"Just by speaking, I can break out of my self-made prison." -- June Singer.
April 12th, 2024, was filled with the most enchanting synchronicities —synchronicities that felt like healing, a construction of moments all coming together in a single moment in time that gave me a subtle, calm, generous, and joyous nod. My body felt warm—almost like receiving a warm hug.
On April 12th, 1951, my father was born.
April 12th, 2015, was my son's original due date.
On April 12th, 2024, an exclusive interview about my work and personal story was published on Forbes.
It is the connection of all three that writes the history of "Leadership That Heals".
It is through the passing of my father--and the consequent surfacing of deeply hidden childhood trauma--that I learned to understand myself, my emotional wounds and behaviors, and my relationship to love, success, ambition, loneliness, and rest.
It is through this gate of spiritual and emotional growth that I became aware of the deep intergenerational trauma that existed and exists in my family, and that also resulted in initial despair shortly after my first son was born. But it all had to be felt. It all was part of my journey to witnessing others in a new way.
The collective witnessing, the new conversations, the new way of relating and asking questions, and the desire to see the whole person in my roles as an interim CEO and executive at various startups and organizations. The breakthroughs on team-wide levels, not from talking about the project bottlenecks or strategic problems, but because we asked each other what we weren't listening to, what was required of us as a team to move toward active listening, and aligned action.
The deeper I explored the neuroscience behind my initial bouts of personal and organizational healing, the more I learned about the importance of intuition in our lives as a source of felt experience stored in our body's memory.
I spent thousands of hours falling in love with my body's language. Instead of perceiving anything as a disturbance (fatigue, sleep problems, headaches, bouts of anxiety, muscle tightness, etc.), I'd lean in and listen. I would spend hours with my body's signals and find deep compassion and ways to resonate with the pain through release and improvement.
I never took any medications or any of nature's psychedelics. Just a deeply committed, slow, and loving faith that my body knows and that I will lead more capaciously from that place.
Everything changed from here:
The more I understood my own emotional blockages and those close to me, the more I embraced the lightness and severity of everything's interconnection. The challenges I faced in my work life as a former alpha female were the same that I experienced in my romantic relationships, friendships, and social circles.
The patterns were the same. From there, I learned to combine somatic therapy approaches, inner child work, leadership development, and other "unfolding" tools.
My communication with others improved. Boundaries felt like an enabling essence to my thriving. Rest felt like a daily masterclass in creativity. Connection to myself felt like a newfound love. I would never waste a moment not staying true to my truth or that of my collective circle of love (family).
I started to spit out things like:
"You are not the 5 people you surround yourself with; you are the 5 nervous systems you surround yourself with."
"The nervous system of the CEO is the nervous system of her/his organization."
"Burnout is nature's way of needing to stay in winter for a little longer to hibernate and replenish."
"We can't perform without capacity. Learning how to delegate is a leader's responsibility to re-establish homeostasis in their personal and collective system."
"We need an entire economy of intimacy for leaders pursuing economies of scale so they don't forget their people."
The way I walked myself home (and continue to!) is the way I walk my clients and groups home now.
Leadership That Heals is a vision for a more regulated, humane culture of leaders who understand the science of our neurology, the power of our intuition and somatic memory, and the importance of fueling belonging, safety, and dignity in our daily ambition for success.
Thank you to every single leadership client who brought this conscious work to themselves and their organizations.
Thank you to every single founder who knew that their culture depends on their presence, clarity, and skillful communication and action.
Thank you to every senior executive and manager who leads by example and brings a new paradigm of relating, listening, and collaboration to their teams when the organizational culture as a whole isn't ready yet.
Thank you to every single woman in my group who is and was ready to face their shadows and celebrate their unapologetic presence for more positive influence.
Thank you to every single leader who decides to go on a journey of positive influence by doing the inner work and outer relating.
Our limiting beliefs and stories are not something to clear. They're signals that awaken us and show us our best service to the world yet.
The world's harmony depends on it. And we all get to contribute in our own ways.
In gratitude,
Franzi
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