By Carla Clarissa – Coach, author and founder of Journey to Wholeness®
That it is difficult to lead from your feminine power, I know better than anyone else.
In my years as a consultant, manager and leader in the top of the business world, I have personally experienced how quickly you unconsciously trade your natural leadership strength for adaptation. For “how it should be” in a world where masculine values such as reason, speed, decisiveness and control are still the norm.
And I’m not the only one. Every day I work with women who are successful on the outside – directors, consultants, changemakers – but feel exhausted on the inside. Who keep themselves small, doubt whether they are good enough, and wonder, “Is this it?”
Welcome to the reality of female leadership in a masculine world. But this is also where your path to transformation begins.
What we lose when we adapt
Many educated women I mentor have learned to move with the dominant norm. They are smart, analytical, sharp. And they know exactly what is expected of them. But in that constant adaptation, they have lost something: themselves.
Their creativity slowly dies out.
Their energy leaks away into perfectionism.
Their inner critic is working overtime.
And the worst part is: they are hardly aware of how much impact this has on their leadership. And on their quality of life.
The big misconception about strength
We have come to believe that strength means: no doubt, always in control, always on. But the truth is: real strength begins with daring to embody all that you are. Including your doubt. Your softness. Your not-knowing.
Vulnerability ís strength.
Indeed, it is precisely acknowledging your vulnerability that makes you more human, approachable and ultimately more credible as a leader. But that takes courage. And it requires a whole new frame of reference for leadership – one that is not a copy of the old, but a manifestation of who you essentially are.
Leadership from wholeness
In my program Journey to Wholeness®, I guide women in rediscovering their authentic leadership. Not by learning new tricks, but by peeling off layer by layer what no longer serves them.
Because your true leadership potential is only released when you bring in your whole self: your reason as well as your intuition, your decisiveness as well as your caring, your knowledge as well as your wisdom.
It’s not a quick fix.
It’s a journey.
But a journey that changes everything.
Before & after: two powerful transformations
“I experienced it as a challenge not to become a different type of leader in a male environment. Now I manage to stand up for the tough decisions I make while bringing my feminine energy. “
– Johanna Meijer-Wolfbauer, Global HR Director, FrieslandCampina
“Of all the leadership programs I have attended, there is none like the Journey to Wholeness®. Here I discovered how important the connection between Mind, Body and Soul is. And what powerful leader emerges when I bring in my whole self. “
– Marjolein Bot, Lead Energy, Amsterdam Economic Board
These women have not changed in their essence. On the contrary, they have come closer to themselves. And therein lies their strength. And their impact.
Where are you still keeping yourself small?
Consider these questions:
- Where else do you adapt to be found “professionally”?
- What parts of yourself are you not showing (yet) in your leadership?
- What would happen if you brought in your full potential?
Do you really dare to answer those questions honestly?
This is your invitation
I believe women are the key to a more conscious, connected world. And that starts with you.
Not by running harder or trying harder. But by standing still. Feeling. And from there making powerful choices that make sense.
Choices that are good not only for your career, but also for your family, your health, your sense of purpose.
Choices that do not suppress your feminine power, but celebrate it.
Would you also like to learn to lead powerfully and authentically?
My six-month program The Women’s Leadership Program is designed specifically for women like you: influential, intelligent, and ready for a new form of leadership. One that does justice to who you really are.
Group training
Individual coaching
Peer-to-peer support
Weekly inspiration challenges
“Everything I need to be a powerful leader is within me, what a realization!“
Are you ready to redefine your leadership?
Schedule an introduction or learn more at www.carlaclarissa.com.
