Female Specific Challenges

If you are a woman reading this, you probably encounter and attempt to balance a particular set of contradictions:
Be confident. Don’t be intimidating.
Be assertive. Don’t be unlikeable.
Lean in. Don’t leave your family behind.
Have ambition. Don’t be too ambitious.
It’s tiring to try to balance that needle.

The external contradictions seep into the internal wiring. Your brain might be trained to believe things like:
Assertiveness = Aggression.
Self-promotion = Boastfulness.
Career = Relationship Failure.

You may be conditioned minimize your wins. Say sorry too much for being who you are. Think of everyone else’s emotions and manage everyone else’s expectations, but you end up leaving yourself last on your list.

The fallacy of having it all is the fallacy of balance. Balance implies splitting everything down the middle. If you attempt to do that, you will always feel like they are failing. You have seasons. Seasons where career needs to be at the forefront. Seasons where family needs to be at the forefront. Seasons where friendships need to be at the forefront. Seasons where rest needs to be at the forefront. In each season, it’s not about balance but instead about sustainable rhythms and healthy routines that meet the primary needs of what matters most in each season. It may not feel like it right now, but you are able to live in those seasons without guilt for what is temporarily on the back burner.

God knew this long before we tried to figure it out on our own. Ecclesiastes tells us that there is a season for everything. There are unique challenges that you face when it comes to your career path. You feel you the double bind of needing to walk a tightrope between competence and likability that men are not burdened with. It is a known fact that you very well might be penalized for the very things men are praised for.

It’s not that you need to be more masculine or to change who you are, but rather understand this phenomenon, so that you can interact with it on a subconscious level. Even when things are going swell, perhaps the eggshells still exist. You don’t have to fit the traditional view of masculine leadership in order to lead. We can lead authentically as the woman you are. The very things that are feminine and differentiate you from masculine aren’t limitations, but rather they are strengths that God has given you. You can use your intuition with poise. You can be attractive to those with whom you engage and move with dignity. You don’t have to have to posture. You don’t have to collapse. You can remain composure and feel good about who God is helping you to become.

Let’s chat. I have a lot of good information to share with you. Book a session and we will create a game plan designed to help you to become authentically you without fighting for acknowledgement.

Or, if you have any questions, send me a message. I’d be happy to assist!