Some mornings, I wake up and I already behind…like this one.
The alarm goes off (a couple of times if I’m being honest), and before my feet hit the floor, I’m running through my to-do list: get my workout done, feed the cows, get the kids breakfast, inbox catch-up, client calls, team messages, after school practices, dinner plans, “Oh shoot — did I forget to reply to that one email?”
I check boxes. I juggle roles. I get things done.
But somewhere between podcast episodes about becoming my “best self,” making dinner for six, and responding to everyone else’s needs…
…I realize I never checked in with me, not intentionally anyway.
That’s what disconnection feels like — living on autopilot, reacting to life instead of leading it.
But here’s the good news:
When we pause long enough to notice, even for a breath, we begin to rebuild connection with ourselves, we restore intention in how we show up, and inspire action that actually aligns with who we’re becoming.
I’m Molly the Connection Creator and Managing Director at The Restoration Project and host of The Found Podcast. And after years of leading teams, raising kids, and running a business from rural Eastern Iowa, here’s what I know for sure:
The best leaders don’t just manage people or projects — they manage connection.
Because when we understand ourselves, honor others, and lead with love, we become the restored, intentional leaders this world desperately needs.
Let me tell you a story.
The Leader Who “Had It All” — Until She Didn’t
Spoiler alert: the leader in this story is me.
In 2022, from the outside looking in, I was killing it. My business, Molly Knuth Media, was on track for its highest revenue year ever. I had a talented team. My husband and I had just bought a building on Main Street that would become MKM HQ. And I had a waitlist of clients in line, ready to work with me.
It was the dream I had built from scratch — teacher-turned-mom-turned-marketer grows up to run a “real business” and show everybody she’s got what it takes.
I was doing the boss-babe thing and doing it well.
But the truth underneath?
That part wasn’t Instagrammable.
People didn’t see the 5–8 AM + 8 PM work days.
They didn’t see me waking at 3 AM wondering if I’d sent a post with a typo.
They didn’t see me crunching payroll numbers every other week, praying they added up.
They didn’t see me taking on misaligned clients for a quick cash infusion.
They didn’t see the pressure of being the bottleneck — too many reports, too little support, not enough experience leading at the level I was pretending to operate.
And they definitely didn’t hear the quiet question that haunted me:
“Is this it? Is this what I was working so hard for? Am I even cut out for this?”
By the end of that year, my outside success couldn’t hold up the inside collapse.
So I let it fall down.
My Season of Shedding (and the Slow Rebuild)
2022 and 2023 were my breakdown-and-breakthrough years.
I distinctly remember one day while out with a group of friends celebrating a birthday, that I was so distracted my husband took me aside and asked, “Hey, do you want to go home? You don’t seem like yourself.” After we got back to our house and sat on the patio, I broke into tears. I shared that I didn’t know what I wanted anymore, that I was so concerned with financial shortcomings in the business that I couldn’t think of anything other than how to make my next few hundred dollars, that I was tired of being on my laptop in the kitchen as I made breakfast, lunch, and dinner for our kids, and that ultimately, I was a failure even though it looked like the opposite to everyone on the outside.
He gently gave me a hug and said, “We’ll get through this together. But you have to get clear on what you actually want and get going.”
So I did.
I had to:
- sell the building
- reduce my team
- pause nearly every offer other than with my long-term clients
- turn inward
- get quiet
- and ask myself “What do I actually want?” again and again and again
I realized that I wasn’t chasing being “Molly from MKM” anymore.
I wanted to re-meet the real Molly.
And that meant returning to things I’d abandoned in the name of business “success:” exercise, reading, friendships, hobbies, dance parties in the kitchen, hosting theme parties, cleaning my house because it helped me think again.
I rebuilt my business from the ground up.
Slower. Leaner. More aligned.
I paid myself consistently.
I worked with fewer clients and went deeper with them.
I made decisions from intention instead of urgency.
And in 2023, that clarity led me straight to The Restoration Project, and in the time since has led to expansion of my role and work that feels deeply aligned not only with what I do, but with who I am.
Looking back, I can finally name what this process was the whole time: becoming a restored version of myself and a restored leader..
What Restoration Really Means
Restoration happens when a leader stops acting from the “coulds” and “shoulds” of the world around them and instead pauses long enough to reconnect with themselves and make aligned, intentional choice for the good of themselves and those they lead, live with, and love.
This isn’t about slowing down for the sake of slowness.
It’s about leading with awareness — on purpose instead of on autopilot.
When I stopped numbing myself with busyness…
When I got quiet…
When I let go of ego and urgency…
…I found something better:
I found me again.
And that is exactly where The Restoration Model begins.
Introducing The Restoration Model: A Framework for Intentional Leadership
Think of it like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs (teachers and former teachers, remember that one!) but for leadership, humanity, and wholeness.
There are five levels, and every restored leader moves through them again and again throughout their life and work.
Level 1: Understand Yourself & Honor Others — The Foundation
Everything begins here.
When we understand what’s coming up within us — our fears, desires, patterns, strengths — we finally have clarity around who we are and how we want to show up.
And when we honor others with compassion, curiosity, and respect (even when they differ from us), we build trust and connection that makes real leadership possible.
This is the level where I spent years returning to myself — remembering who I was beyond work, titles, and public perception.
Level 2: Act with Integrity — The Alignment Work
Once you know who you are, integrity becomes the next level of your leadership..
Act with Integrity is where you:
- tell the truth
- admit what’s not working
- say yes with intention
- say no with courage
- align your thoughts, words, and actions
Integrity creates congruence.
Congruence creates calm.
Calm creates steadiness — which the world desperately needs in its leaders.
Level 3: Live with Courage — The Heart Work
Integrity feels good… until it asks you to be seen in new ways by yourself and by those around you.
This level is vulnerable.
It requires openness, honesty, presence, and a willingness to let go of armor you may have built up around how you used to operate and the identity you constructed with it.
Here, you learn to move through resistance rather than avoid it.
You practice acceptance instead of control.
You let courage rise and you take the next brave step to become restored.
Level 4: Connect to Something Greater — The Purpose Work
At this stage, restored leaders look beyond themselves.
You begin to see your unique place in the world and the ripple effect of your presence.
You identify your vision, mission, and values, and you align your work with meaning.
This is where many leaders finally feel the shift from “I” to “we,” knowing they are part of something bigger that’s part of a grand plan.
Level 5: Lead with Love — The Transformation
This is the pinnacle – not of what you achieve or push yourself to do, but of your being.
Leaders at this level:
- ask questions before giving answers
- serve before seeking credit
- build others up
- create environments where people can thrive
- operate from humility, compassion, and genuine care
This is the level where ego falls away and service leads the way. This is what we aspire to as restored leaders, and this is the work that we do with our coaches and clients at The Restoration Project.
The Truth About This Model (and Why It Matters in 2026)
Now let me tell you something that might surprise you:
I don’t live at the top of this pyramid.
Not consistently.
Not perfectly.
Not even close.
There are seasons where I climb to the highest levels… and seasons where I tumble back to the base and need to begin again.
But that — right there — is the beauty of restored leadership:
We will never get “there,” because the work is a lifelong loop of learning, unlearning, and relearning.
This is not a self-improvement project.
It’s a self-restoration journey.
And in 2026, The Restoration Project will be organizing all of our programs, workshops, retreats, coaching, digital experiences, and communities around this model — guiding leaders through these levels with reflective questions, intentionally curated traingins and tools, and support in this season of your life and leadership.
Because we believe a restored leader doesn’t just change their workplace.
A restored leader changes their home.
Their community.
Their relationships.
Their legacy.
The world.
And the world needs restored leaders — real, whole, grounded leaders — more than ever.
The Invitation
As we step into 2026, we invite you to join us:
- To reconnect with yourself.
- To move with intention.
- To align your actions with what is meaningful and valuable.
- To understand who you are at your core.
- To honor others.
- To act with integrity.
- To live with courage.
- To connect with something greater.
- To lead with love.
Not perfectly.
Not all at once.
But steadily, bravely, and with heart.
Because restored leadership isn’t about becoming someone else.
It’s about remembering who you’ve been all along.
Written by: Molly Knuth, Managing Director at The Restoration Project
