As we near the end of what has been an incredibly long and unpredictable year, you might just find yourself wondering…
what’s possible now?
- Now that the US election is over, and we have entered yet another period of transition.
- Now that we can see with more clarity than ever before that we are a deeply divided humanity.
- Now that we are still in the middle of a global pandemic, with a third wave on the rise and cases increasing daily.
- Now that we have a Black woman poised to step into the role of US Vice President in the coming year.
- Now that we have come to understand that we are racist, and are learning about what that truly means in practice.
- Now that winter is coming – the temperature dropping and days getting shorter.
- Now that the holidays are approaching, and for health reasons many of us can’t spend the kind of time we’d like with the people we most love.
- Now that business hasn’t gone back to usual… and we’re waking up to the fact that it probably never will.
What’s possible now?
If you see yourself as a leader, or person who plays a role in influencing others during this time, you may be feeling exhaustion. You may be feeling relief. You may even be feeling both.
What I've seen in myself over the past few weeks is a desire to "grit my way through" – to push for what’s next…
paired at the same time with a deep and utter, soul-level unwillingness to do so. And it leaves me curious.
Could it be that the era of ‘push’ is over?
When I consider that possibility, my mind gets quite excited. Let’s welcome the feminine! Let’s bring her counter-cultural ways into business. Into politics. Into technology. Into social justice. Let’s transform cultures, companies and countries from the inside out. Let’s restore a state of balance where balance has been lost. Let’s practice real emotional intelligence. Let’s listen more deeply.
These are my values. I know them well. And from practice, and from experience, I know that they are needed now. And know that they work. And I will continue to sing this song from the rooftops, even when it means risking my reputation or my sanity.
And yet. On the heels of my overflowing excitement for the rise of the feminine comes another emotion – a sensation really – that is oh so familiar. One that I continue to resist. The bottom line is: if the era of ‘push’ is truly coming to an end, then something needs to die.
One of the deepest questions I ask my clients (the one that leads to the kind of career-evolving breakthroughs I’m forever sharing about) is the question:
what will you have to let go of, in order to call that in?
It’s not an easy question. Sure, sometimes it’s easy to come up with an answer… because sometimes – maybe often – you already know. But it’s not an easy question to swallow. To be with… authentically. To fully digest.
The answer may be:
- an identity
- a mindset
- a lover or friend
- a perspective on life, leadership or the world at large
- an energy leaking habit that feels oh so good
- an existing job
- a righteousness, resentment or grudge
- an old way of getting, using or demonstrating power that has outlived its time
- a title
- a role
- a name
Once asked, what ensues is the beautiful, natural and sometimes painful process of becoming-and-letting-go. But it takes a whole lot of courage to ask the question.
I believe this is relevant at all levels in the collective consciousness right now – it’s time to ask this question of ourselves. Its time to welcome right-timed completions together. To dare to end things. As a country. As a community. As an organization. As a political party. As a species.
It’s time to face the death of outdated approaches with courage and grace.
And, like a perfect hologram, the needs of our individual human organisms – as experienced through our individual physical body vessels – can serve as a powerful mirror for what’s needed at the collective level now.
In my work as a teacher, coach, mentor and healer, I specialize in taking women leaders (and organizations/teams) through the delicate and exciting process of alchemizing the past, and birthing the next-level versions of themselves, so that they are ready and able to courageously lead next-level change.
Over a decade ago I developed a step-by-step process – now called Guts & Grace – to translate the body’s wisdom into concrete, actionable leadership practices that reveal authentic potential, and enable it to activate from the inside out. Beginning inJanuary of 2021 I'll be taking a new small group coaching cohort of forward-thinking women leaders through this process – leaders who are ready to play bigger and even more authentically this year.
Make no mistake:
2021 is NOT going to be a throwaway year.
I deeply believe that the choices each of us make in the next six-to-twelve months will help to write history for decades to come. RIGHT NOW, we are birthing the future of the feminine, the future business and the future of humanity.
I also believe that forward-thinking women leaders are being called to birth the future of our organizations, our communities, our industries and our countries. And I'm committed to laying embodied foundations that help to smooth the way.
That's why I’m actively recruiting women for the 2021 Guts & Grace Mastermind and Coaching Program who are working on areas like sustainability, ethical tech, social justice or social impact and the evolution of finance to go on a transformational personal and professional journey alongside a group of like-minded women next year.
In case this sounds like you or a woman you know (or you're just curious and want to learn more), you can apply for a complimentary discovery session HERE and download the Guts & Grace Mastermind brochure HERE.
Holding the vision,
LeeAnn
