IWD: The Divine Feminine

Today I had the pleasure of having coffee with my friend Libby at the Chief Clubhouse in downtown SF (thank you Libby for inviting me!) and I was mesmerized by how gorgeous the space was. It’s clear what a difference it makes when something is designed by women, for women. In a stark contrast to the industrial, masculine, tech-bro office spaces I’m accustomed to, Chief felt… right. Soft, rounded furniture with lush and inviting fabrics, textures and colors. Velvet curtains adding warmth and sophistication. Phone booths with mirrors and selfie ring lights so that you can look your best on your important calls. These are the details that celebrate the feminine, and on International Women’s Day, it has me thinking about a much bigger issue.

I may venture *slightly* out of my expertise here but let’s go with it. I recently saw one of the Tesla Cybertrucks in person for the first time. I was struck by two thoughts at once: 1) Wow and 2) This must have been designed by a man.

The truck’s sharp edges and stainless-steel frame are about as masculine as can be and while the design is certainly impressive, it made me realize that it’s men who are deciding what the “future” looks like, even at an aesthetic level. By law, the future is a blank slate, and yet this one single automobile design will surely influence the next generation of car design, and before we know it, most cars will look sharp, sleek, brutalist and industrial as a standard. But what if a woman had designed this car? What design decisions would she have made that would then trickle down and influence the rest of automobile design for the next 50 years? What would “the future” look like if women got to decide what our spaces, our transportation, and our physical environment look like? And what would psychologically change for us as as society if our foundational principles of space and time were grounded in the feminine rather than the masculine? Would we have more parks instead of skyscrapers? Would our homes be bubbles instead of blocks? Would we prioritize sleep, rest, and connection over productivity? Would our children feel safer walking home from school if women were the ones charged with keeping our society safe? Would we even worry about safety at all, if women had designed society from the very beginning?

We can all know and understand that masculine and feminine energy are equally important and each hold important roles in maintaining a balance for the natural order of things. Even the seasons and the natural environment possess both qualities at different and critical moments of the life cycle. But as a society, we have been shaped disproportionately by the masculine, begging the question: What are we missing out on? How do we restore balance into how we are organically meant to operate?

To celebrate women on International Women’s Day means many things. It means celebrating the women who have raised us as well as those who have charted new paths for us to have the freedoms that we have today. But more importantly, it means taking a deeply critical, and thus deeply intersectional, look at all of the systemic ways in which women, especially BIPOC/LGBTQ/marginalized women, have been written out of the story. What are we missing when we fail to uplift those voices? What kind of world are we creating for anyone who doesn’t see themselves represented in their system or environment? What kind of future are we designing when only men, or white women, get to make the decisions about “what the future looks like”? What psychological impact are we writing into our fate when we fail to embrace the plurality of the global feminine experience?

My hope today and every day is that everyone has to courage to ask the hard questions, challenge assumptions, check our privileges, and invite the voices that represent and fight for our collective Divine Feminine.

The Future of Work: How Organizations Need to Keep The Next Generation of Leaders Engaged

Gen Z and Millennials are changing the future of work and I am here for it. Here are a few things businesses should do to support the next generation of engaged employees and leaders.

Benefits: For many budding solopreneurs, the one thing they miss about working at a company is the benefits. If you want to attract and retain creative talent, you need to consider how you are taking care of your people for the future they are facing. Millennials and GenZ are worried about retirement, savings, fertility, home ownership, inflation, etc, so your company benefits need to stand out far and beyond the rest to meet these increasing concerns of your workforce.

Pay: People are becoming much more aware of the impressive discrepancy between corporate profits, executive salaries, and employee salaries, making people feel used and under appreciated. If your salaries are not above market and highly competitive, you will lose creative forward thinking talent to their own business ventures where their earning potential is higher.

Flexibility: The pandemic opened this pandoras box and we are never going back. Flexibility is at the core of what people want today and in the future, and this relates back to pay in a meaningful way: Millennials and GenZ are less likely to want to (or be able to) ‘settle down’ the way Boomers and GenX were able to do, so tying your pay structure to an employees one singular home base or location is an antiquated way of compensating people for their contributions. Employees want, and need, to be able to work and live anywhere - companies that allow for true remote work without compensation consequences are already ahead of the game.

Boundaries: Gone are the days of workaholism, giving everything you are to your company, sacrificing your identity for a corporation, and being reachable anywhere at any time. Millennials are recovering from the trauma of this early in our careers and GenZ wants no part in upholding that toxic culture. Companies who prioritize boundaries will show their employees that they are, at minimum, respected as people first. Younger generation will have little tolerance for doing unreasonable ‘extra work’ without proper compensation, recognition, or support and companies that make it safe to set those boundaries and properly compensate for doing work outside the expectations of a role are starting to head in the right direction.

Investment in development: With the rise in AI and the increased demands on managers and leaders (increasingly these roles are held by Millennials now), a company's investment in a strong coaching culture centered around the development of their people will yield a more engaged and capable workforce.

Coaching: A radical act

Every so often in my coaching practice I am struck by the realization that the work that we do together in coaching is perhaps the most radical, anti-capitalist, revolutionary thing someone can do.

While capitalism is (or at least feels) inescapable at times, our freedom lies in our ability to choose. And I don’t mean choose jobs, career paths, or industries. I mean to choose how we show up for ourselves and for those around us, to choose what kind of leader we want to be, to choose how we respond to challenges, and to choose whether or not we are living in full alignment to ourselves and our purpose. In coaching, we unpack all the fears, narratives, expectations, demands, and limiting beliefs to allow ourselves a full and expansive range of information about who we are and what our behaviors represent. It is with that knowledge and awareness of self that we arrive to a state of full choice and intentionality. And when we operate from there, we are able to acknowledge what no longer serve us in order to compassionately make space for You.

This, I believe deeply, is the most radical act available to us in our lifetimes. When each of us is working and living from this higher version of self, we are tapping into our innate creativity, our passions, our strengths, our curiosity and we are offering that to our colleagues, our direct reports, our leaders, and our business as much as we are offering it to ourselves. If each person on earth had the resources and privilege to do this level of meaningful work, I know with certainty that the world, and the world of business, would be a radically better place.

What would be different about the world if you could unlock the best of you? If you’re feeling brave, let me know in the comments or reach out for a free coaching consultation!

Flow state: Your secret to success

People often come to executive coaching to develop themselves as a professional, as a leader, and in their career, so they are often surprised when we spend as much time as we do talking about things like art, creativity, and play. As a society, we have been conditioned to compartmentalize the parts of who we are in order to conform to the expectations of capitalism, but what we lose along the way is a connection to the things that sustain us and give our lives purpose. A decent, or even good, leader may possess the outward skills to lead their team towards business objectives and to ‘perform’ but a great leader is one who operates in a state of full presence and connection with Self. The answers to our personal leadership questions are rarely found in courses and books (as helpful as they may be!). They are found in the wisdom we possess in our bodies when we allow ourselves to be fully creative and in flow. The best leaders are the ones who actively cultivate a self awareness practice that grounds them in lightness and curiosity. From there, all the answers will ultimately arise.

For me as a coach, as a leader, and especially as a mom (the hardest job of all indeed), all the answers to all my questions can usually be found while dancing. Sometimes it really is that simple.

What is your flow state? Where does your own wisdom come from? Let me know in the comments!

Gratitude for this journey

Two weeks ago in Santa Barbara, I reconnected with friends, peers, and faculty from the Hudson Institute to immerse ourselves in executive coaching for an intensive training as part of our certification journey. A few months ago, this moment felt years away and now I find myself with graduation looming on the horizon already. Being in this program has been life-changing and life-giving in so many ways and in the spirit of the recent Thanksgiving holiday, it is what I am most grateful for in my professional life this year. And to all my clients, thank you for the trust and partnership and for allowing me to be a part of your journey. I am deeply grateful to walk alongside you.

With the holidays coming up, it is often a time of introspection and self-reflection. If you find yourself ready to end this year on a strong note and set yourself up for an intentional, aligned, and fulfilling 2024, reach out. Myself, and/or my program peers at Hudson are available to work with you 1-1 to help you reach your goals.

Why alignment matters in coaching

One of the themes that comes up often in my executive coaching practice is ‘alignment’. Why is alignment so important to leaders today more than ever? I’ve got a few thoughts.

To me alignment means that you are living a life and career that is an intentional reflection of your values, making your actions feel frictionless. This doesn’t mean things are easy, but rather that things are purposeful.

This comes up in my coaching with leaders so often for a few reasons:

1. Many people feel like they are living the life they think they ‘should’ be living rather than the life they are ‘meant’ to be living. Many people feel like something is missing but they don’t know what, or they’re too afraid to go after it.

2. Discovering our values and our purpose is in some way an act of rebellion, and many of us have been taught to fear stepping out of line or challenging the status quo.

3. Work culture has undergone some tremendous shifts in the last few decades (and especially in the last 3 years) that have radically transformed our relationship to work, and therefore our relationship to ourselves. So many of us are struggling to create a life that feels like a representation of our true selves, while feeling stuck in a work system or beliefs and behaviors that no longer serve us. The more we gain clarity on our values, why we exist on this earth, and what legacy we want to leave behind, the more our work and lifestyle will reflect that ideal state.


As a coach, I help leaders arrive at a state of alignment so that they can each be living and working at their best.

The impact of doing this work is enormous. You showing with clarity about your strengths will not only make you better at your job and more fulfilled in your life outside of work, but it will make your team and those around you exponentially better as well. The question is, how much is alignment worth to you?

Curious about executive coaching? Shoot me a message!

What is coaching?

Leading a team, navigating career changes, or moving through growth opportunities at work is hard enough on its own. Developing ourselves was never meant to be done in isolation.

Coaching is a partnership that enables you to identify your strengths, your goals, and your values in order to show up as the most authentic, aligned, and creative version of yourself.

Helping leaders uncover their potential is some of the work I do in my executive coaching practice. If you or someone you know is ready to grow, let’s connect.