As a leader for the last 15 years, I always struggled with me. This constant disconnect between who I was in the office and who I was at home with my family or friends weighed on me. I don’t even think I could have really articulated the weight at that time, but it showed up in my life through anxiety. How many of you can relate to waking up ruminating at 3am? The second-guessing what I said or how I acted, the calls on the way home to my BFF reliving the day over and over again, and coming home to my hubby just to have the same conversation again was exhausting! (Probably for them, too!)

I wasn’t being genuine. I wasn’t being congruent. I wasn’t bringing my whole self to the conversation. I was bringing the part that got me there – the tenacious, determined, strategic go-getter. But, I had forgotten the compassionate, caring, warm, empathetic person that is also me.

That’s the genesis of Genuinely You Leadership. I believe that for many women we don’t bring our whole genuine self to the conversation – and I mean all conversations both in and out of the office.

For me, my conversations outside of the office were more compassionate, caring, and warm. Yet didn’t include a lot of the planner, strategic, action-oriented mindset that is also me.

Why not? Maybe I was afraid that if people saw the more action-oriented side of me they’d see me as pushy or annoying. Truthfully, I was scared of what they’d think.

But that’s exactly who I was created to be – all of me. Compassionate, go-getter, kind, strategic, empathetic, results driver. That’s what makes me genuine, real and one-of-a-kind. (And, that goes for you too!)

When I started to mesh what I had originally thought were opposing characteristics together and started to live and lead more genuinely in every situation that is when the magic happened. That’s when I felt more purposeful and more at peace.

That’s how I’m striving to live and lead every day from here on out – genuinely me. It’s a daily conscious decision for me now and one I’m actively pursuing (and you can too!). After all, as one of my favorite sayings appropriately goes, “it’s the journey, not the destination.”

Now, maybe you have a different challenge. Maybe at home you lead more comfortably, but at work you struggle to speak up. It may even be that you struggle to be your genuine self around certain people or in certain situations. Whatever your unique scenario, you feel deep down like you are leaving a part of you out of the equation and you’re stifled. You aren’t being congruent.

I believe living and leading more genuinely is possible for you too. If you’d like to join me on the journey, I’d love to connect.