I was honored to be invited back to deliver a half-day workshop for a group of women leaders in Chicago. Our focus was to activate their Dynamic D.R.E.A.M. Roadmap™, the strategic blueprint to help them truly become aligned AF and to step into their next level of authentic leadership.
We explored their What, Why & Who, along with tapping into their Ikigai. They got vulnerable as they talked about leading their Living Legacies and the compelling, juicy WHY that keeps calling to them.
Some found their voice. Some felt validated. Some were able to hold space and lift up the other women. All were transformed.
I’ve been sitting in reflection since returning back home, as I feel I was activated in my own truth, as well.
I can feel a massive shift taking place within me.
My work is becoming deeper and more expansive. In fact, I had some emotions come where I felt myself struggling with the notion that I wasn’t able to pour into them more. Like there is this fire and calling within me to really explore the depths of who we are and what we are here to do.
Our half day together was beautiful, but it was not nearly enough time.
I found myself feeling really challenged in this realization, and in my own imposter syndrome, for a moment. And, I struggled to comprehend why I wasn’t feeling fully elated afterwards, as I usually do.
It was only in talking out my confusion when I got home with my friend who was staying with me, and who took great care with Ernie while I was gone, that I started to breakthrough the resistance that was coming up and the had me feeling that something was off.
That’s when it hit me.
The ‘off’ I was feeling was that I want to do more.
I want to serve more, in bigger, more significant ways.
I feel so called to really go deep with leaders and those who recognize that they are here to serve. In listening to these amazing women who fully showed up in this space, I heard so much desire to step into something bigger, something more meaningful, and something truly impactful.
For the older, more experienced women (all engineers), their desire to mentor younger women was so profound. You could hear the yearning as they spoke. They are seeking ways to give back, to offer their guidance and wisdom, and to life up the next generations of women in this industry.
For the younger women in the group, there was this compelling cry for more connection and to create a more sustainable future. They seek mentorship, and real, meaningful connections with others, especially other women in engineering.
When you look at most engineering landscapes today, not a lot has changed since my days as an engineer in corporate … as it still can feel quite isolating, and like you are playing a constant “good ‘ole boys’ game.”
These women, like most, all are struggling in some ways with life, itself.
Several talked about imposter syndrome and how they are healing from profound burnout, as they continue to try to manage ALL the things and be ALL things to everyone. Areas of their lives feel out of balance, and they are wearing themselves out trying to juggle it ALL.
The compound effect of life is getting harder for people to manage. It’s becoming a game of survival once again. We are addicted to distraction, overwhelmed with business, and lost in who we are, as a result.
Yet, still there is hope.
For many of these women felt something stirring that prompted their need and desire to be at this workshop. Something spoke to them. We leaned in together. We cried together. We laughed together. And, we rose together.
These women were so wide open and vulnerable. There was a rich dialogue and connection between them. They needed each other.
Even as I write this, I can feel the tears welling up in my eyes.
My heart hurts as I sit with how much so many are carrying, while it also feels like my heart is being cracked wide open at the same time.
Something’s been shifting in me. Being able to facilitate the love language of leaders and help them access their soul work is an honor I don’t take lightly. For, it’s in these containers I feel most humbled. Creating safe spaces to invite transformational leaders together in community to be truly seen, heard, and loved is the work I love to do most.
For most people spend far too much time caught up in the trappings of the rat race, being busy, and the hustle that we forget to really tune in … tune into others, and tune into ourselves.
We hold onto a tired and overplayed narrative that we need to be all things to all people all the time, which only leads to shoulding and shaming all over ourselves in the process.
The pressure on women to do it all is still far too prevalent. Women in engineering and STEM often feel this is amplified capacities.These environments still are highly demanding and often not as flexible as they could be to accomodate greater diversity. Inclusion is not recruiting different and trying to make the same. We still find ourselves needing to be more open to new possibilities and potential ways to work.
When we are really present and actively listen for understanding, we are able to demonstrate so much more kindness, compassion, and grace to one another. Witnessing these women do just that has humbled me.
Because, especially as women, who care so deeply and passionately, especially about those we love in our lives, it can be so easy to find ourselves carrying instead of caring.
In those case where we find ourselves carrying, we often struggle to know when to let go and how to put the burdens of others down.
We need to remember to fill our own cups first.
We can only truly pour from the saucer, not even the cup. We deserve to reclaim our power back, tap into and activate our authentic voice, and step into greater levels of fulfillment and peace within ourselves.
This workshop, and these women, reminded me of the beautiful power and magic we can co-create together when we lean in and really connect with each other. When we slow down enough to tell our story and to listen to the story of others. We need more spaces like this, collectively.
I am so deeply honored and humbled by the truth and grace extended by this intimate group of leaders. It is beyond a privilege to create and activate these containers and watch the magic pour in.
I mean … who doesn’t want a little more magic in their lives, right?
It is with profound gratitude that I honor these women.
My deepest thanks to this amazing group of women for once again inviting me to co-create such an exquisite space. My soul is deeply nourished, my cup overflows, and I feel I have been cracked wide open in my own activation to amplify my leadership voice and connect with more transformational leaders as a result of our time together.
How and where are you giving yourself space to slow down, lean in, and create meaningful connections with yourself and with others?