Bringing you home to yourself
A Weekly essay for people who refuse to lose themselves to the noise
Welcome. I’m Marilyn Gist
There's a particular kind of drift that happens gradually. It’s a gradual pulling away from what you know, what you value, and who you are. Until one day you notice you've been performing a version of yourself rather than living as one.
That's what I write about.
Each week, The Gist of It™ arrives in your inbox as a reflective essay that helps you recognize that drift and find your way back to your own center.
Readers tell me it's like coming home to something good in themselves.
who reads this
Thoughtful people, many of them leaders who have spent decades developing others and are now turning that same quality of attention toward themselves. People navigating difficult relationships, complicated seasons, or the steady erosion that comes from living at speed. You don't have to lead an organization to recognize the drift. You just have to be paying attention.
what to expect
Each essay opens with something particular — a moment, a client, a conversation — and moves toward something universal. They're reflective but not abstract, grounded but never prescriptive. Readers often tell me the essays gave them language for something they'd been carrying without words. Topics include presence, boundaries, repair, belonging, discernment, emotional honesty, and the ongoing challenge of staying genuinely yourself in complicated times. Essays take about five minutes to read and many people find themselves returning to them.
about the work behind this
My writing draws on more than 25 years of research and practice at the intersection of leadership, psychology, and human development. My book, The Extraordinary Power of Leader Humility (Berrett-Koehler, 2020), grew from the same conviction that runs through every essay: that how we relate to others and to ourselves is the most consequential thing we do.
come home to yourself
The Gist of It™ arrives every Tuesday, free in your inbox. Subscribe below.
Marilyn Gist
Award-winning author and speaker
25 years leadership
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About Me
For more than 25 years I've taught and coached leaders at major universities and organizations, including the University of Washington, Seattle University, and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Across thousands of conversations with executives, emerging leaders, and high achievers, I've come to see that most capable people don't struggle with skill. They struggle with the relational challenges that make life meaningful: staying present, holding boundaries, being honest, repairing what's broken, and finding the courage to be fully seen.
That's what my work has always been about, whether in a classroom, a consulting engagement, or the weekly essays I now publish in The Gist of It™.
I write, speak, and consult for people who want to live and lead with greater clarity, steadiness, and genuine connection. If you'd like to know more about my background and research, my full bio is below.
Three Ways I Can Help You
My work lives in three places. Each one is designed to support you in returning to yourself with greater clarity, steadiness, and genuine connection.
The Gist of It
Weekly essays on coming home to yourself
Every Tuesday I share a reflective essay that helps you recognize the subtle drift of modern life and find your way back. These pieces explore presence, boundaries, emotional honesty, repair, and the inner work that allows us to relate with more wisdom and less fear. If you're looking for a steadier, more grounded way to show up in your relationships and your leadership, this is a good place to begin.
My Book
The Extraordinary Power of Leader Humility
Winner of the Best Business Minds Book Award 2024
This award-winning book brings together years of leadership research, executive experience, and human insight to show how humility transforms the way people lead. It offers a practical, deeply humane model for creating organizations where people feel respected, engaged, and able to contribute at their best. If you're curious how the inner work of staying yourself translates into leadership practice, this book is the foundation.
Speaking & Workshops
Bringing this work into organizations
I work with companies, conferences, and leadership teams to explore what it looks like to lead with presence, boundaries, and genuine humanity. My talks and workshops address presence under pressure, the discipline of discernment, navigating repair, and building cultures where people can bring both competence and character to the work. If your organization is seeking a more grounded and connected way to lead together, I'd love to talk.
Contact
For Keynote Addresses:
For Press Inquiries, Retreats, and Workshops:
Marilyn@marilyngist.com