The Power of a Woman
In honor of Mother’s Day, this week’s journal is written directly for women, and in honor of all women.
Think about the last time someone looked to you for guidance, comfort, or strength. They came to you for a reason—they knew you would hold the space they needed, and they knew they could trust you. You may not have called yourself a leader in that moment, but that is exactly who you were.
All women are leaders, but most never acknowledge it during their lifetime.
Most women recoil from the title of leader. They dismiss it. They make excuses as to why it’s not them. They associate leadership with being difficult, aggressive, and “too much”—all the things we are taught not to be from a young age so we can be the “good girl”.
But that outdated definition of leadership is not what I’m talking about, and it’s definitely not the leadership that women naturally embody.
Female leadership happens subtly and quietly, yet the results are so profound:
It happens in kitchens over an early morning cup of coffee.
It happens during late night tuck-ins and goodnights that extend into reassuring conversations.
It happens when a friend sits with you in your pain without trying to fix or change you.
It happens during a hug that’s held a few seconds longer than expected, or a small squeeze of a hand.
It happens when a woman faces uncertainty and challenges, and still chooses to show up as her whole, authentic self.
This leadership is the true power of women.
Female leadership is rooted in holding space for others—showing them what’s possible through guidance, support, love, and unwavering belief in them.
But most of us live our lives with no idea that we possess this power. And even fewer of us would ever call any of this leadership.
All Women Are Leaders
The one role that unites all women—whether mothers, sisters, daughters, or friends—is the role of leader. Not because it has been assigned to us, but because it is at the core of who we are and how we show up in the world.
As daughters, we often lead our families through change. We heal patterns that have been carried for generations—choosing differently, modeling what is possible when someone decides to break a cycle.
As sisters and friends, we lead through empathy and example. We celebrate each other’s joys and hold space for each other's grief. We show the women in our lives what courage looks like, what boundaries look like, what it means to choose yourself without apology, and we show up to support each other through all of it.
As mothers, we are the first leaders our children ever know. Before they even understand language, they are reading us—our tone, our presence, our emotional truth. We shape their values, their sense of safety, their belief in themselves and in the world. There is no greater leadership than that.
Think about the women who shaped you—a mother, a teacher, a mentor, a friend. Chances are they never called themselves leaders either. But their influence lives in you. In the way you speak to yourself, the standards you hold, and the courage you are able to access in your hardest moments.
That is the legacy of female leadership, and that is the same legacy you are creating right now for everyone in your life, whether you realize it or not.
Why Dismiss Your Own Power?
If all women are leaders, why do so many of us recoil from the title?
It’s a question I’ve sat with for quite a while. The moment someone suggests that a woman is a leader, she deflects. She laughs it off and minimizes it. She lists all the reasons why that word doesn't apply to her. She makes excuses and calls it "too much."
This is not modesty. It is conditioning.
From an early age, we are taught that taking up space is dangerous. That having influence is arrogant. That being too visible, too confident, or too powerful makes you difficult. And so we learn to make ourselves smaller and unassuming. Yet we continue to lead quietly, invisibly, and without ever claiming the power of what we are doing.
People pleasing keeps us focused on everyone else's needs so that we never have to sit with our own power. Perfectionism tells us we are not qualified enough, experienced enough, or polished enough to be called a leader. And living divided—showing up as a different version of ourselves in every role means that no one ever sees the full force of who we actually are.
The result is a woman who is leading with one hand tied behind her back. Doing the work of a leader without ever standing in the fullness of what that means.
And the cost of that is enormous—not just for her, but for every person whose life she touches.
It’s Time You Own It
Women come to work with me feeling invisible—unfulfilled at work, taken for granted at home, uncertain of their purpose and their place. These women do not see themselves as leaders. The self image they have is of someone who is constantly trying to keep everything together and manage the circumstances of their life.
Through our work together, something begins to shift for these women. Each start to see the ways they are already leading in their lives—the way colleagues instinctively turn to them when things get difficult, the way their children model their empathy and calm in difficult moments, the way friends described them as the person they turn to first for clarity.
They have been leaders all along. They just have never given themselves permission to call it that.
When we consciously step into the truth of our leadership everything changes. We stop waiting to be chosen and start choosing ourselves. We stop apologizing for having opinions and start sharing them with confidence. We stop shrinking and start taking up the space that has always been ours to occupy.
That is what becomes possible when a woman owns her power consciously. She stops managing obligations and starts leading with intention. She stops apologizing for her perceived limitations and starts acting in alignment with her core values.
This is not control, aggressiveness, or manipulation. This is true power. And it’s available to every woman, right now, exactly as you are.
The resulting ripple effect is extraordinary. Because when one woman steps into her power, she gives everyone around her permission to do the same.
You Are Already Leading
You do not need a title. You do not need a following. You do not need anyone's permission or validation to be a leader.
You already are one.
The question is not whether you are leading—it is whether you are doing it consciously. When you consciously choose leadership, you show up with intention behind your actions, clarity about your values, and the full force of who you are. You stop managing aspects of your life from a place of fear and obligation, and instead you start leading from strength, purpose, and grace.
Because here is the truth that I come back to again and again, both in my own life and in my work with women:
The world does not need more women waiting to be recognized as leaders. It needs more women who already know they are.
So I want to ask you something and I want you to sit with it honestly:
Where in your life are you already leading? And what would change if you stopped waiting for permission to own it?
I'd love to hear your answer. Because your leadership matters more than you know.
Photo credit: D. Bana Photography
