As founders of Lead From Intention, we set out to help women in the corporate world find the path that both allowed them to find success on their terms and to not have to leave the corporate world to do it. It became our purpose because we saw two things happening:
We ourselves had struggled with finding our voice, standing in our confidence and showing up in a way that felt authentic to who we are
We saw so much talent deciding to leave the corporate world because they could not figure out how to make it work for them in the same authentic way.
In the year since we started this company, we have also continued to invest in and grow in our corporate roles, both taking on more complex roles with greater responsibility. We know those roles help us continue to develop tools and resources for women that we work with, and keeps us learning alongside women about what the priorities and needs are.
And here's the thing - it is HARD.
Working full-time in senior leadership positions and building a company from the ground up might be one of the harder things we have ever done.
And yet, we love it and have chosen this path, even knowing that it would be hard, even experiencing the challenges, and wondering some days if we were giving our best in any of our roles. Because, truth be told, we experienced those same feelings of self-doubt and insecurity before we started the company, and we are certain that we will continue to have those moments - at work, in our company, at home and in circumstances we have yet to experience.
That is one of the things we have learned and felt deeply in our own work, and in our work with other women leaders. We are not trying to create a false positivity about "having the right attitude" or "finding the perfect job/boss/project". We are changing the conversation and that is not always easy. We are staying in the discomfort so we can work through it, not around it. We are challenging our thinking, because we know it is the foundation of achieving the results we want. And we are finding all the ways that hard can be fun.
We are embracing hard, because we know that when we do, we find the real power in our goals and outcomes.
When we push through challenging conversations to get to better tools for our clients, that is hard fun. When we take the time to create meaningful development plans for someone on our team, and we see the results they create from that investment, that is hard fun. When we say no to a project that does not align with our time and/or our focus, and create space for our priorities, that is hard fun. And, when we have honest, candid conversations about authentic leadership and how we can show up differently as leaders, acknowledging where we still have opportunity to learn, that is often the hardest fun!
We can do hard things and so can YOU. We are here to show you how fun it can be. Are you ready to find your path to making the hard stuff fun? We'd love to hear your stories!