Goddess in the Boardroom
This article was originally published on ERA magazine, 2021
We all have defining moments, occasions in our lives that change the trajectory of the path we are on. Mine happened when I noticed a big lump in the side of my neck, 40,000 feet in the air on route to Europe.
It was May 2010 and I had just been promoted to Executive general manager of a large Australian Travel Business – a big and exciting job, responsible for 5,000 people and $7B in sales. After 20 years of hard work and dedication, I had finally made it to the top of the ladder. I was on my way to London for the global budget presentations when I noticed the lump. Instead of having my moment of professional glory with the executive team, I was in a Dr’s surgery being diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
As I look back now, 11 years later, after so much personal work on my health and well-being, I realise how burned out I was back then. Burning the candle, working like a maniac, desperately trying to prove myself, drinking too much to relieve my stress and beleaguered with anxiety about the “imposter syndrome” I would feel on a daily basis.
On the long road to recovery, I started to see that the problem was deeper than just burnout. What I had been doing for my 20-year career, was leading by copying all the men around me – push yourself, don’t have feelings (if you do, you are accused of being too soft and unable to make good business decisions), keep going even when you’re tired, sick, bleeding, emotional. Push down all of the empathy and feeling in order to drive the business forward – at any cost.
My beautiful, cyclical, sensitive, feminine nervous system had had enough.
Once in remission, I quit my job and set about on a new path. First priority was deep healing for myself and my own feminine essence. This happened by slowing down and starting to listen to the wisdom and intuition of my body. I started meditating, yoga and I journeyed with a Shaman for 13 months. This reconnected me back to nature, to the seasons, to my innate feminine and the flowing, creative energy of life. Second priority was to reimagine a new career for myself. I knew I wanted to do something that was aligned with my natural skills of connection and empathy, so I started mentoring female executives.
What I found was not surprising, but quite disturbing - many highly capable women being overlooked for promotions because they often didn’t have the same levels of confidence than their male counterparts. I started to see from my new vantage point how these smart, capable women were being relegated to second place because they were often filled with self-doubt. I was also struck by the bias that exists in business that favours masculine type traits of logic and strategic thinking above the community building and empathy skills that knit organisations together to create incredible outcomes.
Around the same time, I was invited to join 3 different boards. In my small experience, I discovered that the stats do not lie about board composition. Women are largely underrepresented - I read somewhere that there are more men named John on ASX 100 boards than there are women. As the only non-accountant/lawyer, minority woman at the board table, I saw this as a great opportunity to test some of the advice I was giving to other women about believing in the feminine skills. It was time to walk my talk as a confident and compassionate woman.
The patriarchal thinking that has driven the development of the world as we know it has programmed us all to believe, often subconsciously, that success can only be derived through logic and strategy. These things are important, but it is not enough to solve the complex problems we face in the world right now. We need connection, empathy, love and nurturance more than ever. These are the feminine leadership skills that are generally innate in women and available to men too - if they can allow themselves to access them. This is not simply a gender issue as we all have these masculine and feminine traits. However, I believe that it’s time for us to disrobe from our power suits and stop trying to compete and be like men. The world needs women to rise up and for feminine skills to become a major part of the fabric of business development.
Through all of the changes I was experiencing personally, I was inspired to create a leadership program that celebrates feminine skills. I wanted to provide a framework and set of tools that would show women how to value their own strengths and not have to act like men to climb the ladder. I called it Goddess in the Boardroom and the mission is to inspire a new way of leading that supports and promotes the unique and innate talents of women.
Whilst Goddess in the Boardroom is not a specific training course for non-executive director or board roles, the intention is to give women the inner fortitude and self-belief to do whatever they want to do at any level. Whether that be a CEO, a NED or a Mumpreneur.
Through the lens of 7 Leadership Goddess archetypes, we unravel the programming and the illusions that keep us feeling trapped and unfulfilled and worse still, leading to our collective burnout. We don’t need to compete and fight for every crumb at the table. Instead, we can remember who we are and elevate ourselves beyond the mind and ego and the inner stories we tell.
Here is a tiny taste of each of the 7 Goddesses.
The Leadership Goddess of belonging.
This archetype reveals and unravels all the webs of our family stories. The conditioning and programming that we inherited from our culture and our 7 generational genetic, lineage. We unpack all of the codes and downloads that tell us lies about who we are – that we are not enough, not safe, not (insert your own word). She shows us the path to a sense of belonging and connection no matter where we are or what we do. This Goddess also shows us how to tune and tone our nervous system.
The leadership Goddess of creativity.
This archetype connects us to our unique feminine, cyclical nature and the ultimate creativity that we hold in our bodies and wombs. We remember the power that women hold though a monthly cycle and our ability bleed for a week and not die. We celebrate and remember that we are the creative essence of the universe itself and learn how to harness it to create positive relationships and steer change in all of our environments. We find ways to be present with the wounds and shadows that get in the way of our uniqueness. We learn about taking ultimate accountability for living our best life and letting go of the addictions and habits that no longer serve our highest good.
The leadership Goddess of power.
This archetype teaches us about the shadowy implications of life lived in the ego. Phobic superiority and phobic inferiority are the different sides of the same coin of ego. We learn that when we seek power outside of ourselves, we are unsustainable. This Goddess shows us the pathway out of the triumvirate power web of Bully, Victim and Fixer that renders us trapped in the old patterns of self-destructive behaviour. She gives us the tools to respond to life rather to react from our old wounds.
The leadership Goddess of compassion.
This is the archetypical heart-based leader. She is able to lead with empathy, compassion, care, kindness. In the face of hardship, she also holds the high frequency tools of forgiveness and gratitude. By harnessing and celebrating these powers, we are able to bring out the best in everyone around us. To build community and coalitions and to ensure that all people are thriving.
The leadership Goddess of communication.
This archetype shows us how to use our voice to speak the truth of our heart. Often, as humans, we speak the truth of our ego and wounds, but this Goddess transcends ego and is able to access the wisdom of the heart. She can be direct and loving, incisive and supportive. This is the connection to the great feminine oracle that can move mountains with a few well-chosen words.
The Leadership Goddess of wisdom.
This archetype shows us how to access all parts of our minds – the creative and logical parts. The greatest gift of this Goddess is the alchemising of knowledge and experience that shows us the gold of discernment. The ability to observe all of life’s circumstances to make choices that resonate deeply with our truth or for the highest good.
The leadership Goddess of Interconnectedness.
She opens the doorway to discovering our grand purpose and grappling with the deep and complex topic of our legacy. The seeds we plant in a garden we may never see. We see that all lives are interconnected and influence one another through our unique footprint. We learn to honour our connection to the whole picture, rather than our personal pursuits.
On this journey, we learn how to embody each of these archetypal Goddess energies and using their gifts and lessons, we elevate and remember our true nature. Having experienced this program with a number of women over the past 5 years, I have been amazed about the transformative impact of a group of women, coming together and celebrating feminine skills. Many have gone on to big promotions, whilst others have pivoted and taken a new path. No matter what we do in life, when we bring more connection, compassion and love, things change for the better.
The Dalai Lama said it best at the Peace conference in Vancouver, 2009 “The world will be saved by the western woman”.
This is a call to action to all women that we can no longer ignore or deny.