Growing up with a French mother meant being raised with a very specific set of values about femininity, culture, and how to be a “good girl.” When I put my mom’s views on femininity and a woman’s role into a historical context, I am less judgmental towards her and how her conditioning impacted me. I have learned that I can lean into the “good girl” persona when it serves me. I can also speak up, unapologetically, whether I’m negotiating my consulting rate or advocating for someone who feels powerless.

What stories do you tell yourself—and what narratives does your organization adhere to? In 2016, I completed a self-authoring suite to better understand my past, present, and future. The process made me confront and reframe limiting narratives. Organizations, much like individuals, face similar challenges when recovering from crises. Drawing on my journey and case studies from Volkswagen, Nike, and Aramex, this article explores how to change the narrative.

While riding the Dubai Metro, I found myself decompressing in the pink cabins reserved for women and children—a small but meaningful safe space amidst the city's hustle. This made me reflect on safe spaces in organizations. By fostering trust, open communication, and a culture where learning from failure is celebrated, leaders can create environments that empower their teams to innovate and grow sustainably.

The Girlboss Rally, a vibrant two-day meeting of entrepreneurial women, presents a fascinating case study of the transformative potential of community-driven initiatives. In this article, I reflect on lessons learned and how these can inform the planning and implementation of bottom-up transformations.

“Know thyself” is attributed to various Greek philosophers and poets, including to Socrates, the Phemonoe, or Chilon and Thales. Role analysis helps you accelerate this process. You ask yourself which roles you held at age 6, 16, 26, 36 and so on to identify patterns.

As part of their research on the psychological reasons of employees’ resistance to change, Harvard professors Robert Kegan and Lisa Laskow Lahey define “competing commitments” as psychological forces undermining an individual’s efforts to achieve an objective.