How Forgiveness is Important to Your Professional Life
Lisa Marie Platske • January 21, 2019
Over the past 2 ½ decades, I’ve been studying personal and professional leadership.
What does it take to be a leader worth following? Really.
Are there unspoken qualities or characteristics beyond the typically researched list that includes integrity, visionary, inspirational, and competent?
And, what qualities get in the way of leaders being positive agents of change?
Because Leadership with a capital “L” encompasses many facets of beingness, I’m often looking at the deeper cause and effect of what makes leaders great.
When you take art and science and blend them together through practical wisdom and case studies, what shows up isn’t always what you would expect to find.
70% of my clients own their own businesses, and the remaining 30% work for an organization and want to eventually leave the organization to more fully pursue their mission and calling.
This means I get to work with corporate managers and executives as well as small business owners and entrepreneurs alike.
What I have shared with each of them is that owning a business is one of the greatest leadership and personal growth journeys you could ever take.
It challenges who you are as a person – and what you’re capable of being— as the being always comes before doing.
In addition to coaching, companies hire me to deliver leadership training seminars and workshops inside their organizations.
Ten years ago when I was sitting around a board room table conducting a gap analysis, I realized there was a piece missing within the organization in order for the executives to move forward.
The missing ingredient? Forgiveness.
What was fascinating about this discovery was the realization that I needed to embark on my own forgiveness journey in order for me to be able to speak about this with any credibility.
The dizzying journey then led me to countless trainings and leaning into vulnerability in my business.
The culmination of walking this path led me to be invited last year to sit on the board of Project Forgive, a global non-profit created to alleviate suffering in the world.
In December 2017, blogger Amy Swift Crosby wrote a post entitled “Resentment” that was ultimately about freedom.
In her article, she shares an experience early in her career where she received a note that rocked her to the core – and how she still can’t fully shake the feeling associated with this message.
Amy goes on to write, “Shame is the quietest emotion, and what it often turns into is resentment.
It’s the secret we keep about the wrongs we experience in private.
It’s the voice that says you deserved it, because whatever they said was true.
It’s the thing you might secretly think of yourself, that someone else just confirmed…it festers and grows when left in the dark.”
Whoa.
As I examined my own leadership journey, I gave pause and remembered the times when I felt ashamed for choices I made.
- The times when I missed out on an opportunity because I was too scared to step in.
- The times when I sabotaged my success out of fear.
- The times when I agreed to work for less money because I didn’t value my own worth.
I also recalled the countless stories where the incredibly inspiring leaders that I am honored to work with shared something vulnerably, and I could hear the shame in their messages.
While the definition of shame is “a feeling of guilt, regret or sadness that you have because you know you have done something wrong or inappropriate”, sometimes it is only the perception of having done something wrong.
I’ve heard the shame and embarrassment of:
- Not following-up
- Failing to take action
- Wasting time
- Not making enough money in their business
- Working long hours
- Missing family commitments
- Not getting “enough” done And, the list goes on and on…
Shame requires forgiveness.
Forgiveness of oneself and others. And, if there is no forgiveness then shame can fester and mutate into resentment– of others, a system, an organization…
Without forgiveness, you will struggle to move forward.
Without forgiveness, your thoughts can hijack your actions.
Without forgiveness, you cannot be a leader worth following.
When you shine light on shame and step into full forgiveness, you will breathe easier and be able to fully step into your mission and calling.
And, when you work inside a larger organization, it will enable you to be more compassionate to those you work with even when you’re dealing with challenging situations.
Forgiveness increases your EQ, or emotional intelligence, and gives you the freedom to lead authentically.
Years ago when I walked that group of leaders through exercises around forgiveness, they were struck by the amount of resentment that had crept into the organization and how it had doomed valuable projects that then crashed and burned.
Comfort doesn’t change the world. Vulnerability changes everything.
Step into freedom with forgiveness.
Action:
Forgiveness is Important - Lisa Marie Platske
The Upside Challenge is to examine where do you hold a resentment? If you look behind the resentment, deeper into the situation to where it started, can you spot the shame? Can you see who you need to forgive? And, will you make that commitment to yourself to do so in order to fully move forward.
Life is change. Growth is optional. Choose wisely. Lead Upside.
The world needs you and your brilliance.
By Lisa Marie Platske
•
October 13, 2025
Jason struggled for years, trying everything he knew to do. First, he rebuilt his website. Then, he spent money getting people to listen to his podcast. Next, he mapped out a social media strategy with a digital marketing agency. Lastly, he went all in on paid advertising. He was working long hours and missing out on time with his family. And Jason’s bank account kept shrinking. He couldn’t figure out why nothing seemed to be working. That’s when we met. Jason was the older brother of a friend of mine, and she thought I could help him see the missing piece. I agreed to meet with him over Zoom. He was direct and told me he wasn’t sure why his sister wanted us to talk. I was direct with him, too, and shared that she had been watching him struggle in business, and believed the work I do could help jumpstart new opportunities. I shared my desire to listen and be of service — if he was open. Still a bit bristly in his demeanor, he said he wanted to hear what I had to say. After I asked a few questions, in about 30 minutes, he softened and started to open up about what was really going on behind closed doors in his business. I began putting the pieces together and could see that Jason thought he had to do business like everyone else — and it was killing him. He had spent the last 24 months trying to grow the business with very little to show for it, and his confidence had taken a hit. I saw through his bravado with a whole lot of tenderness — because I’ve been there. When you don’t stack the wins, everything around you starts to feel like a loss. You begin doubting your worth and value. And when that happens … ~ it’s hard to build a great website ... ~ it’s hard to write on social media ... ~ and it’s hard to attract the people you’re called to serve. Sometimes you can’t see what you need to shift, so you start chasing tactics trying to fix the problem. Rarely are tactics the issue behind a stunted career or a stalled business venture. If you don’t first figure out who you are, what you want, and why it matters, none of those other things will work for you. Then, you’ve got to get clear on your mission, values, and vision. From there, I look at the patterns that have been showing up. No one can see their own. When you get that all dialed in, bigger opportunities start to show up. Why? Because you’re contributing to the world unencumbered. And if you could see your own blocks, you’d already have removed them. Jason realized he couldn’t walk this journey alone any longer. The best leaders get that. So to get the greatest ROI, focus on leadership. Focusing on tactics, technology, AI, or other shiny objects won’t bring in the big paycheck. Jason and I worked together one-on-one and got his leadership IQ dialed in. Once he had clarity, I helped him write new marketing materials… …and the results were astounding — a 23% increase in gross sales. Today, he’s making a mark on the world. Jason didn’t need another strategy. He needed to remember who he was. And when he did, everything changed. This isn’t just Jason’s story. It’s the story of so many leaders who are gifted yet weighed down by things that aren’t theirs to carry. The world will always offer you another formula, another shortcut, or another distraction dressed up as the answer. None of it works if you’re disconnected from your mission and you’ve lost sight of your value. Leadership begins within. And real, soul-deep success is built on purpose, not performance. So if you’ve been chasing tactics and still feel like something’s missing, maybe it’s time to stop running and come home to yourself. That’s where your greatest work begins. ACTION: The Upside Challenge for the week is to assess what’s driving your actions. Are you doing this because it’s aligned — or because you think you should? For this week, write down the top 3 things you’re doing right now to grow your business or leadership. For each one, ask: Is this aligned with my mission or driven by pressure or expectation? Circle the one that feels most out of alignment, and then pause it for the next 7 days and notice what shifts. You don’t need to do more; you need to move with clarity.
By Lisa Marie Platske
•
October 6, 2025
Each person’s life force is different. Some people move through life full throttle, operating at a level 10 every day and moving around at Mach speed. Others max out at five—or even one or two reps per minute. On any given day, you wake up with a certain amount of energy to work with. And you get to make decisions about what to do with that energy. Of all the actions you could possibly take, do you focus on what matters most to you? As the day unfolds, your life force begins to decrease. And when you’re not clear about what you say yes to, or what you say no to, you may discover there’s nothing left for what matters most. How you arrange your days, rhythm, and relationships determines whether your life and business will be sustainable over time. Most people move through life as if they’ve got an endless supply of energy to pull from. And when they don’t get everything done on their never-ending task list, they look around and assume they must be doing something wrong. Playing the comparison game will never lead you to health, happiness, success, or meaning. It won’t get you to peace or ease, either. What it will do is drain you ... quietly and consistently. Until you’re moving through your days exhausted, wondering why everything feels off. You weren’t made to run on empty. You wake up each day with a limited amount of life force. And where you invest it determines what grows. That’s the shift I help leaders make—honoring their capacity, aligning with what matters, and choosing to lead from a place of deep integrity and ease. Because the world doesn’t need a burnt-out version of you. It needs you and the brilliance only you carry. ACTION: The Upside Challenge for the week is to track your energy. Grab a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle. Label one side “ Life-Giving ” and the other “ Draining .” As you go through your day, notice what energizes you and what depletes you. Write it down. Then, choose one draining item to shift, delegate, delay, or delete this week. Your energy is sacred and make sure to protect it.
By Lisa Marie Platske
•
September 29, 2025
Everyone has seeds of excellence inside them. When those seeds are planted in rich and fertile soil, they grow into something magnificent, something life-giving. I see it as your brilliance coming to life. When those seeds are thrown on rocky soil with the hopes of producing fruit, its chances of surviving are slim. No matter what you're journey has been or what heartaches you may be experiencing now, you can always cultivate new soil. Yet I'm clear that to do that takes effort, purpose, and intention. Whenever I have conversations with folks who aren't happy with how they're life is going, they often bypass the little actions that produce big results over time . The key words are over time . Most folks want results yesterday ... and feel to see all of the ways that their current actions have gotten them right where they are. Looking in the mirror with 100% honesty isn't all that easy to do. I used to want to be the best or I didn't want to play. I remember this clearly when I was on the cross country team when I was in high school. It wasn't that others were more talented. God had given me a runners' build, and I enjoyed running. Yet I wasn't all that committed to practicing, and so when it was race time, I did poorly. Today I'm clear that if I can't be consistent, it isn't something I really want. Imperfect action is better than no action at all. Stay the course. The seeds you plant today may not bear fruit tomorrow. That doesn’t mean the work is wasted. What matters is that they’re sown with intention. Keep tending to what matters most. Keep showing up with courage and care. The world needs what only you can grow. ACTION: The Upside Challenge for the week is to choose one part of your leadership that truly matters and pursue excellence in it. Pick a task or responsibility that holds weight in your role. Something that influences your business direction or shapes how your people grow. Then, take time to explore the latest trends or shifts in that space. Staying informed keeps your leadership relevant. Staying intentional keeps it aligned.
By Lisa Marie Platske
•
September 22, 2025
Happiness, success, and meaning are drivers in my life. This is why I've never liked chit-chat, and why small talk makes me uncomfortable. It makes me feel as if I'm frittering away the precious minutes of my life. I want to engage in deep, meaningful conversations where the exchange of my time and yours creates something of value in the world. That and the ability to laugh at myself with someone who isn’t afraid of going deep while finding God funny, too. Time waits for no one. There are no extra minutes in your day. I remember being a kid and thinking 15 minutes took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to pass. Now, I feel as if I can blink and 15 minutes passes me by if I'm not intentional about how I invest it. This level of consciousness in the leadership space means that you understand the value of every "yes" and every "no" in your life and business. You don't have time to spend frivolously. Every minute on the clock counts — and pulls you closer to what you want and what you're here on the planet to do ... or it takes you further off-course. The choice is yours. So be deliberate. What you say yes to creates your future. Make time for the people, the spaces, and the work that reflect who you are. Because not everything deserves your energy. And you were never meant to move through this life distracted or disconnected. ACTION: The Upside Challenge for the week is to track how you’re really spending your time. Choose one full workday and log your time. Not what you planned to do, track what you actually did. Use a simple tool like Toggl, RescueTime, Clockify, or even just a notebook and a timer. At the end of the day, review what you captured. What aligned with your mission? What pulled you off-course? What never should’ve made it on your plate in the first place? As a leader, your time is one of your greatest assets. Treat it with the same intentionality you bring to your vision. How you use your hours shapes the legacy you leave behind.
By Lisa Marie Platske
•
October 13, 2025
Jason struggled for years, trying everything he knew to do. First, he rebuilt his website. Then, he spent money getting people to listen to his podcast. Next, he mapped out a social media strategy with a digital marketing agency. Lastly, he went all in on paid advertising. He was working long hours and missing out on time with his family. And Jason’s bank account kept shrinking. He couldn’t figure out why nothing seemed to be working. That’s when we met. Jason was the older brother of a friend of mine, and she thought I could help him see the missing piece. I agreed to meet with him over Zoom. He was direct and told me he wasn’t sure why his sister wanted us to talk. I was direct with him, too, and shared that she had been watching him struggle in business, and believed the work I do could help jumpstart new opportunities. I shared my desire to listen and be of service — if he was open. Still a bit bristly in his demeanor, he said he wanted to hear what I had to say. After I asked a few questions, in about 30 minutes, he softened and started to open up about what was really going on behind closed doors in his business. I began putting the pieces together and could see that Jason thought he had to do business like everyone else — and it was killing him. He had spent the last 24 months trying to grow the business with very little to show for it, and his confidence had taken a hit. I saw through his bravado with a whole lot of tenderness — because I’ve been there. When you don’t stack the wins, everything around you starts to feel like a loss. You begin doubting your worth and value. And when that happens … ~ it’s hard to build a great website ... ~ it’s hard to write on social media ... ~ and it’s hard to attract the people you’re called to serve. Sometimes you can’t see what you need to shift, so you start chasing tactics trying to fix the problem. Rarely are tactics the issue behind a stunted career or a stalled business venture. If you don’t first figure out who you are, what you want, and why it matters, none of those other things will work for you. Then, you’ve got to get clear on your mission, values, and vision. From there, I look at the patterns that have been showing up. No one can see their own. When you get that all dialed in, bigger opportunities start to show up. Why? Because you’re contributing to the world unencumbered. And if you could see your own blocks, you’d already have removed them. Jason realized he couldn’t walk this journey alone any longer. The best leaders get that. So to get the greatest ROI, focus on leadership. Focusing on tactics, technology, AI, or other shiny objects won’t bring in the big paycheck. Jason and I worked together one-on-one and got his leadership IQ dialed in. Once he had clarity, I helped him write new marketing materials… …and the results were astounding — a 23% increase in gross sales. Today, he’s making a mark on the world. Jason didn’t need another strategy. He needed to remember who he was. And when he did, everything changed. This isn’t just Jason’s story. It’s the story of so many leaders who are gifted yet weighed down by things that aren’t theirs to carry. The world will always offer you another formula, another shortcut, or another distraction dressed up as the answer. None of it works if you’re disconnected from your mission and you’ve lost sight of your value. Leadership begins within. And real, soul-deep success is built on purpose, not performance. So if you’ve been chasing tactics and still feel like something’s missing, maybe it’s time to stop running and come home to yourself. That’s where your greatest work begins. ACTION: The Upside Challenge for the week is to assess what’s driving your actions. Are you doing this because it’s aligned — or because you think you should? For this week, write down the top 3 things you’re doing right now to grow your business or leadership. For each one, ask: Is this aligned with my mission or driven by pressure or expectation? Circle the one that feels most out of alignment, and then pause it for the next 7 days and notice what shifts. You don’t need to do more; you need to move with clarity.
By Lisa Marie Platske
•
October 6, 2025
Each person’s life force is different. Some people move through life full throttle, operating at a level 10 every day and moving around at Mach speed. Others max out at five—or even one or two reps per minute. On any given day, you wake up with a certain amount of energy to work with. And you get to make decisions about what to do with that energy. Of all the actions you could possibly take, do you focus on what matters most to you? As the day unfolds, your life force begins to decrease. And when you’re not clear about what you say yes to, or what you say no to, you may discover there’s nothing left for what matters most. How you arrange your days, rhythm, and relationships determines whether your life and business will be sustainable over time. Most people move through life as if they’ve got an endless supply of energy to pull from. And when they don’t get everything done on their never-ending task list, they look around and assume they must be doing something wrong. Playing the comparison game will never lead you to health, happiness, success, or meaning. It won’t get you to peace or ease, either. What it will do is drain you ... quietly and consistently. Until you’re moving through your days exhausted, wondering why everything feels off. You weren’t made to run on empty. You wake up each day with a limited amount of life force. And where you invest it determines what grows. That’s the shift I help leaders make—honoring their capacity, aligning with what matters, and choosing to lead from a place of deep integrity and ease. Because the world doesn’t need a burnt-out version of you. It needs you and the brilliance only you carry. ACTION: The Upside Challenge for the week is to track your energy. Grab a sheet of paper and draw a line down the middle. Label one side “ Life-Giving ” and the other “ Draining .” As you go through your day, notice what energizes you and what depletes you. Write it down. Then, choose one draining item to shift, delegate, delay, or delete this week. Your energy is sacred and make sure to protect it.
By Lisa Marie Platske
•
September 29, 2025
Everyone has seeds of excellence inside them. When those seeds are planted in rich and fertile soil, they grow into something magnificent, something life-giving. I see it as your brilliance coming to life. When those seeds are thrown on rocky soil with the hopes of producing fruit, its chances of surviving are slim. No matter what you're journey has been or what heartaches you may be experiencing now, you can always cultivate new soil. Yet I'm clear that to do that takes effort, purpose, and intention. Whenever I have conversations with folks who aren't happy with how they're life is going, they often bypass the little actions that produce big results over time . The key words are over time . Most folks want results yesterday ... and feel to see all of the ways that their current actions have gotten them right where they are. Looking in the mirror with 100% honesty isn't all that easy to do. I used to want to be the best or I didn't want to play. I remember this clearly when I was on the cross country team when I was in high school. It wasn't that others were more talented. God had given me a runners' build, and I enjoyed running. Yet I wasn't all that committed to practicing, and so when it was race time, I did poorly. Today I'm clear that if I can't be consistent, it isn't something I really want. Imperfect action is better than no action at all. Stay the course. The seeds you plant today may not bear fruit tomorrow. That doesn’t mean the work is wasted. What matters is that they’re sown with intention. Keep tending to what matters most. Keep showing up with courage and care. The world needs what only you can grow. ACTION: The Upside Challenge for the week is to choose one part of your leadership that truly matters and pursue excellence in it. Pick a task or responsibility that holds weight in your role. Something that influences your business direction or shapes how your people grow. Then, take time to explore the latest trends or shifts in that space. Staying informed keeps your leadership relevant. Staying intentional keeps it aligned.
By Lisa Marie Platske
•
September 22, 2025
Happiness, success, and meaning are drivers in my life. This is why I've never liked chit-chat, and why small talk makes me uncomfortable. It makes me feel as if I'm frittering away the precious minutes of my life. I want to engage in deep, meaningful conversations where the exchange of my time and yours creates something of value in the world. That and the ability to laugh at myself with someone who isn’t afraid of going deep while finding God funny, too. Time waits for no one. There are no extra minutes in your day. I remember being a kid and thinking 15 minutes took f-o-r-e-v-e-r to pass. Now, I feel as if I can blink and 15 minutes passes me by if I'm not intentional about how I invest it. This level of consciousness in the leadership space means that you understand the value of every "yes" and every "no" in your life and business. You don't have time to spend frivolously. Every minute on the clock counts — and pulls you closer to what you want and what you're here on the planet to do ... or it takes you further off-course. The choice is yours. So be deliberate. What you say yes to creates your future. Make time for the people, the spaces, and the work that reflect who you are. Because not everything deserves your energy. And you were never meant to move through this life distracted or disconnected. ACTION: The Upside Challenge for the week is to track how you’re really spending your time. Choose one full workday and log your time. Not what you planned to do, track what you actually did. Use a simple tool like Toggl, RescueTime, Clockify, or even just a notebook and a timer. At the end of the day, review what you captured. What aligned with your mission? What pulled you off-course? What never should’ve made it on your plate in the first place? As a leader, your time is one of your greatest assets. Treat it with the same intentionality you bring to your vision. How you use your hours shapes the legacy you leave behind.
