What does it take to lead an expedition when you don’t know exactly where it will take you?
Four years ago, I was asking myself exactly the same question when I led the very first Women Emerging Expedition. So much of what Smahane shared about leading the first Women Emerging City Expedition in Brussels brought me back to that experience. Except Smahane was taking the idea somewhere new. The City Expedition brought women together physically, in a room and in a city, to test what happens when an idea that had largely existed virtually becomes a lived, shared experience.
I know what it feels like to lead something for the first time, when you don’t have all the answers and you don’t yet know what the outcome will be. Smahane described having perhaps 40% of the information she thought she needed. The rest had to emerge through the people in the room, the connections they made and her willingness to keep adapting. And that is what I loved hearing about Brussels.
The women arrived with their “corporate coats” on — their titles, their professional identities and their ideas about what leadership should look like. But as the expedition unfolded, those coats began to come off. Women started meeting each other beyond their roles. Someone who might never have crossed paths with another woman in her everyday life suddenly found a connection, a different perspective and perhaps even a possibility she hadn’t seen before.
That is what happens when you bring the right women into a room. You don’t always know what will emerge. But you create the conditions for something to emerge.
Listening to Smahane, I felt a real sense of recognition. I know what it is to stand at the beginning of something that has never been done before. And I know how much trust it takes to lead without knowing exactly where you are going. Smahane took that first City Expedition in Brussels and helped us discover what happens when Women Emerging moves from the virtual into the physical world.
I loved this conversation and I think you will understand why when you hear Smahane talk about what happened in that room.
About the Author
Julia is the Founder of Women Emerging and the host of the Women Emerging podcast.
One Comment
Hi Julia and all, What an Inspiring perspective on leading through uncertainty. True leadership is not about having all the answers, it is about creating the conditions for people, ideas, and opportunities to emerge. The transition from virtual connections to meaningful in-person engagement is powerful. Congratulations to everyone involved in making the Women Emerging City Expedition such a transformative experience. Looking forward for being part of a similar expedition.