When we talk about women in leadership, we often think of boardrooms, corner offices or political arenas. But there’s another battlefield where women are quietly stepping into positions of enormous influence…cybersecurity.
Cybersecurity isn’t just a technical discipline anymore. It’s a leadership imperative. Breaches can topple organizations, compromise national security, and destroy public trust in a matter of hours. Which makes the question of who is leading in cybersecurity one of the most pressing leadership conversations of our time.
“I’ve done everything I set out to do…so why doesn’t it feel the way I thought it would?”
I see it every day in my work as an executive coach for women in leadership: brilliant, accomplished women who’ve climbed every rung, hit every milestone and checked every box…yet still find themselves wondering:
“Is this how it’s supposed to feel?”
This isn’t burnout.
I’ve coached hundreds of brilliant women who tell me they’ll speak up after the next meeting, go for the promotion next quarter, invest in themselves next year. And when we dig deeper, the waiting isn’t about strategy. It’s about fear. About permission. About the myth that one day, confidence will just arrive.
That’s the scenario too many women in leadership find themselves in. The title is shiny. The stakes are high. And the situation? Often a mess. Welcome to the Glass Cliff…a term coined to describe the unsettling reality that women are more likely to be placed in leadership roles during times of turbulence, decline or flat-out failure. It’s a promotion yes…but one perched on shaky ground.
You’ve checked the boxes. Earned the degrees. Gained the titles. Led the teams.
So why don’t you feel more confident?
That’s the Confidence Trap…believing that more experience will automatically erase self-doubt. For many high-achieving women, especially in male-dominated industries, confidence doesn’t grow in parallel with competence. It often lags behind it.
True leadership isn’t about collecting wins. It’s about creating impact…for yourself and for others. The world doesn’t need more titles or accolades. It needs more women who lift as they climb.
You don’t have to mentor everyone. But you can become the leader you once needed. And in doing so, you create a ripple effect that outlives your job title, your business card or your current role.
What if resilience isn’t about returning to who you were, but becoming who you’re meant to be?
For women especially, challenges show up in every corner of life-personally, professionally and in the space in between. Sometimes, it’s a sudden disruption in your career. Other times, it’s a family situation you didn’t see coming. And while it might feel tempting to retreat under the covers with your favorite blanket and call it a day…life has other plans.
We often think of change as something massive, dramatic and immediate…like a total career pivot, a big promotion or finally achieving work-life harmony. But in reality, lasting change begins with the small shifts: the thoughts we challenge, the patterns we disrupt and the beliefs we finally let go of.
Even the most accomplished women can feel like they don’t belong at the table they worked so hard to reach. Despite promotions, accolades and credentials, there’s often a whisper… “What if they find out I don’t belong here?”
Leadership today isn’t about being the loudest in the room or having all the answers. It’s about being clear, grounded and real. It’s about knowing who you are, what you stand for and how you want to lead…especially when everyone else seems to be playing a different game.
Let’s face it: in today’s fast-paced, hyperconnected world, it’s easy to feel like we’re always falling behind. Someone else seems to have it all together—the perfect career, the perfect life, the perfect everything. And as leaders, especially as executive women, the weight of comparison and expectations can feel even heavier.
When you work for yourself, you go from wearing one hat to wearing many hats. You need to know at least a little about a lot in order to succeed. You are now responsible for marketing, branding, sales, accounting, maintenance, and everything in between.
