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Breaking up the Good Ole Boys Club (A Personal Story)

Dear One,

I recently had an intense experience with a “bro marketing” company…ya know…one of those business growth programs run by men that have no issue using offensive language, referring to the “bleeding neck” of your client and making jokes at the expense of marginalized groups (women, LBGTQ+, people of color, special needs etc.). The type of program that tells you to push through, “kill it”, and demands you to GO GO GO as if your life depends on it. Every time I listened to one of the teaching modules I felt a little sick to my stomach.

But I kept listening through gritted teeth. Why? Because I wanted the learning, information and formulas that had taken this company (and some colleagues businesses) to the multi-million dollar level. I honestly LOVE studying two things: personal growth and marketing. I am a bit of a junkie for it all. So I wanted the goods!

And, I admit I wanted to be a “superstar client success story”. My People Pleasing Good Girl Inner Mean Girl took over. She wanted me to get an A+ no matter the cost.

I decided to use a “b.s. filter” to strain out the crap and receive only the information that resonated. I pushed my way through it to the finish line.

By the end of the program, I was depleted, stressed to the max and totally exhausted. I found out I had walking pneumonia. Our bodies don’t lie.

Ironically, I was studying this marketing system to weave into the launch of my new Women’s Leadership Incubator, Rise and Lead. A program that is my response to supporting the #timesup movement. I realized that I would be totally out of alignment with my values and what my program stands for if I didn’t Rise and Lead myself. I knew I had to take a stand for what I believe in.

So I wrote the company a letter from my heart. Sharing how my heart was broken every time they used words like “retard” or rape metaphors to describe sales calls gone wrong. I spoke my truth, while shaking in my boots. (The response from this company? Dead silence. Ooof. And not surprising…especially to my friends that are in the trenches of Diversity and Inclusion work on a daily basis.)

It has me wondering why we put up with this kind of crap. Where in your life have you listened through gritted teeth because you wanted the information and results, or the job, or to simply fit in? It shouldn’t have to be this way.

We make excuses for bad behavior. We make up a story about the intention of the people and ignore the impact. It can be hard when we see good-hearted people making terrible choices. Telling that off color joke or using an offensive term or worse. (And let me say as a privileged white woman, I’m far from perfect. And I am constantly doing work to educate myself to know better and do better. I know I have so much to learn and promise to do my very best to continue to speak out and speak up and stay in integrity with my own values and be a part of the solution.)

That’s why I have dedicated my life to supporting women. And why 2019 is all about helping womxn rise into leadership positions on their own terms. I want us to band together to say NO MORE to having to listen through gritted teeth to get where we want to go. To put up with toxic masculine behavior because we want XYZ. When we do, we become part of the problem.

That’s why I created the Rise and Lead women’s leadership incubator for professional emerging, rising and established women leaders who are ready to make their biggest contribution on their own terms.

Rise and Lead is an invitation only program for women I know I can truly serve. Women who are rising stars in their fields that are ready to release self-doubt and inner critic fear so they can realize their leadership vision on their own terms. No more sacrificing. No more gritted teeth. No more selling our souls for success.

The results women are getting from this program are nothing short of amazing. Women are hearing their own voices and truth, creating a leadership vision that is aligned with their values and non-negotiables, and rising into new positions and income with confidence. We’re breaking out of the good ole boys clubs at last!

If this message is resonating with you, the next step is to book a one on one breakthrough discovery call with my team.

BOOK A CALL NOW!

On the call, you’ll explore with my team the contribution that you long to make in the world, how you are holding yourself back, and how to get where you want to go. If it feels like we’re a match, we’ll invite you into the next cohort of Rise and Lead that begins on April 11th.

Here’s to breaking up the good ole’ boys clubs and bro marketing circles and showing up as powerful women ready to create our own game and our own rules where ALL can win.

The future truly is female.

With hope and grit,

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Wake Up Call Coaching

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