Why Showing Up as a Queer Leader Matters More Than Ever

“If you’re LGBTQ+, that shouldn’t have anything to do with how you lead.”

What nonsense! Suppress ANY part of your identity or characteristics, and you cannot be your fully expressed and fully realized self. LGBTQ+ leadership has always existed—even when hidden or unnamed—as history demonstrates.

When you lead openly with queer integrity, it demonstrates your refusal to separate your authentic nature from your leadership. It means leading from a place of dignity, for yourself and for others, and ultimately, leading from a place of pride.

We’ve always been here, whether we didn’t have a label, or we were hiding in the shadows of plain sight to fit into a social norm and expectation.

Consider famous Hollywood actors like Rock Hudson, who played the handsome heterosexual male that men wanted to emulate and women wanted to date. Or author E.M. Forester, who delayed publishing his openly gay and affirming novel, Maurice, until after his death to protect his career and freedom.

With resistance, we overcame police brutality and homophobia at Stonewall, the Truxx Bar raid in Montreal in 1977, and the Toronto bathhouse raids in 1981. We overcame the Anita Bryant’s of the world, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police’s Fruit Machine, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic that killed far too many and too young in their prime.

These examples illustrate the immense costs and impacts of denying or concealing one’s queer identity, highlighting why authentic LGBTQ+ leadership matters deeply.

These pressure points led to constructive organizing and resulted in significant changes and improvement thanks to the queer liberation movement, ACT-UP, human-rights protections for LGBTQ+ people, and equal marriage.

Even though we've made significant (albeit slow) progress over the last 40–50 years in many parts of the world, recent years have shown us that our hard-won rights are once again under threat.

We now face “destructive organizing” in the hands of the fundamentalist religious far-right, conservative populism, and various forms of fascism and nationalism — all of which see LBGTQ+ people and rights as immoral or worse.

We are at risk of losing all the freedoms and protections that we have gained. And this includes all individuals who identify with the LGBTQ+ initialism.

It is no longer prudent to be silent and hide or go back into the shadows.

We’re here and we’re queer.

We don’t need to flaunt it (but go ahead if that’s your style), but we DO need to be ever-present and be considered humans among other human beings doing good things.

Furthermore, we need to lead openly and authentically — what I call leading with Queer Integrity. This isn’t about superiority; it’s about demonstrating clearly how our authentic leadership nurtures acceptance, compassion, and understanding for social well-being.

So, what does it mean to lead with queer integrity today?

As always, it starts by looking at ourselves, witnessing our skills and strengths and consciously leaning into them to make a difference for ourselves, our LGBTQ+ communities, and thus the betterment of a healthy society and the common good.

If you’re ready to explore how to lead from the clarity, courage, and conviction that define queer integrity — I created something to help you begin:

6 Steps to Lead With Queer Integrity: A self-reflection guide to help you uncover the clarity, courage, and conviction at the core of your leadership.