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This one stopped me.

Pam came to a session and left with something I did not explicitly teach. An awareness of how deeply the words we use every day, without thinking, are rooted in biases so impactful and so deeply embedded that most of us have never stopped to examine them.

That is the moment I live for as a speaker and a coach. Not when someone learns a new technique. When someone sees something they cannot unsee.

Because once you see it, you get to choose. And choice is where everything changes.

If you want that kind of experience in a room with your team or your organization, I would love to be there with you. And if you are a woman leader ready to do that work on yourself, Free to Lead is my next workshop inside SheFirst that is coming July 24. The link is in the comments to learn more.

"I think Gretchen makes you think about how things as simple as words can be rooted in biases that are so impactful and deep." — Pam J., Women`s LeadHERship Conference

#keynotespeaker #coachapproachtoleadership #womeninleadership #leadershipdevelopment #executivepresence #shefirst

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Open post by gretchenhydo with ID 18171767194421172

This one stopped me.

Pam came to a session and left with something I did not explicitly teach. An awareness of how deeply the words we use every day, without thinking, are rooted in biases so impactful and so deeply embedded that most of us have never stopped to examine them.

That is the moment I live for as a speaker and a coach. Not when someone learns a new technique. When someone sees something they cannot unsee.

Because once you see it, you get to choose. And choice is where everything changes.

If you want that kind of experience in a room with your team or your organization, I would love to be there with you. And if you are a woman leader ready to do that work on yourself, Free to Lead is my next workshop inside SheFirst that is coming July 24. The link is in the comments to learn more.

"I think Gretchen makes you think about how things as simple as words can be rooted in biases that are so impactful and deep." — Pam J., Women's LeadHERship Conference

#keynotespeaker #coachapproachtoleadership #womeninleadership #leadershipdevelopment #executivepresence #shefirst

This is the one that matters most to me. And the one that gets the most distorted.

Power in the Coach Approach to Leadership is not domination. It is not force. It is not making yourself bigger by making others smaller.

Power is ownership. It is attaching your name to your recommendations instead of floating them out anonymously. It is holding your position when someone pushes back instead of softening the moment there is friction. It is walking into a room knowing you have a right to be there and leading from that knowing rather than waiting for someone to confirm it.

Most leaders have the capability for this kind of Power. What they have not always had is permission. Internal permission. The belief that claiming their authority is not the same as being difficult or demanding or too much.

It is not. Claiming your authority is just leadership. And it is the most important thing we build inside the Coach Approach to Leadership.

This is the fourth of four posts on each of the 4 Ps. If you missed any of them they are on my profile. Save the whole series.

#coachapproachtoleadership #executiveleadership #leadershipdevelopment #executivepresence #thoughtleadership #organizationalleadership

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Open post by gretchenhydo with ID 18105641231000093

Today is Juneteenth, a day that marks the end of slavery in the United States and the beginning of a freedom that had already been declared but not yet delivered.

I think about that gap a lot. Between what has been declared and what has actually been delivered. Between the rights that exist on paper and the lived experience of people trying to exercise them.

In leadership work, I talk about the gap between authority that is given and authority that is actually felt and recognized. For too many people, especially women of color and Black leaders, that gap is not just an internal challenge. It is a systemic one. Built over generations. Still very much present in rooms that were not designed with them in mind.

Juneteenth is a reminder that freedom takes more than a declaration. It takes people who are willing to do the work to actually close the gap.

Today I honor that history. And I recommit to doing the work, in the rooms I am in and in the work I teach, to make sure that the leadership development I offer serves everyone who deserves to be in the room.

#juneteenth #leadershipdevelopment #inclusion #coachapproachtoleadership #executiveleadership #leadership

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Open post by gretchenhydo with ID 17894857746350366

Today is Juneteenth, a day that marks the end of slavery in the United States and the beginning of a freedom that had already been declared but not yet delivered.

I think about that gap a lot. Between what has been declared and what has actually been delivered. Between the rights that exist on paper and the lived experience of people trying to exercise them.

In leadership work, I talk about the gap between authority that is given and authority that is actually felt and recognized. For too many people, especially women of color and Black leaders, that gap is not just an internal challenge. It is a systemic one. Built over generations. Still very much present in rooms that were not designed with them in mind.

Juneteenth is a reminder that freedom takes more than a declaration. It takes people who are willing to do the work to actually close the gap.

Today I honor that history. And I recommit to doing the work, in the rooms I am in and in the work I teach, to make sure that the leadership development I offer serves everyone who deserves to be in the room.

#juneteenth #leadershipdevelopment #inclusion #coachapproachtoleadership #executiveleadership #leadership

This voice message came into my inbox and I have been sitting with it ever since.

Because she named something I hear from women constantly. The over-functioning. The fixer mode. The feeling that you have to solve everyone else`s problems just to earn your seat at the table.

That is not a personal failing. It is a pattern that gets conditioned into women over a lifetime. And it is one of the things we go directly at inside SheFirst.

When the work lands in someone`s inbox at exactly the right moment and they print it out and put it on their wall — that is why I do this.

Free to Lead is coming July 24. If this is hitting close to home, I want you in that room. Link in the comments.

"Thank you for echoing it and giving me even more validation for why I`m leaning into this — the over-functioning that so many women get pulled reflexively into. This fixer mode. Feeling conditioned to over-function and solve for other people just to have validity and a seat at the table." — Fellow Coach and SheFirst Community Member

#shefirst #womeninleadership #selfleadership #coachapproachtoleadership #leadershipdevelopment executivepresence

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Open post by gretchenhydo with ID 18072946052678270

This voice message came into my inbox and I have been sitting with it ever since.

Because she named something I hear from women constantly. The over-functioning. The fixer mode. The feeling that you have to solve everyone else's problems just to earn your seat at the table.

That is not a personal failing. It is a pattern that gets conditioned into women over a lifetime. And it is one of the things we go directly at inside SheFirst.

When the work lands in someone's inbox at exactly the right moment and they print it out and put it on their wall — that is why I do this.

Free to Lead is coming July 24. If this is hitting close to home, I want you in that room. Link in the comments.

"Thank you for echoing it and giving me even more validation for why I'm leaning into this — the over-functioning that so many women get pulled reflexively into. This fixer mode. Feeling conditioned to over-function and solve for other people just to have validity and a seat at the table." — Fellow Coach and SheFirst Community Member

#shefirst #womeninleadership #selfleadership #coachapproachtoleadership #leadershipdevelopment executivepresence

I have walked probably a thousand miles at this park. Maybe more.

I have lived in this area for over 25 years and walking is one of the things I do for my mental health. Not for weight loss. Not to hit a step count. For my mind.

I have had some of the best conversations of my life on this trail. With friends. With God. With myself. This is actually where I was walking when something shifted and I knew that Break Free From Your Dirty Little Secrets was going to be a ten stage secret breaking system. Then I went across the street and got tacos. You know, balance.

My mind is busy. It is always going. And when I get outside and feel the rhythm of my feet on the ground, something settles. The noise quiets. I can hear myself think again.

What do you do for your mind? Not your body, not your productivity, not your to-do list. What is the thing that actually lets you rest?

Make sure you have one. It matters more than most people give it credit for.

#selfleadership #mentalhealth #womeninleadership #personalgrowth #coachapproach leadership

2 1

Open post by gretchenhydo with ID 18013110542914194

I have walked probably a thousand miles at this park. Maybe more.

I have lived in this area for over 25 years and walking is one of the things I do for my mental health. Not for weight loss. Not to hit a step count. For my mind.

I have had some of the best conversations of my life on this trail. With friends. With God. With myself. This is actually where I was walking when something shifted and I knew that Break Free From Your Dirty Little Secrets was going to be a ten stage secret breaking system. Then I went across the street and got tacos. You know, balance.

My mind is busy. It is always going. And when I get outside and feel the rhythm of my feet on the ground, something settles. The noise quiets. I can hear myself think again.

What do you do for your mind? Not your body, not your productivity, not your to-do list. What is the thing that actually lets you rest?

Make sure you have one. It matters more than most people give it credit for.

#selfleadership #mentalhealth #womeninleadership #personalgrowth #coachapproach leadership

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A day of leadership-building for women: Inspiration and support

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