The light in leadership....

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.

“It is our light not our darkness that most frightens us.”

I remember reading this quote when I was 15 in the Book Girlosophy, written by Anthea Paul

It was a soul survival kit, it was my go-to read about love, purpose growth and what it meant to be a young woman at the beginning of a new millennium.

I haven’t thought much about this quote and how much it resonated with me 25 years ago. However, since being a part of this program, somehow Marianne Williamson’s words have kept finding me.  And they did in one of our first sessions.

As a ponder and I often do, some say procrastination I say I am purposely pondering.

I pondered the question: What have I learned from this program. What lessons have been a gift.

And maybe it is not a lesson but a remembering, the ability to remember my light.

Maybe even to turn up the brightness of my light, to learn how to navigate that light, to not forget that all the light we have, lives within us.

Sometimes it is facing a fear, that cracks it wide open.  I am not a stranger to fear. I am not a stranger to adversity or change. In fact, the past two years I have had a few life changing moments.

I know deep down I can live through darkness, claw my way through to the other side, proving my resilience.

WIL has taught me not to be  afraid of my light.  This program has given me light, it has allowed me to develop, my leadership, but help make sense of the person I am. I have never invested in myself like this. There was fear, but greater than that, was the word AND.

Pushing me toward the glow.

I decided to stop the BUTS AND apply for this program.

AND it made me show up for me, not hiding behind a project or words.

The power of AND, what lies ahead when you change the word from BUT to AND.

Learning about my strengths and weaknesses AND accepting that my strengths are not a walking red flag as I first thought when I found out.

Having Empathy, AND Positivity, AND Adaptability AND Developer AND finally BELIEF, in my Clifton top five strengths, is not a red flag

It’s my flag-time to fly it.

Finding out more about who I am as a human made me want to keep seeking the AND in life.

AND…….What is next?

Well, I decided to finish my book on archetypes.  I have decided on a big bold and scary next chapter for JSP to expand.

 I would never have done all these ANDS if it wasn’t for the personal development I gained from the Women In Leadership. Oh AND, it helped me understand some of my most important relationships and there were many oh gods AND WTF’s, I am I really like that? AND oh, that makes sense.”

Who even am I? 

That is the question  you ask when you are in a period of growth AND like any growth its can be gross, take time and must happen in the light.

I have often thought it was better to play it small, be happy with what I have.

Don’t get me wrong I have had ambition, but it has always been diluted with the imposter fragrance.

 Sometimes searching for the light is harder than, remaining in the dark. But what I have learned about leadership this year is I don’t always have to search for the light; I can turn up with torch and light the way.

It takes the power of AND, to move forward, to embrace opportunity, to back yourself. I have always backed others loudly, but I have never done the same for myself until now.

AND every woman I have met and shared this program with , has opened me up to a whole other dimension of women and the LIGHT that lives in all of us.

I have learned that leadership isn’t about who is the loudest, boldest, smartest most innovative or strategic. I tis about showing up as your whole self, heart, voice and truth.

For me the AND is the heartline, it is the leadership that is about connection, compassion and authenticity.  It is not always about strategy or hierarchy, but from a deep sense of why it matters.

When I found out that Empathy and Positivity were my top strengths, I wasn’t surprised, but I thought they weren’t as important as other strengths when it came to leadership, like Command, Strategic, Discipline or Analytical.  Hell, Communication wasn’t even in my top 10. I have built a career out of that.  So instead of But, I went AND.

AND it opened my mind. It made me see myself in a different light, it allowed me to see my differences, not from a place of weakness, but you guessed it strength.

And how do we build our strengths?   We lean into them, even if they make you uncomfortable. Thank goodness for AND. It has been the bridge between, who am I? AND Who am I becoming and that has been very powerful.

It has made me realise that my heart isn’t hidden and it can be my signature.

I also realised that I don’t have to shrink my sensitivity, what I feel deeply is what I am here to lead with.

I always speak from the heart, even when I don’t think it makes sense, like the heart it is purpose that is my driver and my intuition is the fuel.  I don’t need to harden or be smarter. All is I need to do is stay open and stay real.

What I have learned is that leadership isn’t always about the plan (Hello adaptability), it is about the pulse.

So, I am going to take my emotional intelligence, authenticity wrapped in vulnerability, my purpose and empathy AND keep showing up.

Who would have thought that a quote I have clung to since I was a teenager, continues to inspire me. The Women in Leadership Program has led me to wonderful women . The experience reminds me women are the greatest philosophers.

  All our stories, are what make us brilliant leaders. Storytelling is our oldest form of philosophy — it’s how women have always made sense of the world. And what I have learned is the there is so much to learn when women gather.