"Intimidating" is what a colleague called me recently, at least that is how he experienced me when he first met me about 10 years ago. I was the client (big corporate setting) and he the consultant. Little did he know at the time that far from being a threat — when I became his freelance colleague — we became each other's strongest allies.
When sharing this story with a wise colleague a while ago, she spontaneously described my lived process as: "From corporate Bitch to corporate Witch". You can imagine my initial response to this description and the… "I will never dare to say that out loud." Yet here we are about two years later — and I happily wear it as a badge of honour.
Why? Because, I have come to feel and realise that to bring our best in this world and contribute in a meaningful way we need all parts of us.
Embracing both parts of me allowed me to settle into who I truly am and that which I am here to bring.
The "Bitch" who was needed to manifest and create traction and success in a competitive masculine world.
And the "Witch" (aka wise woman) who emerged as I slowed down, reconnected with my roots — my inner wisdom and my more feminine energy which is needed to truly engage and connect.
Looking back over my professional career, I was who and what I needed to be, when I needed it. And just that mix enables me to bridge the best of both worlds: to understand corporate structures, value chains and deliverables as well as the deep-felt need of employees to be seen, heard and connected.
This for me, is not only the secret recipe for a sustainable and nourishing corporate culture. It is what is needed to lead and inspire the transformations in business and the world today.
And what is needed to innovate, to co-create new services and products and to find creative solutions to societal and business challenges.
As within, so without — if we can accept these polarities in ourselves, we can bring them to life in our work, teams and organisations.