Moneypenny
@gmoneypenny.bsky.social
Imposter syndrome doesn’t always come from incompetence.
Sometimes it comes from doing meaningful work
while hiding something essential about yourself.
Credibility ≠ belonging.
Sometimes it comes from doing meaningful work
while hiding something essential about yourself.
Credibility ≠ belonging.
February 7, 2026 at 2:30 AM
Imposter syndrome doesn’t always come from incompetence.
Sometimes it comes from doing meaningful work
while hiding something essential about yourself.
Credibility ≠ belonging.
Sometimes it comes from doing meaningful work
while hiding something essential about yourself.
Credibility ≠ belonging.
We said we valued vulnerability.
What we really valued was safe vulnerability.
Confessions that reassured the room.
Truths that didn’t require the system to change.
What kinds of vulnerability does your culture actually know how to hold?
What we really valued was safe vulnerability.
Confessions that reassured the room.
Truths that didn’t require the system to change.
What kinds of vulnerability does your culture actually know how to hold?
February 4, 2026 at 6:15 PM
We said we valued vulnerability.
What we really valued was safe vulnerability.
Confessions that reassured the room.
Truths that didn’t require the system to change.
What kinds of vulnerability does your culture actually know how to hold?
What we really valued was safe vulnerability.
Confessions that reassured the room.
Truths that didn’t require the system to change.
What kinds of vulnerability does your culture actually know how to hold?
I didn’t change direction because I was wrong.
I changed it because it might not be palatable.
That’s what invisible constraints do.
They train capable leaders to soften before they ever speak.
I changed it because it might not be palatable.
That’s what invisible constraints do.
They train capable leaders to soften before they ever speak.
February 2, 2026 at 2:30 PM
I didn’t change direction because I was wrong.
I changed it because it might not be palatable.
That’s what invisible constraints do.
They train capable leaders to soften before they ever speak.
I changed it because it might not be palatable.
That’s what invisible constraints do.
They train capable leaders to soften before they ever speak.
Some leadership cultures encourage vulnerability—
but only the kind that reassures the system.
Credibility isn’t the same thing as belonging.
The question isn’t “Are we compassionate?”
It’s: What truths can this culture actually hold?
but only the kind that reassures the system.
Credibility isn’t the same thing as belonging.
The question isn’t “Are we compassionate?”
It’s: What truths can this culture actually hold?
February 2, 2026 at 1:30 AM
Some leadership cultures encourage vulnerability—
but only the kind that reassures the system.
Credibility isn’t the same thing as belonging.
The question isn’t “Are we compassionate?”
It’s: What truths can this culture actually hold?
but only the kind that reassures the system.
Credibility isn’t the same thing as belonging.
The question isn’t “Are we compassionate?”
It’s: What truths can this culture actually hold?
If you’re reading quietly, that’s okay.
This space isn’t built for hot takes or debates.
It’s built for people unlearning things slowly—and honestly.
You’re welcome here.
This space isn’t built for hot takes or debates.
It’s built for people unlearning things slowly—and honestly.
You’re welcome here.
January 31, 2026 at 2:30 AM
If you’re reading quietly, that’s okay.
This space isn’t built for hot takes or debates.
It’s built for people unlearning things slowly—and honestly.
You’re welcome here.
This space isn’t built for hot takes or debates.
It’s built for people unlearning things slowly—and honestly.
You’re welcome here.
Different people.
Same system.
Queer folks. Women. Anyone taught that disappearing was holiness.
Once you see the pattern, it’s hard to unsee it.
Same system.
Queer folks. Women. Anyone taught that disappearing was holiness.
Once you see the pattern, it’s hard to unsee it.
January 28, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Different people.
Same system.
Queer folks. Women. Anyone taught that disappearing was holiness.
Once you see the pattern, it’s hard to unsee it.
Same system.
Queer folks. Women. Anyone taught that disappearing was holiness.
Once you see the pattern, it’s hard to unsee it.
Some women weren’t silenced.
They were shaped—into self-denial that looked like virtue.
Today’s post is about how that happens… and what it takes to come back.
They were shaped—into self-denial that looked like virtue.
Today’s post is about how that happens… and what it takes to come back.
January 26, 2026 at 2:30 PM
Some women weren’t silenced.
They were shaped—into self-denial that looked like virtue.
Today’s post is about how that happens… and what it takes to come back.
They were shaped—into self-denial that looked like virtue.
Today’s post is about how that happens… and what it takes to come back.
Evangelicalism doesn’t just discipline queer bodies.
It trains women to disappear quietly—often while being praised for their faithfulness.
I’m writing about that next.
It trains women to disappear quietly—often while being praised for their faithfulness.
I’m writing about that next.
January 26, 2026 at 1:30 AM
Evangelicalism doesn’t just discipline queer bodies.
It trains women to disappear quietly—often while being praised for their faithfulness.
I’m writing about that next.
It trains women to disappear quietly—often while being praised for their faithfulness.
I’m writing about that next.
When a system hurts you and insists it’s doing so out of love, distrust isn’t cynicism.
It’s self-preservation.
That realization changes how you read the word “faith.”
It’s self-preservation.
That realization changes how you read the word “faith.”
January 24, 2026 at 2:30 AM
When a system hurts you and insists it’s doing so out of love, distrust isn’t cynicism.
It’s self-preservation.
That realization changes how you read the word “faith.”
It’s self-preservation.
That realization changes how you read the word “faith.”
Distrust isn’t rebellion.
Sometimes it’s memory.
Sometimes it’s pattern recognition.
Today’s post is for the people who wanted to trust—and learned why they couldn’t.
Sometimes it’s memory.
Sometimes it’s pattern recognition.
Today’s post is for the people who wanted to trust—and learned why they couldn’t.
January 21, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Distrust isn’t rebellion.
Sometimes it’s memory.
Sometimes it’s pattern recognition.
Today’s post is for the people who wanted to trust—and learned why they couldn’t.
Sometimes it’s memory.
Sometimes it’s pattern recognition.
Today’s post is for the people who wanted to trust—and learned why they couldn’t.
The church talks a lot about healing queer people.
It rarely asks whether the thing being treated was ever broken to begin with.
Today’s piece is about that gap.
It rarely asks whether the thing being treated was ever broken to begin with.
Today’s piece is about that gap.
January 19, 2026 at 2:30 PM
The church talks a lot about healing queer people.
It rarely asks whether the thing being treated was ever broken to begin with.
Today’s piece is about that gap.
It rarely asks whether the thing being treated was ever broken to begin with.
Today’s piece is about that gap.
Sometimes what we call “healing” is just compliance with pain that never should’ve been spiritualized in the first place.
I’ve been sitting with that distinction a lot lately.
I’ve been sitting with that distinction a lot lately.
January 19, 2026 at 1:30 AM
Sometimes what we call “healing” is just compliance with pain that never should’ve been spiritualized in the first place.
I’ve been sitting with that distinction a lot lately.
I’ve been sitting with that distinction a lot lately.
Not everyone enforcing the rules believes in them.
Some are just afraid of what happens if they stop.
Some are just afraid of what happens if they stop.
January 17, 2026 at 2:30 AM
Not everyone enforcing the rules believes in them.
Some are just afraid of what happens if they stop.
Some are just afraid of what happens if they stop.
What finally gave you permission to trust yourself — or are you still waiting for it?
January 14, 2026 at 6:15 PM
What finally gave you permission to trust yourself — or are you still waiting for it?
There are moments I wish I had spoken sooner.
I understand now why I didn’t — and I still grieve the cost of that silence.
I understand now why I didn’t — and I still grieve the cost of that silence.
January 12, 2026 at 2:30 PM
There are moments I wish I had spoken sooner.
I understand now why I didn’t — and I still grieve the cost of that silence.
I understand now why I didn’t — and I still grieve the cost of that silence.
Much of my writing lives at the intersection of leadership, identity, and the quiet costs of “being good.”
If that’s your terrain too, you’re not alone here.
If that’s your terrain too, you’re not alone here.
January 12, 2026 at 1:30 AM
Much of my writing lives at the intersection of leadership, identity, and the quiet costs of “being good.”
If that’s your terrain too, you’re not alone here.
If that’s your terrain too, you’re not alone here.
There’s a difference between being trusted and being tolerated.
I stayed tolerated longer than I should have because it felt safer than asking for more.
I stayed tolerated longer than I should have because it felt safer than asking for more.
January 10, 2026 at 2:30 AM
There’s a difference between being trusted and being tolerated.
I stayed tolerated longer than I should have because it felt safer than asking for more.
I stayed tolerated longer than I should have because it felt safer than asking for more.
Is there a phrase you grew up with that shaped your choices more than you realized at the time?
January 7, 2026 at 6:15 PM
Is there a phrase you grew up with that shaped your choices more than you realized at the time?
I was taught that doing the “right thing” would eventually make everything feel right.
Turns out sometimes the discomfort is the signal that something isn’t right.
Turns out sometimes the discomfort is the signal that something isn’t right.
January 5, 2026 at 2:30 PM
I was taught that doing the “right thing” would eventually make everything feel right.
Turns out sometimes the discomfort is the signal that something isn’t right.
Turns out sometimes the discomfort is the signal that something isn’t right.
I keep circling this idea:
clarity is often framed as cruelty by systems that benefit from ambiguity.
Still working it through.
clarity is often framed as cruelty by systems that benefit from ambiguity.
Still working it through.
January 5, 2026 at 1:30 AM
I keep circling this idea:
clarity is often framed as cruelty by systems that benefit from ambiguity.
Still working it through.
clarity is often framed as cruelty by systems that benefit from ambiguity.
Still working it through.
Institutions rarely ask people to lie outright.
They reward selective honesty.
Say the parts that don’t disrupt the system.
Silence the rest.
They reward selective honesty.
Say the parts that don’t disrupt the system.
Silence the rest.
January 3, 2026 at 2:30 AM
Institutions rarely ask people to lie outright.
They reward selective honesty.
Say the parts that don’t disrupt the system.
Silence the rest.
They reward selective honesty.
Say the parts that don’t disrupt the system.
Silence the rest.
What’s something your body knew long before you were willing to say it out loud?
December 31, 2025 at 6:15 PM
What’s something your body knew long before you were willing to say it out loud?
One of the first clues that something was wrong wasn’t theological or ethical.
It was physical.
My body kept reacting before my language could catch up.
It was physical.
My body kept reacting before my language could catch up.
December 29, 2025 at 2:30 PM
One of the first clues that something was wrong wasn’t theological or ethical.
It was physical.
My body kept reacting before my language could catch up.
It was physical.
My body kept reacting before my language could catch up.
I’m writing a lot lately about how organizations can feel “safe” while quietly training people to disappear.
If that sentence lands, you’re probably not imagining things.
If that sentence lands, you’re probably not imagining things.
December 29, 2025 at 1:30 AM
I’m writing a lot lately about how organizations can feel “safe” while quietly training people to disappear.
If that sentence lands, you’re probably not imagining things.
If that sentence lands, you’re probably not imagining things.
Leadership cultures often praise people who are “low maintenance.”
What they usually mean is:
this person doesn’t ask for emotional or moral complexity.
That’s not the same thing as health.
What they usually mean is:
this person doesn’t ask for emotional or moral complexity.
That’s not the same thing as health.
December 27, 2025 at 2:30 AM
Leadership cultures often praise people who are “low maintenance.”
What they usually mean is:
this person doesn’t ask for emotional or moral complexity.
That’s not the same thing as health.
What they usually mean is:
this person doesn’t ask for emotional or moral complexity.
That’s not the same thing as health.