One of my annual traditions is to set myself an ‘inquiry’ for each year. This is a guiding question that I use to learn my way into the life I’d like to lead.

It is inspired by Rilkes letters to a young man where he said:

“Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves…Do not now seek the answers, which cannot be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. Perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer.”

This year I have a GINORMOUS question – my inquiry is ‘how do I continue to come home to myself?’

For me, this inquiry is an opportunity to rest into who I am and what I really want from 2023 and beyond… To locate my own path within and outside of the many shoulds and musts, away from all the voices telling me who I am and how to live. It is about finding space to reconnect with my own voice and return to my own dreams and desires…

I want to gather any fragmented pieces of myself lost after disappointment and trauma. I’m keen to learn how to create better boundaries and to know whats me and whats them. Its an inquiry about making peace with all the dreams that didn’t come true – and for those that did and weren’t actually mine. It is to find clarity on purpose in a world on fire. To ask and answer ‘what is mine to do’.

I want to continue to come home to that small voice within that helps me live this question into a future that is truly mine.

There is a beautiful poem by Derek Walcott called love after love that expresses the feeling I want ot hold in this inquiry…

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

If you felt an inner tug on any of that, or a big ‘yes, please – me too’ – if you’re holding any questions on how to navigate this year from an authentic place – if you want peace outside of all the noise and inside of your own possibilities… perhaps you’d like to join me?

I am looking for fellow travellers on this journey of inquiry into 2023. for people who want to come on a limited 4 month programme with me and others to explore their related inquiry.

We will draw on the wisdom of one another, the learning from 5years of she leads change and the world around us and perhaps find beautiful ways to live into meaningful answers.

Keen?

Send me a note with your motivation and I’ll send you more details.

May you have a truly beautiful year. May you find meaningful ways – your way – to lead change.

With love…Nic xx

That’s a deep inquiry made up of lots of other questions – questions like –
How can I create space away from the many musts and should to hear my inner voice more clearly?
How can I learn to trust that voice in the decisions I make and the tricky things I navigate?
How do I reclaim the pieces of me I’ve lost after trauma and bring them home?
Where do they fit into an authentic vision for my best future?
What is mine to do in the world?
How can I serve others and the world and still keep myself centred?

Does this resonate with you? Perhaps not exactly – but perhaps in certain parts you feel an inner ‘yes – me too?’

The post Coming home to myself…an invitation. appeared first on She Leads Change.

We believe every woman should access the ability to boost her confidence, capability and connection to lead and reserve 30% of our places as bursaries for change-makers.  Click here if you’d like to find out more about our change-maker awards.

One of our recent graduates said:

“I felt this programme provided a safe, practical space to explore what already exists within us and how to tap into that. I think a little more heart in leadership is needed and I really learned how to:

 lead – both myself and others
 explore and affirm my own values
 develop my learning and coaching abilities
 strengthen my resilience and courage
 network within a supportive, diverse community of change-makers

We have a series of taster sessions coming up ahead of next programme. If you’d like to discover more about us – or know a brilliant woman who would – click here to book a spot!

Now, more than ever, we need to stay connected and encourage each other to step forward as bold, authentic leaders.  Come and reconnect with us on Tuesday 6th September from 5-6.30pm.  Our graduating cohort has a beautiful Community Session planned.  We’d love to see you there – please join us?

Reserve your place here.

As always, we’d love to hear from you…if you’d like to find out more about what we do, who we are – or how we can help you or your organisation grow the leaders the world needs now, drop us a line.  Let’s chat!

The post Let’s reconnect? appeared first on She Leads Change.

I just love these beautiful gifts our current Leading From Within cohort shared following their session on RESILIENCE. I hope they give you a needed boost to step-up, speak out and keep moving forward. You’ve got this.

I think now, even more than ever, we need women to step forward as bold, authentic leaders and we are delighted to be connecting with so many of these change-makers in our current cohort.

Please come and meet them?

Our Community Session is Tuesday 6th of September, 5pm-6.30pm – we’d love you to come!

Do you know a woman who could benefit from the programme?

Someone who is looking to step into their full potential, find their voice and connect deeply with a diverse community. Please invite them to one of our Taster Sessions.

Are you connected to a network which could help us reach more women?

We’ve been delighted to see the way our current cohort are connecting and learning so much from each other. We want to offer this leadership development opportunity to as many people as possible. Please introduce us so that more people can hear about our programme and connect with this powerful community.

Finally, let’s connect.

Our Thinking Space takes place every Wednesday at 12pm. It’s a chance to pause, connect and be nourished. Please sign up – we’d love to see you!

I want to leave you with this powerful poem, Still I Rise by Maya Angelou. Perhaps reading this again, is something that can give you a strength this week to stand your ground, find your voice and be bold.

All our love, She Leads Change xx

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“What is the change you are leading in the world?”

Our Community Session in September is an annual highlight – hosted by our most recent graduates.  It’s an opportunity to meet some of these amazing women, reconnect with old friends, make new ones and be reminded of what is possible…“What is the change you are leading in the world?” What does this question mean to you? Would YOU like to be inspired, encouraged, supported in leading YOUR change? There are a number of ways you can connect with us – sign up to our community session in September, join one of our Taster Sessions running throughout July or pop into our weekly Thinking Space to experience She Leads Change in action…We’ve missed you!  Let’s reconnect.

Come. 

Join. 

Be inspired.

The post We’ve missed you! appeared first on She Leads Change.

Included in the toolkit are ideas generated with many of you who attended our recent community session. Our next community session is on Tuesday 6th September – please diarise it as we’d love to see you there.

May these ideas, coupled with reflections from our graduates, be a useful companion to you as you step into 2022.

Download our Toolkit for Radical Self-Acceptance

You loved your She Leads Change experience! The things you learnt, the insights you had the people you met… Could you pass on the opportunity? Who else do you know who would benefit from joining a programme? We are taking applications now for our April and October cohorts.

Download here an invitation you can share – please give someone else the gift of self-knowledge, skills and community.

If you think your organisation – or colleagues – would like to discover more about how Leading From Within can help you support and sustain their leadership journeys, please share our business case study with them. Or – better yet, drop us a note of introduction!

Download our Pearson and She Leads Change 2021 Business Case Study

“I have the confidence to dream bigger, better things and to take action to realise them, a small step at a time. She Leads Change has equipped me with lots of tools to support myself and nurture and trust my own resilience.”

Here’s to radical self-acceptance for 2022 and stepping together, into a beautiful year!

Your She Leads Change team xx

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How are you facing 2022?

Leading From Within is our flagship programme – designed and created to help women step into their fullest potential. Over a three-month curated journey, Leading From Within provides a safe, nourishing space for reflection, realisation, experimentation and self-actualisation.

It is designed to get under the skin of the things that worry you and hold you back, to give you courage to live with purpose and to develop and grow your emotional intelligence. Most of all it is envisaged to give you the power of a community of amazing, like-minded women, so you can get on, create maximum impact and be your best self.

Being part of the programme has given me the confidence to dream bigger, better things and to take action to realise them, a small step at a time. It has equipped me with lots of tools to support myself and nurture/trust my own resilience – Julia, She Leads Change graduate

If you would like to face 2022 better enabled to ride the waves life brings your way – join our graduation showcase on Tuesday 18th January from 5-6.30pm (GMT)

Designed and co-created by our most recent graduates it will give you a taste of what to expect from our programmes, introduce you to our wider She Leads Change community and inspire you with stories from brilliant women, just like you.

She Leads Change has helped me consider the thought patterns and belief systems that hinder me when I step into the spaces I lead.  I am beginning to explore those self-limiting beliefs about myself, my position as a woman and my legitimacy to lead – how I connect with others and how to have better relationships within the very complex systems in which we all operate – Thobekile, She Leads Change graduate

Click here to register

The post Looking forward… appeared first on She Leads Change.

Connecting through empathetic conversations enables us to understand those who are struggling, find common ground with those we disagree with – and to listen to the impact of our actions.

Please join us for Connection – the last in our three-part Climate Dialogue series. Together with Reboot the Future, we using the feminine and indigenous lenses and deep dialogue to explore new perspectives around climate change, to inform profound action.

“Every individual matters. Every individual has a role to play. Every individual makes a difference” – Jane Goodall

Over the last three months we have used the lens of Deep Time, Wild Nature and now Empathy to explore and delve into the power of dialogue to shift our perspectives, provoke thought and give rise to creative change.

All welcome.

Add your voice to the conversation: Monday 13th December 2021 from 4-6pm (GMT) – registration is essential as places are limited.  Sign up here

The post Let’s talk about connection appeared first on She Leads Change.

We have been completely awed by the positive response from participants in our two previous sessions. One of our favorite comments was from a long term employee in the climate sector who said “I’ve never thought about things in this way before – it all looks different, now” and of course the very enthusiastic “that was freaking awesome!”

On Monday 29th November, we hosted the second of our three-part Dialogue Series; entitled: “Wild Love” Sandy Glanfield shares her reflection on the conversation…

“What started as ‘Wild Nature’ came to be ‘Wild Love’. When we create time to consider what we really love in nature – visualise it, describe it to others and how it makes us feel – it sparks a connection.

Our lens is love and evokes warm memories. What if we shift that lens though to consider the impact of environmental degradation on that place? We see it at risk, our heart feels broken for its potential violation loss.

But, on most days, we move on and think about something else… our ‘to do’ list or another problem in the climate crisis that appears on our news feed. There’s so much in our media to take in and feel responsible for. We want to care but often find ourselves numbing in response to the magnitude of the problem. Numbing cuts us off from feeling all of our emotions, from being able to speak of how we truly feel, and from feeling care and compulsion to protect what we love. Nature and it’s plight becomes removed, inanimate.

When we refer to nature as ‘it’ we feel comfortable to consume and take. We don’t call anything we love and want to protect, ‘it’. If a Maple is an ‘it’, we can take up a chainsaw. If a Maple is a ‘her’ we think twice. What if we treated nature, as in the Golden Rule, as we wish to be treated? What would change?

Changes begin to break through as we apply this lens and amplify as we share and explore our thoughts, feelings and ideas with others.

As is often said “I didn’t realise I felt so strongly until I heard myself say it out loud” Seeds for action begin to rise as we share what we love, what we feel responsible for and for our unique gifts that we can use to protect…Please join us for the next one. 

13th December from 4-6pm (GMT) – Empathy: Curiosity & Connection

“Even after all this time the sun never says to the earth, ‘You owe me.’ Look what happens with a love like that. It lights the whole sky.” Hāfiz 

Registration is essential as places are limited – please join us here.
Although there is a suggested fee – everyone is welcome, regardless of contribution. this is the last of the series – please don’t miss out!

We need all voices around the table together creating new ways of seeing and being – towards a world where all can thrive. Please join this expertly facilitated, deeply transformational session to bring your voice to the conversation and seed positive change.

Image by Tobias Tullius (Unsplash)

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The problem is that we can’t selectively numb. When we shut down to pain – in any aspect of our lives – we shut down to everything: the full spectrum of our emotions – including love and joy. We feel less of everything.

How do we move beyond this?

In part two of our Dialogue Series with Reboot the Future, we’re exploring our connection and love for nature – and how we can use conversation to build a more compassionate and sustainable world.

When we feel compelled to make changes about things that cause us distress and pain – like climate change – how do we share this with and inspire others?

Join us on Monday 29th November from 4-6pm (GMT) where we use the lens of Wild Nature to delve into questions like these – and more. We will offer strategies and examples of how to hold respectful dialogue – inspiring others to access what it is they love about our planet and what compels them to act and protect.

Curated conversations are rare moments where we’re invited to pause, reflect, listen and speak up – even when we aren’t sure of the answer. We invite you to add your voice to the conversation.

Register HERE

Places are limited, so booking is essential – please register* to book your place and receive your resource pack.

The post An invitation to talk… appeared first on She Leads Change.

Meet Htwe Htwe – a changemaker from Myanmar who wants to impact the world by empowering the marginalized youth in her generation with knowledge to reach their fullest potential and walk together, to make the world a better place.

In addition to Htwe Htwe, we have a number of women in our current cohort Leading From Within, doing remarkable things around the world: from Istanbul supporting refugees, to the UK working in publishing, to India working on sustainable materials, New York working in finance and Ethiopia, working on substance abuse…and more…

One of the ways we maintain diversity is through offering sponsorship to at least one third of all participants on our leadership training programmes.

Not because it’s a nice thing to do – but because it’s an essential part of our strategy to create positive change at scale.

+ It supports women leading change who would not otherwise be able to afford it develop competence and connection to scale their impact.

+ These women model courage and purpose and bring many aspects of diversity to the group. It re-calibrates perspective as it allows participants to be exposed to people in less wealthy regions – not as victims but as ‘people like me’ and exemplars of possibility.

+ It channels resources from more wealthy to less wealthy places – not from guilt or charity – but as a genuine desire to be part of something extraordinary alongside excellent women.

+ It shifts organisational understanding about selling products, setting up supply chains and other commercial interaction with other countries.

We are so grateful to each of you for your support of She Leads Change – for every woman, and every organisation who sponsors one of these places.  There is so much more we can do together.

Can you help?

We’d love support in any of these three areas:

1. Insight and help with grant funding (as an expert or enthusiast)
2. Growing a small team of creative thinkers who will meet regularly to grow, align and launch this initiative
3. Introductions to organisations who you think would love to connect and partner alongside us

If you can offer your help in any of these areas – or all three (!) – please drop us a line – we’d love to see an increase in more women like Htwe Htwe stepping into their fullest potential and leading change in their communities around the world.

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