HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE💚❤️ Clarity, Chess, and the Quiet Revolution of Purpose In every meeting, there is more on the table than the agenda. There are egos. Power plays. Performances. For those of us who once walked in with heart, purpose, and a genuine desire to serve, it can be disorienting to realize that boardrooms are often arenas—more about chess than change. I used to think being confrontational was a flaw. Now, I see it as a strength when done with integrity. I don’t confront to fight—I confront to clarify. Because where there is no clarity, grudges breed. And grudges corrode trust. So, I speak when it matters—not because I want to win, but because I want peace—with myself and with others. Since 2023, I’ve stopped expecting boardrooms to reflect the ideals I carry. I’ve learned to conserve my energy. I bring my competence, clarity, and commitment to the task—and leave the rest outside. I no longer chase alignment with those playing games. I observe. I deliver. I stay in purpose. I’ve come to accept that some colleagues are more interested in steering the ship than reaching the shore. To survive, one must learn to see—to spot unspoken agendas, read the power maps, discern when to speak, and when silence is strategy. How to play chess in rooms full of people still playing checkers. Patience— not the kind that waits idly, but the kind that sharpens itself in the shadows, ready, aware, and unshaken. My learning to be silent doesn’t mean I have agreed to be trampled or surrendered my voice. It means I have chosen my battles, sharpened my discernment, and anchored my dignity. Silence, for me, is strategic. It’s not withdrawal. It’s wisdom. And when the moment calls—I still speak. Loud. Clear. Unapologetically. It’s a battlefield—dog eat dog—while people suffer and go without services. Once, someone asked me: “When do you work?” The answer is: I work every moment I bring purpose, clarity, and integrity to the table, even when the room feels like a battlefield.