The Glass Box Mindset: Leading, Creating, and Living Out Loud
Hands up if you love a pithy quote from a brilliant mind (my hands are WAY UP right now!)
This morning I was listening to Stephen Bartlett interviewing Kamala Harris and they were chatting about Kamala’s potential “missed opportunity” of going on Joe Rogan’s podcast.
She admitted she wanted to go on the show, but couldn’t make it work from a time perspective while she was on the campaign trail to become the President of The United States.
The sheer amount of interviews Vice President Harris was engaging in is mind-boggling. WHAT. A. WOMAN.
When asked about her ethos in campaigning Kamala said it was simple: to be herself.
To listen to others, to be heard.
To be seen in spaces where folks like her typically weren’t seen. After Stephen said something that made me stop, ask Siri to take a note, and remember the idea of people wanting to connect with REALNESS. Of showing up more like glass boxes than blackboxes.
This stuck with me and I starting thinking about the analogy.
Especially when it comes to women, leadership, and intersectionality in culture and work.
Here’s the truth…
We’ve been trained to be black boxes.
Polished. Predictable. Perfect.
All surface, no story.
Hiding parts of ourselves, knowing others are doing the same. And, over time, thinking the best thing we can do is to toe a line of what is deemed acceptable and palatable. We play by the rules other people wrote to the games we think we’re playing, only to end up feeling unseen, undervalued, underrepresented, and (quite often) underpaid.
The future? I believe it belongs to glass boxes —
Those of us who let people see how we work, not just what we make. Those of us who share process (the grit, gravel, grief and celebration of it), not only our highlight reels.
Boxed In – But With A View Outward And Inward
In aviation, a black box tells us what went wrong after the crash.
A glass box would show us what’s happening as it unfolds.
That’s what we need in leadership today.
Not post-event storytelling, but real-time humanity.
Imagine a President who was real. Not infallible. Not perfect.
But, real. Trying. And working on behalf of others instead of themselves.
In current contexts, this seems like a pipe dream. When I look at the world, it feels a bit like a dumpster fire. But, my optimistic spirit says that there are more folks ready for a collective campfire of connection than burning garbage.
The beauty of modern media and tech is that we can connect with more glass-box folks. And, they remind me often that people don’t connect with perfection. They connect with reflection.
Looking inwards. Looking outwards.
All of us, together, enjoying the loop-de-loops of this wild rollercoaster of humanity. On a planet readymade for care and compassion. Doing our best to stand tall and stand forward so that others might, too.
If They Can See It, They Can Be It
Representation isn’t a buzzword.
It’s oxygen.
When Brandi Carlile stood on the Grammy stage in her suit and said she used to feel invisible — she cracked open possibility for every kid who’s ever felt unseen.
When Kamala Harris took her oath as the first woman, first Black, and first South Asian Vice President, she didn’t just make history. She made space.
When Emma McIlroy built Wildfang to redefine “women’s workwear,” she gave people permission to wear who they are.
When Serena Williams wore her power on the court — post-baby, post-doubt — she reminded us that evolution isn’t rebellion. It’s renewal.
And when Maya Angelou said,
“Courage is the most important of all the virtues,
because without courage, you can’t practice any other virtue consistently,”
she wrote the rulebook for every glass box that followed.
I know it’s scary to be “the first” of anything, but it’s even scarier imagining a world that only benefits a small few people who hold power and wealth over others.
We’re here to be, not simply to do.
The Power (and Fear) of Moving First
Being yourself — fully, visibly, audaciously — isn’t for the faint of heart.
But being yourself (and welcoming others to do the same) is how we build new worlds, systems, structures, and traditions that include everyone regardless of skin color, sexuality, gender, religion, or cultural status.
McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace study found that diverse companies are 35% more likely to outperform their peers — not because of optics, but because authenticity breeds innovation.
When people stop pretending, creativity starts breathing.
And, we all need to breathe to be alive.
The Beauty in Difference, the Similarity in Humanity
What connects us isn’t sameness — it’s recognition. The spark of “me too” across lines that once divided us. When we recognize the inherent potency of another’s stardust soul and secret-sauce of navigating the world, we recognize the importance of staying visible, open, and willing to imagine better tomorrows.
In doing so, we become better ancestors and leave legacies of good change.
To be a glass box is to say:
Here’s who I am. Here’s what I believe. Here’s what I’m learning.
It’s to remind others that leadership isn’t about having all the answers —
it’s about inviting others to help you find them.
My hot take is this: Perfection might impress people. But authenticity moves them.
So, let them see the gears turning.
Let them see you sweat, stumble, and rise.
Be the glass box — transparent, reflective, and alive in your becoming.
Because when you show up fully,
you give everyone else permission to do the same.
→ Are you ready to unlock your own potential by knowing, sharing, and owning your story?
Join me for a Clarity Session (1 – 2 hours one off session / top-up) or Leadership Workshop designed to spark creativity, confidence, and connection — for individuals and teams ready to lead with heart.
Find out more here.
