Do You Believe?
Photo by Katrina Wright on Unsplash
Do you believe in yourself?
Do you believe that you can make your dreams come true?
I spent Thursday at Luminary's 3rd Annual Women's History Month Summit listening to amazing women CEOs and senior leaders share their journeys, which required them to wholeheartedly believe in what they were trying to make real.
The key for me was how honest they were about how hard the journey can be and that you can't do it alone. It's so important to have people to cheer you on and pick you up when you're so overwhelmed all you want to do is lay in the fetal position on the floor or just be the sounding board, reminding you of what you've shared that you really want.
Those successful women shared so many powerful insights, and I'll share a few that stood out to me (paraphrased to how I captured the thoughts.)
"Make the decision." - Debbie Perelman, former CEO of Revlon, about not waiting for the perfect time or information to decide.
"It's all about betting on yourself." - Cate Luzio, Founder & CEO of Luminary
"Be slow to hire and quick to fire" and "It's better to hire the right person that will provide the leverage you need in a fractional role than a more junior person who fits the salary profile you can afford" - Divya Gugnani, CEO & Co-Founder of Wander Beauty, about making sure you get the right people on the team and exit those that aren't working out.
"Delegation is key to growth. If you don't, you're slowing your team down." - Michelle Cordeiro Grant, Founder & CEO, Gorgie
"You need to be intentional in being good to your team." - Beatrice Dixon, Founder & CEO, The Honey Pot Company
"Messy is ok. You don't have to be perfect for your team." - I don’t recall who said this. We don't have to be perfect. We have to show up and do our best.
Being able to hear all of these women's stories was so meaningful: Eva Goicochea, Founder & CEO of maude; Deepa Gandhi, Co-Founder & COO of Dagne Dover; Rachel Liverman, CEO & Founder of Glowbar; Lisa Price, Founder of Carol's Daughter and Cecilia Nelson-Hurt, Chief Diversity Officer of Heidrick & Struggles and closing out with Keia Clarke, CEO of New York Liberty and Mindy Grossman, Partner at Consello. What a privilege to spend a day learning from these women.
In addition to focusing on ensuring you have the right team to help your organization thrive even in downtimes, I consistently heard four themes emerge
Working in alignment with your values and staying focused
Intentionality in how you're leading and the choices you're making
Resilience when things are tough
Self-care/energy to be able to keep going
I loved that these topics came up repeatedly because they are what The FIRE Circle focuses on for women leading smaller organizations.
But it all starts with belief.
For us to succeed in our goals for our personal and professional lives, we need to believe that we can do what we set out to do.
We need people who will support us on the journey…people who believe in us, even if they're not always sure it will work out how we hope.
We need teams that believe in the organization's mission and vision and are willing to fight alongside us.
We need sponsors and mentors who believe in our potential and ideas and share opportunities where they believe we can thrive.
It all starts and ends with our belief in ourselves.
As you head into the coming week, here are a few questions to consider:
What work do you need to do to believe in yourself?
Where do you have the opportunity to ask for help (it's not a weakness; it's a strength)?
Where do you need to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get back on track?
Taking time out of our day-to-day schedules to do events like this may feel like a nice-to-have, but I believe they're critical for three reasons:
We need opportunities to zoom out, or else we can't see what's coming or in our way.
We need opportunities to be in community with people outside our usual circles to gain new perspectives.
We need opportunities to be inspired about what is possible.
I encourage you to make sure there is something on your calendar each month that allows you to broaden your perspective, build new relationships, and be inspired.
Let’s start by believing!