free of struggle. That day never comes. And waiting for it only delays the impact we’re meant to have.

COLLECTIVE LEADERSHIP STARTS WITH FINDING YOUR SHIP

Leadership, Doyle says, doesn’t mean being the captain of the ship. It means finding a ship and paddling. Using her signature metaphor of a "freedom fleet," she explained how each “ship” represents a cause, a mission, a movement. You don’t need to chart the whole course; you just need to get on board with a crew that’s already moving.

“I've been thinking of all of us as on this Freedom Fleet... our job is to try to get as many people as possible from the shore into the ship.” — Glennon Doyle

She explained that too often, people stand on the sidelines waiting until they feel “qualified” to lead. But leadership doesn’t always mean being the captain; it can mean showing up as a deckhand or supporting those who have already been steering the ship. Whether you’re running a business, building a brand, or joining a cause, progress doesn’t require you to have all the answers. It just requires you to get on board.

TELLING THE TRUTH CREATES SPACE FOR OTHERS

One of the most unforgettable stories Doyle shared came from a red carpet event, where a reporter complimented her appearance and asked her secret. Instead of accepting the compliment, she responded with brutal honesty about her eating disorder, using it as an opportunity to challenge harmful cultural messages.

Doyle shared that when we “go off script” in our conversations, we create space for the other person’s real self to come forward too.

"When you're speaking to someone and you say the thing you're really thinking instead of the thing you're supposed to say... Almost every time this magical moment happens where the other person's inside wakes up and you can see it happen in their face," she noted.

People connect with truth. And when you lead with honesty, you give permission for everyone around you to do the same.

PAIN AS PROOF YOU'RE DOING IT RIGHT

Doyle shared a moment from her early recovery that redefined her relationship with struggle. Sitting in one of her first AA meetings, overwhelmed and raw, another woman offered her words she’s never forgotten: “It doesn’t hurt right now this much because you’re doing life wrong. It hurts because you’re finally doing it right.”

This was the beginning of her understanding of pain not as a sign of failure but as a signal of being fully alive.

“Being human isn’t about feeling happy. Being human is about feeling everything.” — Glennon Doyle

For leaders, it’s a reminder that meaningful work will often feel uncomfortable. That edge of difficulty is evidence you’re leaning into the parts of leadership that matter most.

PROTECTING YOUR HUMANITY IN THE FIGHT

Doyle shared a story about a Vietnam War protester who stood outside the White House every night with a single candle. When asked if he thought his actions would change the administration, he replied: "I don't come here every night so that I change them. I come here every night so that they don't change me."

This metaphor perfectly captures one of the biggest challenges facing leaders today: how to stay grounded in your values while engaging with systems and situations that can be dehumanizing or discouraging.

Doyle's answer is to commit to the things that make life worth living: joy, relationships, dancing, all the "juicy things" because they fuel our capacity to keep fighting for what matters.

Sustainable leadership requires protecting what makes you human. If you want your team to sustain their work, you have to model joy, not just grit.

FOCUS ON HOPE AND PURPOSE

Doyle also challenged the audience to think about hope differently. It’s not something we passively wait for; it’s something we have to intentionally cultivate.

“We have to create our own algorithms. We have to wake up in the morning and seek out good and seek out hope.” — Glennon Doyle

Just like social platforms feed us more of what we click on, our minds feed us more of what we focus on. If you wake up and immediately dive into despair-driven news cycles, that becomes your reality. But if you deliberately choose to seek out stories of progress, justice, or simple kindness, your worldview shifts too.

This doesn’t mean ignoring reality or truths, but balancing them with reminders of why the fight is worth it. For business leaders and creators, it’s a call to curate your inputs—from the media you consume to the culture you build at work. Because what you let in ultimately shapes what you put back out into the world.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Doyle's message to the INBOUND community was ultimately one of permission: permission to be human while still being effective, permission to struggle while still contributing, and permission to lead from wherever you are rather than waiting until you feel qualified.

People don’t want perfect leaders. They want human ones. And if you can show up as you are, you might just find that’s what inspires others to do the same.