This is what actually shaped my leadership 🔍
March 31st, 2026
Something a little different in your inbox this week.
I was recently invited to contribute to In Her Voice: The Inspiring Stories of Successful Female Leaders, a newsletter featuring women in leadership sharing their stories, turning points, and hard-won lessons.
I took it as an opportunity to go deeper than I usually do. I touched on the sexual harassment I navigated early in my career, the pandemic layoff that shifted my trajectory, and the leap into a brand new business that led me to exactly the work I’m doing today.
This isn’t the most complete picture of how I got here, but it’s the first time I’ve looked at parts of my history specifically through a leadership lens. I hope something in it resonates.
In Her Voice Feature
Moriah Bacus: Fractional Chief of Staff Helping Six-Figure Coaches Create Clarity, Capacity, and Continuity Systems
Can you tell us about your background and what inspired you to pursue a leadership role?
My foundation is in hospitality, tourism, and event and meeting management – fields where you learn early that execution is everything and nothing happens without people working together toward a shared vision.
What’s shaped me most, though, is the sheer variety of paths I’ve taken to get here. I’ve worked in inventory management, lead development, sales, executive support, human resources, event management, habits and accountability coaching, project management, and I’ve owned a VA agency. Today, I work as a Fractional Chief of Staff. Each chapter added a layer of understanding that I draw on constantly.
The entrepreneurial thread has always been there. I launched my first event planning business in 2011, had side hustles ranging from resume writing to nightlife promotion, and was always building something on the side. Leadership wasn’t something I pursued so much as something I naturally stepped into – whether I was leading a student project, a team at work, or my own business. The common thread has always been a drive toward excellence and a genuine desire to see the people around me succeed.
How did you start your career? What were some initial challenges you faced, and how did you overcome them?
Continuing education was a significant part of how I launched and grew my career – I was always studying, certifying, and developing skills in parallel with whatever role I was in.
One of the more significant early challenges I faced was sexual harassment in the workplace while supporting and leading teams of men. This was a time when many workplaces didn’t yet have the policies or support systems that exist today. In one instance, I was fortunate to have a woman – the president of the company – in my corner. She encouraged me to stay the course, and that support meant everything.
That experience shaped how I thought about environments and who I worked with. Eventually, I took the most direct path to protecting my professional integrity: I became my own boss. Entrepreneurship gave me the agency to choose my clients, my collaborators, and the conditions under which I do my best work.
What strategies did you use to develop your leadership skills?
Honestly? I just led. There’s only so much a classroom can teach you – the real development happens in the doing. I observed leaders closely, took notes on what worked and what didn’t, and took on responsibility early rather than waiting until I felt “ready.”
One experience that stands out is launching eventConnect through my first business – a job skills program and networking event for aspiring event professionals. Over three years, I moved 13 interns through the program. That was a masterclass in leadership, mentorship, and building something from nothing. You figure out quickly how to communicate clearly, hold people accountable, and create conditions where others can thrive.
What role has mentorship played in your career growth?
A significant one, at every stage.
Early on, my professors were practitioners – people actively working in the industries I was studying, which made the learning immediately applicable. Later, through volunteer work with event industry associations, I held several board and committee roles where I received mentorship from seasoned professionals who had been in the industry for decades. That volunteer work opened more doors in my early career than almost anything else.
When I transitioned into supporting coaches and consultants, I learned an enormous amount about the coaching business model directly from my clients. Being in proximity to how they built and ran their businesses accelerated my own thinking in ways I didn’t anticipate.
The flip side – being a mentor – has been equally formative. Whether supporting interns through eventConnect, mentoring my current team members, or offering resume and job search guidance when the opportunity arises, that reciprocal relationship keeps me grounded in why I do this work.
Can you share a significant turning point or breakthrough moment in your career?
The most pivotal moment came during the pandemic.
I had transitioned into a Director of People and Development role just one year before COVID hit – supporting a growing events and association management agency. When the business was devastated by cancellations, they had to cut more than half the team. I was among those who found themselves looking for a new job.
What followed was an eight-month job search that went nowhere. With one year of formal HR experience and a Director title, finding the right fit was harder than I expected. So I turned to a coach I trusted for perspective, Robb Gilbear. That conversation helped me see a completely different possibility: becoming a Habits Coach.
I hired him to help me launch the business. Later, he hired me to project manage his book. That single project grew into a 4.5-year Fractional Chief of Staff engagement – one of the most expansive professional experiences of my career. I project-managed his book Die Before They Do from concept through publication, oversaw virtual assistants and creative freelancers, developed a community engagement strategy, supported business development, and grew from tactical support into a genuine strategic partnership.
Looking back, the decision to leap into a brand new career in the middle of a global crisis was the breakthrough that led me to where I am now.
Can you share a project or initiative you are particularly proud of?
Project managing Die Before They Do from concept through publication remains one of the experiences I’m most proud of. It was my first time working on a book, and I approached it the way I approach most things I haven’t done before – through self-study, research, and a willingness to figure it out.
The book launched as a bestseller, and seeing that outcome was deeply satisfying. But what matters most to me now is what it opened up: a specialization in supporting authors through the book launch process. It’s become a meaningful focus of my work, and I wouldn’t have found my way to it without that first project.
Can you share any personal values or principles that guide your leadership style?
Three things I come back to again and again:
Health and wellness as a foundation. Without it, everything else becomes harder to sustain. I believe leaders need to tend to themselves – physically, mentally, and emotionally – so they can show up fully for their teams and their vision.
Compassionate accountability. I hold myself and the people I work with to high standards, but never at the expense of dignity. Accountability doesn’t have to be harsh to be effective.
Trust as a leadership practice. When I trust my team members to own their work, two things happen: I get better at delegating, and they are empowered to do their best without being micromanaged. That’s where the real momentum comes from.
What message would you like to convey to aspiring female leaders reading your story?
Change your career path as many times as you need to. It’s not inconsistency – it’s a process of elimination toward the work that actually lights you up.
When working with women, choose collaboration over competition. There is more than enough room, and the relationships you build will take you further than anything you achieve alone.
And stop softening your edges. So much of what holds women back is the conditioning to make ourselves more palatable, less direct, more agreeable. The work is in unlearning that. Speak your truth boldly – not despite being a woman, but as one.
Until next week,
Moriah
P.S. If this is your first time reading one of my blogs… hi, I’m glad you’re here. If something resonated and you’d like to connect, I’d love that. Grab some time with me here.