If high performance isn’t enough...what is?
There have been moments in my career where I’ve had to lead while my whole mind was screaming “Don’t!"
The discomfort was real:
The leadership team where I was the only person of colour.
The opportunity that scared the crap out of me because even though I wanted it so badly, I was fearful I might fail.
The day I stopped waiting for permission and said, "Being a professional keynote speaker belongs to me too".
Leaving a well-paying job and successful career to pursue my own business.
Jumping on a plane to work and live in North America because I want to be global not local.
Every single thing I have done in my life and career has taken me out of my "comfort zone".
It's the kind of discomfort that feels like going on a rollercoaster, screaming all the way down, and then saying "Let's do that again!".
I've wanted to retreat more times than you go to the toilet in a single day. And I haven't. Because the only person that can back me is me.
Here’s what I know now not just from my own career, but from working with many leadership teams, driving innovation at a national level, and operating in the C-suite
Discomfort isn’t the problem. It’s the path.
ID: Winitha on stage speaking at the Australian Women's Leadership Symposium 2025
The neuroscience
Your brain’s threat system (the amygdala) is designed to keep you safe, not successful.
When you try to step up, show up, speak up, or stretch into new ways, it floods your system with fear, hesitation (procrastination), and even self-doubt.
It doesn't know the difference between what's good for us and what's not.
It doesn't know what we want and don't want.
It only knows what is comfortable, and what it sees as comfortable it sees as "safe".
In today’s corporate world, learning to lead through discomfort is no longer optional (in the words of Demi Lovato, "sorry, not sorry" 🥰).
High performance is no longer the competitive advantage.
AI is helping everyone to do more with less.
People are literally using it to reply to texts on dating apps and analyse messages to filter the duds from the rest.
We are high performance and productivity obsessed and yet innovation is flatlining.
We're still stuck in self-doubt, perfectionism, and fear of getting it wrong....
We are still giving our all but shrinking in the moments that matter the most...
So what's going to separate us from the rest?
It's our ability to sit in the discomfort and leverage it authentically for the kind of innovation that leaves a mark on this world.
That’s why I created A Day of Inspiration.
This isn’t a hype-fest. It’s a commercially smart, emotionally intelligent investment in you and your people’s mindset, resilience, and leadership readiness.
It’s designed to help you and your people:
Leverage discomfort as your NEW competitive advantage
Lead with clarity and confidence under pressure
Rebuild self-trust after setbacks, change, or burnout
Speak up, take initiative, and claim space in high-stakes rooms
Show up to step into your leadership potential.
It's happening this 2026!
👉🏾 Want to know more? Send me an email here.
Because here is the truth.
You don’t need more frameworks.
You don't need training on how to be a "high performing individual".
You need to back yourself through discomfort.
That’s what unlocks the next level of your career and leadership trajectory.
So let’s make that happen together.
If you would like to know more about it, hit reply here.
With grace and grit,
Winitha Bonney OAM