As you may know, last Friday I hosted my first-ever in-person summit in Toronto, Canada, and shared the day with 50 ambitious women who wanted to learn to Own The Room.
It. Was. Amazing.
I love getting to work with women all over the world through my virtual program, but there is nothing like getting in a room together. And these ladies SHOWED UP! Not only did many of you fly in from all over Canada and the US, but you also brought your energy, and it was incredible.
The feedback was humbling as well.
I've never hosted anything like this, and I decided to do something completely outside the norm. Instead of a usual conference where women sit in rows listening to inspiring speakers, I decided to adopt a “Learn-Do-Share” model where I asked these women to participate in workshops and exercises, and then get vulnerable by sharing what they learned with the women around them, and even with the entire room.
The result was more than I could have ever expected. Friendships were formed and bonds were created, and many women told me it was by far the best leadership event they had ever been to. EVER!
That's wild, y'all.
As I've been coming down from the massive high and reflecting on the day, 3 lessons have been coming up that I want to share in today's newsletter.
Here are the top 3 lessons I learned from this powerful day:
1. Your past doesn't have to dictate your future
Okay, I'm sure you know this, but are you acting in accordance with it?
So often, we carry around limiting beliefs that were formed in childhood and let them dictate our future success. This applies to all areas of our lives, including our careers. But here's the thing: we get to choose what our future looks like.
Case in point: When I was in high school, I was unable to read a speech in front of my class without completely choking.
I'm talking beet-red face, shaky hands, sweaty palms, barely able to choke the words out. Yet at the meeting, I was able to get up in front of a 50-person crowd (many of whom I had never met) and deliver a life-changing day that so many people valued.
And here's the thing, I didn't feel nervous. I would say I felt 100% comfortable in front of this room of women. And this kind of shocked me because part of me still carries around the beliefs from this younger version of me.
Whether it's an event, a big project or a VP role, YOU are the only person who gets to decide your ceiling.
Don't let the version of you from a decade ago make that decision…
2. There's nothing better than finding your tribe
This is something that has become more apparent to me in recent years after becoming an entrepreneur. I've put a lot of focus into building my tribe of fellow women business owners.
And I had a strong gut feeling that women in the corporate world need this just as much.
When I was working as a leader in tech and biotech, I was looking for that group of women who really understood my struggles. I was looking for a group like me, so we could support one another. Spoiler alert: I never found it.
I did get to join a peer group with other sales leaders (who were all men), and based on that experience, I decided that part of my mission was to create these groups in the world. I didn't know whether other women would want this. But at the event, I learned that my gut was 100% accurate.
So many women shared that they found their tribe that day. Women were exchanging LinkedIn details, phone numbers, and planning to keep in touch after they left. Many women told me that the experience of meeting other women like them was absolutely game-changing.
Regardless of where you are in your career, finding your people can be your #1 success hack. And the reason why is that people with similar goals inspire us, give us new ideas, and help to lift us up.
We may go faster alone, but we go much further together.
3. Women still hesitate to invest in themselves
This third lesson is probably the most unexpected one of the day.
As I was listening to all of the amazing feedback from the women who attended, and enjoying the beautiful energy they brought to the room, I heard one thing over and over again:
“I'm so glad I came. I almost didn't come because I wasn't sure what it would be like.”
Or
“I'm so glad I did this. I almost didn't buy a ticket, but then I saw one of Katy's posts about the importance of investing in yourself, and I decided to do it. I'm so grateful I did.”
This surprised me because I heard it at the VIP night, and then I heard it again over and over on the Summit Day.
And it tells me something really important: that as women, we are still so conditioned to put everyone else first, to pour everything into our jobs, our teams, and our families. And we rarely choose to do something just for us.
This might look like spending money on your own development or actually allowing yourself to get on an airplane and travel to another city in order to participate in something that you believe is going to benefit you.
Every single one of these women was so grateful that they took the plunge. Many of them told me it was the first time they had ever done that! But I know that for every one of them who showed up, there are 4 more women who didn't give themselves that same grace. And I think this is really sad because we have so much potential, but trying to do it on our own makes it ten times harder.
If you're one of the 4 women who let your own self-doubt get in the way, I have another offer for you: Come to my free masterclass next week to find out what's holding you back from that promotion today, and what to do about it.
It's totally free, it's virtual, it's guaranteed to provide some great insights, and all that you need to invest is an hour of your time.
Or… if this is speaking to you and you're ready to invest in yourself (maybe for the first time ever), book a career strategy call with my team to see if my group program is the right fit for your challenges and goals.
Either way, I hope you'll do something just for YOU this weekend.
Until next time friends… ✌️💜
Katy
