Thank you to all women making history every day in every way! Our hearts are full of gratitude to those who have come before us, paving the way for our access to the boardroom and beyond. Each year we set aside the month of March to recognize iconic women who have made history. We honor activists, trailblazers, innovators, inventors and influencers. Give kudos to culture-shaping thought leaders, Fortune 500, and those at the ‘top’ of every list known to business and industry.
Awards abound to celebrate and recognize women impacting history, past present, and future.
As Women's History Month concludes, using a wide-angle lens, I would like to honor the women outside the boardroom who profoundly influence world history, past, present, and future.
Please join me as I express gratitude and recognition to Ministers, Mentors, Coaches, Counselors, Teachers, and Peer Group Leaders. Women that speak, teach, preach, and guide us. Women who deserve props yet aren’t always recipients of trophies and mentions (though many have both.)
These women are the 'root of the fruit' that we see in many women on stage. It’s the women behind the Woman of the Year, the bands of sisters gathering in living rooms, classrooms, coffee shops, park benches, and houses of faith.
It’s the work of building up, supporting, comforting, and refining the inner woman; equipping her to operate in strength, truth, and inner peace, affecting everyone and everything she puts her hand to.
I have been blessed by many women in all of these ways, ‘unsung heroes of the faith’, as they are called. I owe a debt of gratitude to hundreds who have poured into my life. Just a few include; MaryElaine Cline, Tracy Eckert, Dr. Robin Perry Braun Braun, Maria Donnelly, Haleh Damavandi, Marty Copeland, and so many more. The list is surely incomplete, as some names of my dearest friends and confidants are held within my heart, and also mentioned in Women’s History Month blogs for the past three years :). You know who you are!
Just yesterday (see photo) I received enrichment from a dear friend and Mighty Woman of God, Pastor Dr. Cynthia Mickens Ross, a leader in the boardroom, the living room, and the pulpit. Cynthia shapes history on the daily, as she ministers and mentors women on the move; sowing Words of Truth, counseling, and guidance. I am pictured with Cynthia at just one type of small group she leads on any given month, in and out of many boardrooms. Each group she leads, great or small, profoundly impacts lives and businesses. Thank you, Cynthia, for your heart for God and people!
The edifying and refining done outside the boardroom imparts wisdom to us all, impacting our businesses and how we show up. Take the first woman in the photo on the left, Dora Chu, otherwise known as DoraSpectacular, a comedic personality and fashion maven. Beside me is Cynthia, then Jill Thompson, a Prophetic Processor, whose expression is ‘pen and brush’, spreading beauty and love beyond borders through art and the written word. Louisa Harrington, wife, mother, and philanthropist, impacting generations, Cammie Girand, a matriarch in the faith, quietly serving God and people for decades. Nancy Reeves, an Evangelist and Missionary, braved the African bush, time and time again, to share the love of Jesus Christ. She deserves a Lifetime Achievement award for her Servant’s heart. See how stealth they all are? Many are not even on LinkedIn.
This snapshot represents one tiny group of diverse women, gathered in a Dallas living room, woven together purely by their faith in Christ.
Consider the countless women’s groups, meeting in living rooms around the globe, representing every faith, nation, tribe, and tongue, to share wisdom, encouragement, and support.
With each seed of Truth sown into the life of a woman (and man) comes the potential to influence a heart posture, shift a mindset, change an atmosphere, reunite a family, launch a company, shape a culture, revive a nation, and heal the world. Now that is power and influence worthy of honor, recognition, and celebration.
A million thanks to every woman Minister, Counselor, Mentor, Coach, Teacher and Girlfriend everywhere. You are the Influencers not donning the screens of LinkedIn, FB, and IG. We are so blessed by you and eternally grateful for you!