Creating Space for Authentic Conversations Between Women Leaders

𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘤𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘢𝘭 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘢 𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘴 𝘴𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘣𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘤𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘵𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘶𝘱 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯? They were all turning points—the kind that crack open your identity and whisper: “𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐦 𝐈 𝐧𝐨𝐰?” In February, I had the privilege of facilitating and holding space for a deeply personal, storytelling-led leadership session on career and life transitions- A closed-room gathering of women leaders supported by Pankaj Rai (He/Him/His) -our ally and co-created with the dynamic Prof. Vasanthi Srinivasan, Professor of OB and HR at Indian Institute of Management Bangalore, as moderator. These weren’t polished #LinkedIn success stories. They were raw, tender, sometimes unfinished narratives of change. And in that space—intimate, brave, and honest—we saw the power of being witnessed. Irina Ghose, MD, at Microsoft, India, spoke about her journey of experiencing motherhood guilt when leaving her toddler behind for a high-stakes US assignment—only to be asked for her résumé the night before departure. She carried the weight of “India Shining.” 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘪𝘴𝘦. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘦𝘥. Teja Manakame, ex-VP, Dell Technologies, and one of the first women in the Indian Air Force, started over in IT with colleagues a decade younger. Then came sudden vision loss—a health scare that made her rethink everything. Later, she left her Director role in the corporate world for the social sector. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘪𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘚𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘳𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘦. Geetha Manjunath, Founder of Niramai Health Analytix, a soft-spoken scientist, helped build India’s first supercomputer and earned a PhD at 40. But it was the loss of a cousin to breast cancer that moved her most. When her company shelved a healthtech project, she asked: 𝘐𝘧 𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭? 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘮𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘣𝘪𝘳𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘕𝘪𝘳𝘢𝘮𝘢𝘪. As the facilitator, I wasn’t just guiding the room. I was inviting pause. Creating space for truth-telling, head-nodding, and sighs of recognition. Every woman in the circle was living her own transition. And for once, she didn’t have to do it alone. Transitions are rarely linear.  Often messy.  Always sacred. They invite us to ask harder questions. To stretch.  To shed. To make meaning in the in-between. So here’s a gentle provocation for you today: 𝐖𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐫𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐭𝐡 𝐦𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐞𝐞? You don’t have to have it all figured out. Sometimes, you need to feel your way forward.

Hard truths are uncomfortable. But leadership isn’t about comfort. It’s about confronting reality, especially when it is the lived experience of women in your organisation. I have lost count of how many leaders I have briefed, from mid-level managers to board directors, who are genuinely shocked when confronted with the facts about how women experience their workplace. Truth bomb! Surprise is not a strategy. Denial is not leadership. Ignorance is not innocence. If you don’t intentionally and regularly listen to the women in your organisation, you’re failing them and your business. In this article, I’m not just telling you why you need to listen — I’m giving you the exact steps on how to do it. This includes my Leaders Guide to Listening (to Women). It’s designed to take you beyond dashboards and surveys into honest, meaningful conversations that will change how you lead.

Success can be isolating - but what if the cure for loneliness lies not in being less ambitious, dimming your light, or settling below your potential, but in connecting with others just as driven as you? We continue from our post yesterday, addressing women in leadership who identify as successful, yet feeling lonely or alone in their leadership journey. Now, for many women leaders, the pressures of leadership can create barriers to meaningful connections. However, research shows that support networks both within and outside of work are powerful antidotes to this isolation. Building these intentional connections provides the emotional support, authentic relationships, shared experiences, and practical support that help women leaders not just survive, but truly thrive. Fostering these networks can be a game-changer for you as a woman in leadership. Research from Harvard Business Review reveals that women in senior leadership roles often find it difficult to form genuine peer networks within their organizations. Thus, it becomes harder to find the emotional safety needed to discuss the unique pressures you face. Intentional networking with other women in leadership, both inside and outside of the organization, is crucial. These networks don’t just provide career advancement opportunities, but they create a space for shared experiences, where women can openly discuss challenges, strategies, and successes without fear of judgment. This area is personal to me because it was part of my experience as a senior leader. I had a couple of false starts as I began looking for help. The initial people I reached out to and ask for support were not able to grasp what it was that I was looking for. That was really disappointing. However, the need was still there. I continued to search and explore possible spaces I could fit in as well as peers who could relate with what I was going through. Step by step out of my comfort zone led me to a thriving support community that continues to this day. Research from HBR shows that leaders who have strong support networks experience higher resilience, better decision-making, and increased job satisfaction, all of which enhance both personal well-being and professional performance. Building a support network isn’t just a way to cope with loneliness. It is a pathway to more fulfilling and impactful leadership. When women leaders invest in authentic connections with friends, peers, mentors, and coaches, they open doors to shared wisdom, mutual encouragement, and new perspectives that empower them to lead with confidence. A supportive network essential for women leaders who want to thrive, inspire others, and create lasting change. Do you have a support network in place? Or, are you searching for one? #leadership #africa #leadershipdevelopment #professionalwomen #personaldevelopment

💎 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗻𝗼 𝗼𝗻𝗲’𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀. Recently I had a Leadership RISE session with a senior director. What she thought would be a conversation about her current challenges became something much deeper. “𝘐 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘦𝘹𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘳𝘨𝘢𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯,” she said. “𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘭𝘺? 𝘐’𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘨𝘨𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘰𝘯 𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘦.” Then she said: “𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘐’𝘮 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴.” So I told her: You’re not. Here’s what we need to talk about: 👉 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗪𝗢 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗰𝗲: 1. Leading organisational change - strategy, delivery, influence, culture. 2. A deeper recalibration - questioning old success models, rejecting systems that diminish you, and redefining what authentic leadership really looks like. Most leadership development programs treat these as separate journeys. But the women I see leading with real impact? They know the truth: ✨ 𝐒𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐨𝐭𝐡 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 - 𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞. That self-questioning you’re experiencing? It’s not a weakness. It’s your edge. 𝐀𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 👇 You’ve likely seen this in the women you lead with, partner with or support. Maybe you’re feeling it in your own leadership evolution. When technical expertise stops being enough. When you start questioning systems you once accepted. When you realise change requires a different kind of courage. ***** If this resonates, let’s talk. ✅ I work with senior leaders navigating this dual shift through private coaching and high-impact group sessions. ✅ I also partner with organisations to spark these deeper conversations inside their leadership teams. 📩 Message me to explore coaching for yourself or to bring this conversation into your senior leadership group. #WomenInLeadership #ExecutiveCoaching #AuthenticLeadership #LeadershipDevelopment #ConsciousLeadership