Can you feel your brilliance?
This article addresses one of the core tenets of Rebellious Leadership for women. Over three months, my flagship program brings a group of women together to step into this paradigm so they can feel more freedom and regain agency over their own experience.
Rebellious Leader core tenet: A Rebellious Leader practices recovering back to her brilliance.
A woman leader I recently connected with realized why she didn’t share a common struggle. For years she'd heard of the inner critic from her peers and friends, but couldn't relate. She stays in her comfort zone, never stretching outside of what she knows. That approach won’t work for most of the women I support.
The women I support are ambitious. They have a hunger toward their life. They are dynamic. If that is who you are, your inner critic will be part of your journey. This woman's approach requires dimming your ambitions. And turning your attention away from your dreams.
If you identify with the women I serve - ambition, desire, a hunger for a satisfying life - you'll fall off course. You'll have periods where there is more doubt than certainty.
A Rebellious Leader acknowledges those periods are a required part of life's unfolding. Not an indicator of some flaw in their approach. When they are in those periods, they have the perspective to see them as a period of time. Not a permanent state that will never cease.
They align their action to the reality that those periods are inevitable. This is part of being a responsible leader. Rebellious Leaders have a set of practices woven into the daily rhythm of their lives. These practices are unique to them. And they use them to:
proactively to keep them on course
hold themselves with compassion in periods of uncertainty and loss
navigate their way out of periods
Their relationship to practice is consistent. But the specifics of what that looks like are flexible to honor the different seasons of life.
Practice is a sacred responsibility to yourself and your leadership. It deepens your relationship with yourself. And offers an opportunity to align and re-align your leadership to be a reflection of who you are.
For example, I am at my best when I am inspired.
Two practices that support me in this season of my life are:
Doing 10 minutes of reading in the morning.
Taking a specific inquiry on my morning walk with my dog.
There have been different pathways to evoking inspiration in me. Before having a kid, I had a robust morning practice centered around this. My transition to motherhood created a huge loss that existed for a long time. I couldn't wake before my son no matter how hard I tried. And by the time he was out the door, my mind was too active to engage with the practice in a fulfilling way. My former practices were no longer available.
What I now have in practice is an anchor for inspiration that serves this season of life. This current set of practices didn’t come immediately, nor are they permanent. What’s stayed steady is knowing I need a practice for evoking inspiration. And knowing it’s my responsibility to experiment with what a particular practice might look like. Though inspiration can erupt spontaneously, waiting for it to happen is not being responsible. The consistency of practice is foundational to me making a consistent impact in the ways that I want.
Call for reflection:
What practice can support you in remembering your brilliance?
Shine On,
Alicia
(Image by Caspar Rae via Unsplash)