Motherhood is a celebrated topic this Mother’s Day week, and one that leaders know comes in many forms. Mothering may have little to do with birthing a child, as women in leadership, we learn to mother in entirely different ways. Maya Angelou, the poet, taught us that we are of our mothers and from our mothers and why those who “mother” are important.
““I really saw clearly, and for the first time, why a mother is really important. Not just because she feeds and also loves and cuddles and even mollycoddles a child, but because in an interesting and maybe an eerie and unworldly way, she stands in the gap. She stands between the unknown and the known.” ~ Maya Angelou
As women in business, as women who “stand in the gap” for other women as they learn to lead, motherhood takes on a different meaning. Leading women in business is a different kind of birthing, a birthing of the best in others and self, a birthing of dreams, a birthing of evolving visions into reality. Every woman in business experiences the birthing process as they stretch and grow themselves to grow their business. As your business team grows you learn the trials of motherhood as you cannot become for others what each must become for themselves. Our strongest lessons are those we teach by being the leader we seek others to become. What a wonderful moment when you begin to see the legacy of your leadership in others.
This Mother’s day, it is my wish that you’ll take a few moments to let those who came before you and those who follow you know just how important they are to your journey. To take time to affirm the legacy of others who led you to your path and to stand in the gap as a light to the path for others who will follow your personal leadership. Happy Mother’s Day!
