Part 2: Female leadership Lead with confidence

When I speak for myself, I have had phases during my career where I had feelings of inadequacy, not being good enough and the fear of being “exposed” as such. Also called imposter syndrome. I felt there was a greater pressure on me as a woman to prove myself in a leadership position. I was internalizing societal messages that suggest I need to constantly excel and prove my capabilities.

With the help of great people around me, I embarked on a journey of empowerment and learned to embrace my skills and trust in my abilities to achieve success (and fun) in life & work.

I want to share some insights that helped me on this path, because self confidence allows you to reach new opportunities!

A lot of women will experience impostor syndrome on their path to success. We are hardwired to underestimate ourselves. Remind yourself of your past successes and achievements. By believing in yourself, seizing opportunities, and uplifting others, you can lead with influence and confidence in any situation.

You don’t need to know everything right now to flourish in your (future) role. A lot of C-level people do not know the right answer to different questions. Just learn from every situation and surround yourself with a strong team to support you.
When you have a setback, think about what went wrong and use those lessons to get better. Setbacks aren’t failures, see them as steps towards success.
Stop trying to please everyone. Be comfortable with assertiveness. When making decisions, not everyone can be pleased. Sometimes you need to make decisions nobody wants to make. Those decisions might lead to necessary changes though. Show trust in your choices. In the end, people will support and respect you for that.
That said, it is okay to be vulnerable. A team works better with communal leaders. Women are more communal - more sympathetic, gentle, sensitive, supportive and compassionate. You set the example to face problems with positivity. Stay close to yourself. Listen afterward. Then you can turn any situation around!
Surround yourself with people who endorse you, help you grow and with whom you can share experiences. I’m part of several intervision groups - one women only - with amazing talented women whom I learn from everytime we meet.

Let us women lead with confidence and with grace. Lead with the unwavering belief that anything is possible when you truly believe in yourself.

When I speak for myself, I have had phases during my career where I had feelings of inadequacy, not being good enough and the fear of being “exposed” as such. Also called imposter syndrome. I felt there was a greater pressure on me as a woman to prove myself in a leadership position. I was internalizing societal messages that suggest I need to constantly excel and prove my capabilities.

With the help of great people around me, I embarked on a journey of empowerment and learned to embrace my skills and trust in my abilities to achieve success (and fun) in life & work.

I want to share some insights that helped me on this path, because self confidence allows you to reach new opportunities!

A lot of women will experience impostor syndrome on their path to success. We are hardwired to underestimate ourselves. Remind yourself of your past successes and achievements. By believing in yourself, seizing opportunities, and uplifting others, you can lead with influence and confidence in any situation.

You don’t need to know everything right now to flourish in your (future) role. A lot of C-level people do not know the right answer to different questions. Just learn from every situation and surround yourself with a strong team to support you.
When you have a setback, think about what went wrong and use those lessons to get better. Setbacks aren’t failures, see them as steps towards success.
Stop trying to please everyone. Be comfortable with assertiveness. When making decisions, not everyone can be pleased. Sometimes you need to make decisions nobody wants to make. Those decisions might lead to necessary changes though. Show trust in your choices. In the end, people will support and respect you for that.
That said, it is okay to be vulnerable. A team works better with communal leaders. Women are more communal - more sympathetic, gentle, sensitive, supportive and compassionate. You set the example to face problems with positivity. Stay close to yourself. Listen afterward. Then you can turn any situation around!
Surround yourself with people who endorse you, help you grow and with whom you can share experiences. I’m part of several intervision groups - one women only - with amazing talented women whom I learn from everytime we meet.

Let us women lead with confidence and with grace. Lead with the unwavering belief that anything is possible when you truly believe in yourself.

When I speak for myself, I have had phases during my career where I had feelings of inadequacy, not being good enough and the fear of being “exposed” as such. Also called imposter syndrome. I felt there was a greater pressure on me as a woman to prove myself in a leadership position. I was internalizing societal messages that suggest I need to constantly excel and prove my capabilities.

With the help of great people around me, I embarked on a journey of empowerment and learned to embrace my skills and trust in my abilities to achieve success (and fun) in life & work.

I want to share some insights that helped me on this path, because self confidence allows you to reach new opportunities!

A lot of women will experience impostor syndrome on their path to success. We are hardwired to underestimate ourselves. Remind yourself of your past successes and achievements. By believing in yourself, seizing opportunities, and uplifting others, you can lead with influence and confidence in any situation.

You don’t need to know everything right now to flourish in your (future) role. A lot of C-level people do not know the right answer to different questions. Just learn from every situation and surround yourself with a strong team to support you.
When you have a setback, think about what went wrong and use those lessons to get better. Setbacks aren’t failures, see them as steps towards success.
Stop trying to please everyone. Be comfortable with assertiveness. When making decisions, not everyone can be pleased. Sometimes you need to make decisions nobody wants to make. Those decisions might lead to necessary changes though. Show trust in your choices. In the end, people will support and respect you for that.
That said, it is okay to be vulnerable. A team works better with communal leaders. Women are more communal - more sympathetic, gentle, sensitive, supportive and compassionate. You set the example to face problems with positivity. Stay close to yourself. Listen afterward. Then you can turn any situation around!
Surround yourself with people who endorse you, help you grow and with whom you can share experiences. I’m part of several intervision groups - one women only - with amazing talented women whom I learn from everytime we meet.

Let us women lead with confidence and with grace. Lead with the unwavering belief that anything is possible when you truly believe in yourself.