Crossing the Threshold

by Jackie Leon

We often think transformation happens through big leaps, a new role, a bold decision, a shift in direction. But real change begins in quieter moments: a pause, a breath, a truth you can no longer ignore.

Over years of working with founders, leaders, and professionals in transition, I began noticing a rhythm, a natural cycle that transformation tends to follow. 

I call it The Threshold Method.

My clients come to me with a dream, usually of breaking through a glass ceiling, expanding their impact, building something bigger. But we don't start with strategy or tactics. We start with them. Because you can't expand what you lead until you expand who you are. The outer work always begins within. And it doesn't end there. The leaders I work with aren't just growing for themselves; they're growing to give back, to lift others, to strengthen the communities they're part of.

This method emerged from years of observing how real transformation unfolds. It moves through seven phases:

1. Pause/Slow Down. The moment you commit to the work and stop operating on autopilot. You step out of reaction and into intentional change.

2. Reflect. Beginning to explore new territory. Processing patterns, identifying what's helping vs. hindering.

3. Awareness Getting closer to the deepest truth. Seeing what you've been avoiding. Preparing to face it.

4. Willingness to Let Go. The hardest part. The "death" of the old identity or belief. This is the central crisis — releasing what no longer serves you requires real courage and often feels like loss.

5. Micro Action. Take the first aligned step with your new truth. Claiming agency. The proof that you've changed.

6. New Belief. Integrating the transformation. The new identity is solidifying. You're becoming who you're meant to be, and it's starting to feel real.

7. Contribution. Bringing the transformation back to your community. Using your growth to lift others.

This isn't a straight line. It's a spiral. Sometimes reflection takes months; other times, awareness and action happen in a single breath. You'll cross this threshold again, at deeper layers, with different questions.

The work asks for courage. Reflection can be confronting, letting go can feel raw, and new beliefs take time to settle. That's where I come in.

I don't just listen to what you say. I listen to what you're avoiding. The story you keep telling yourself. The fear dressed up as logic. The truth is, you're not ready to speak out loud until you are. That's when transformation starts. Not in the polished answer, but in the raw, unfinished thing you finally let yourself admit.

And as you move through this method, something shifts. 

The "I" becomes "We." Your clarity becomes a mirror for others to find their own.

The moment is here. What you build from here, for yourself, for others, starts now.