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• Fortune 1000 companies led by female CEOs companies reported returns 226% higher than the S&P 500 (Boston-based trading firm Quantopian.)
• Companies with at least 30% female leaders in senior management experienced a 15% increase in profitability (Peterson Institute for Global Economics study.)
• Return on Equity of 10.1% per year versus 7.4% with strong female leadership at the helm in a study of 4,000 public companies from across the globe (MSCI Research in 2015.) 

Source: Women Are Creating the Glass Ceiling and Have the Power to End It, Nancy Parsons, 2019

With greater women in leadership, the very definition of leadership is evolving, injecting greater heart. 

Both the masculine (the ‘forging’) and feminine (with ‘heart’) are essential - neither is better than the other.  

Over the years, many women have felt that to rise in leadership they had to fit into a traditionally defined mould and abandon their authentic leadership.  

Gutsy leaders like New Zealand’s Prime Minister, Jacinda Arden, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, Provincial Health Officer for British Columbia, are examples of leaders ‘forging a new era with heart’, injecting greater authenticity into their leadership with compassion and empathy. 

Trailblazing more women in leadership is a complex, systemic change that requires numerous intervening solutions that won’t happen overnight. 

One focus area involves empowering women and creating pathways for women to drive their own success, including other executive women to extend a hand to women rising up, but the other part of the solution involves men in the conversation.

The Boston Consulting Group (2018) reports “that among companies where men are actively involved in gender diversity initiatives, 96% report progress. Conversely, among companies where men are not involved, only 30% show progress.” 

Plans are underway to provide a platform for male leaders visibly sponsoring women to share their best practices to perpetuate what is working. 

A waitlist has begun for mixed-gender Circles to give voice to men who want to share their struggles and successes learning how best to support and sponsor women.  

Source:

Women Are Creating the Glass Ceiling and Have the Power to End It, Nancy Parsons, 2019

Women have come a long way but it’s short-sighted to think we’re done.  

Gutsy Leadership Circles focus on the only part of the solution entirely within a woman’s control: harnessing their own power to find their confident voice and deshackle themselves from expectations no longer serving.

Research tells us there is a strong case for cultivating greater confidence in women who want to lead. 

• Women outscored men in 17 of the 19 leadership competencies BUT women’s self-assessments did not reflect the same confidence (Harvard Business Review, (HBR) 2018.)
• Women hold back from promotions for fear of failing to meet qualifications (HBR (2014.)
• HBR (2019) “As our data on confidence shows, there’s a need for organizations to give more encouragement to women. Leaders can assure them of their competence and encourage them to seek promotions earlier in their careers.” 

GUTSY LEADERSHIP CIRCLES ARE THE WELLSPRING THAT CULTIVATE CONFIDENCE, INFLUENCE AND ORGANIZATIONAL RESULTS.  

We empower women to:

• Stand more fully and consistently in their power.
• Unearth a confident voice that doesn’t sacrifice femininity.
• Overcome fear programming and limiting beliefs. 
• Shake striving for ‘superwoman status’ as a go-to strategy for confidence.
• Create more space for visioning and strategic thinking with mindfulness and intuition.

All realized through a peer-learning format.  

Research suggests that female leaders realize better results belonging to a peer group that explores topics salient to their leadership, supporting unapologetic ambition (HBR (2018.)

Sources:

• On Women in Leadership, Harvard Business Review, 2018
• Research: Women Score Higher Than Men in Most Leadership Skills, HBR, 2019
• Why Women Don’t Apply for Jobs Unless They’re 100% Qualified, HBR, 2014

• Executive presence, greater stakeholder influence and stronger impact. 
• Effectively lead broader, higher profile portfolios by forging relationships with influencers in diverse areas of the business, gaining insight into the interrelatedness of their daily operations.
• Make the “tough calls” more clearly and decisively.
• Take greater initiative and healthy risk by seizing new opportunities not yet envisioned by others. 
• More effectively navigate ambiguity, high stake issues and balancing what’s best for the people and organization.
• Greater productivity, prioritizing time on highest-yielding activities.
• Strategic perspective and vision.
• Higher-performing teams: better results, stronger engagement and lower attrition through stronger leadership overall. 
• Clarity on and advocate unique talents and skills. 
• Envision and advocate ideas to leverage talents and skills and benefit the organization.
• Legacy through mentoring and sponsoring other female leaders.

The program consists of three phases: time spent during the Circle, time between Circles and support beyond the conclusion of the Program.

1. During the Circle: Agenda 

• Present and discuss research and thought leadership.
• Apply research: deep dialog, Peer Coaching and Leadership Coaching via Facilitator. 
• Unpack 2-3 current challenges facing leaders: Peer Coaching and Leadership Coaching via Facilitator. 

2. Support Between Circles

• Check-Ins: Peer Coaching and Leadership Coaching by the Facilitator (virtual).
• Peer support through the private Facebook community.

3. Post-Program Support

• Optional Alumni Check-Ins (extra fee) + Private Facebook community. 

Our unconventional topics weave thought leadership and research throughout and lead to strong, confident leadership and organizational results.  

Module 1: “Busy as a Badge of Honour” & What’s Your “Why”?

We explore the space women are allowing in their life for their deepest aspirations.  

Overscheduling and hustling for that which doesn’t serve leaves little room for what does. 

Overextending and striving for ‘superwoman’ status is a go-to strategy for confidence and achievement for countless women, robbing them of their potency and power and usually leads to burnout.  Burnout costs women personally as well as their organizations in lost time, lower engagement and poor productivity and results.

Research by Harvard Business Review (2018) recommends that women focus less on trying to fit a leadership mould and more on finding their deeper purpose as a means of accessing their power and influence.

Authenticity and finding one’s leadership voice is birthed from a place of knowing oneself and the discernment of one’s highest values, purpose, strengths and weaknesses.

Module 2: Getting in Our Own Way: Fears, Limiting Beliefs & Armour

Women themselves can be their biggest impediment to realizing their goals.  A safe environment is created so women can get real about the ways they sabotage their success and how they internalize challenges. 

Overcoming fear programming and limiting beliefs is vital to women ‘leaning in’ more with their ideas, recommendations, rebukes, especially when stakes are high.

Research proves that one of the biggest barriers to leadership effectiveness unique to female leaders is their tendency to worry which is usually fueled by fear (Parsons (2018)).

Module 3: Stand in your Power 

Women know what it feels like to fully embody their most brilliant self but often struggle choosing to stand in that over their fear.  We help women become more comfortable standing in their power more fully and more often.

Women are generally programmed to not stand out, to be nice, to not rock the boat.  All of which are death traps for any leader.

We help women understand the source of their power to stand more fully and consistently in it for greater propensity to influence and achieve outcomes.

Module 4: Self-Compassion: Riding the Edge

We explore practical tools to ride the exciting (and scary) edge so a woman's power outshines their fear.  It takes courage and self-compassion and we guide women through the steps.

Women are hard on themselves and research supports that women suffer more from negative internal self-talk, aka imposter syndrome (Parsons (2018)).

Self-Compassion is a leading-edge approach supported by research and has been proven to quell negative messages, build a greater appreciation for strengths and confidence.

Module 5: Creating Space: Mindfulness and Intuition

Breaking old patterns that relinquish a woman's power and brilliance over their fears requires space between stimulus and response.  This requires a special skill of mindfulness and listening to intuition.

HBR’s research (2018) of 2816 executives from 149 countries revealed that women scored higher than men in nine out of ten leadership competencies -- everything except envisioning.  An essential aspect of visioning is the ability to step out of the operational thinking mode and switch the brain to a broader, more expansive level of thinking.  The first step is creating the empty space with nothing to “do” except brainstorm with whitespace which stops leaders out of the gate because of their discomfort not “doing” and “getting things done”.  We help support comfort with this transition.

The mounds of research and data to support the benefits of mindfulness, cultivated through meditation, is astounding.  

Similarly powerful is intuition which is typically high in women, though, without the confidence and space to listen to it, is often overlooked as a powerful tool in a leader's toolbox.

Module 6: Managing Energy + Self-Care

Self-care is beyond bubble baths.  It is a way of being that is mindful of the numerous realms of energy including physical, mental, spiritual and emotional.  Women learn how to replenish each and how they get depleted.

Internalizing challenges, opportunities and pressure in unhealthy and/or unconscious ways hold women back.  Not taking care of themselves often leads to burnout which costs everyone dearly, including the organization.

Module 7: Self-Advocacy: At Work + At Home

Family demands are cited by HBR (2018) as one of the 4 biggest obstacles to a female’s career advancement.  This is real and we unpack how to advocate needs and boundaries in both the personal and professional realms.

Further, HBR’s (2018) research indicates that until women feel like their home life is taken care of (especially if they have children or caring for sick or ageing family members) they hold back in their professional realm. 

Negotiating arrangements with their partner and personal network to cover the demands of their personal lives requires the ability to advocate for themselves, thus freeing time for greater leadership responsibilities.

Finding one’s voice is a necessity in the organizational realm, especially if a woman wants to influence at the executive level.   

Module 8: Authentic Leadership 2.0

Timing is ripe to redefine what authentic leadership looks like beyond embodying a version attempting to fit into the traditional definition.  

We explore finding one’s authentic leadership voice, advocating for needs and ideas to improve one's influence and impact; bold yet still ‘feminine’ and true to themselves.

We firmly believe in personal accountability and explore how to be patient and resilient, not bitter, “bitchy” or edgy blaming and becoming a victim when their authentic leadership is not met with 100% openness.

We are all building the bridge as we walk on it as we evolve leadership 2.0 and there is no playbook.   We need to meet that challenge with grace.

Sources: 

• On Women in Leadership, Harvard Business Review, 2018
• Research: Women Score Higher Than Men in Most Leadership Skills, HBR, 2019
• Women Are Creating the Glass Ceiling and Have the Power to End It, Nancy Parsons, 2019