As Coach in Residence to 3 women’s accelerators: KTN Women in Innovation, NatWest SETsquared Back Her Business and Edinburgh University Edinburgh Innovations Power Her Up programme, I have collated the collective wisdom of 36 women founders and innovators from all over the world in the last year.
To celebrate International Women’s Day 2021, here are their sagest nuggets on grit, guts, brains, hearts and humour:
1. Breathe…deeply…. your brain is more powerful when flooded with oxygen
2. Care for yourself, be kind to yourself and nourish yourself
Think about the quality of your influences
What content are you consuming and how nourishing is it?
Where is your attention and awareness going?
Be proactive about this, which is motivating in itself
Ask the right people for the right help
Find your balance
3. Be self-guided
Tap into your inner energy, your intuition
Find your Inspiration – that might be sports psychology, mindful practice or whatever is right for you to keep your inner guiding flame alight
Set your sights high and stay connected to what the world needs of you
4. Normalise adversity
Adversity builds character and resilience
It is liberating to know it is part of the process
We are all human and experience it – our true power is in subverting it
5. Lay your bedrock of resilience
Refuse to be cowed by difficulty or complexity
Grow in the face adversity
6. Navigate the Barriers or Nos
There is always another way
Standing on your bedrock of resilience, be self-motivated to find the other ways
Learn from overcoming barriers and go again even more determined
Tenacity shapes direction
7. Follow your moral compass
You live with yourself forever
Be part of the change for good
Be on the right side of history
Honour the important things and people in your life
8. Take care of others too
Use your emotional intelligence in equal quantities to your intellectual intelligence
Empathise and connect
Pay constant attention to your relationships and connections
Nurture relationships rather than superficially networking
Reciprocate – if you’ve got it to give, share
Create value
9. People buy people so be yourself
It’s attractive to be authentic, non-judgmental, human
Being who we are meant to be in life captures hearts and minds and builds trust
You will find your ‘tribe’ and can work together to bring what you all need
And enjoy the journey!
10. Create space for reflection, thought, expansion and re-evaluation
You will be glad you did as it gets to the answers of your profoundest questions
Invest in yourself – personal growth is deeply motivating
Be patient… sometimes, you have to slow down to speed up
Alignment is about matching what you say and do with what you think and feel. It takes courage and is worth it
11. Live the creativity and innovation when it all comes together
Shell the heaviness and invite lightness in
Celebrate
Laugh, love and sprinkle your magic wherever you go
To all 36 of you from China to Columbia – in appreciation of your grit, guts, brains, hearts and humour and like all the diverse strong women before you, be the change to create tomorrow’s history.
Ring any bells? If you would like to learn more about how coaching can create space for reflection, thought, expansion and re-evaluation to benefit you and your business, get in touch for a chat +44 (0)7812037728 or victoria@coxenconsultandcoach.com
