Hello beautiful soul
Women Who Lead: Sisterhood Two kicks off this week. Eeeeeeeep.
That's right, 7 women are about to embark on a journey that changes the course of their life and career in the very best way.
For decades, women have been groomed to play by the Good Girl™ rules.
Be nice.
Be helpful.
Be competent — but not too ambitious.
Work twice as hard, take half the credit, and never make anyone uncomfortable.
Those rules kept us in check.
They kept us palatable.
They kept us small.
But here’s the truth: Good Girl™ energy won’t build the future that we all deeply need.
It’s time for the rise of the Career Baddie™.
I’m the softest and most feminine that I’ve ever been. But I’m also the most powerful. That's the season I am inviting you to walk into.
But first, let's break down the very real cost of being a Good Girl™
What I hear over and over again from women is usually along the lines of:
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You’re carrying families, teams, communities — and still showing up strong. But you’re exhausted from being the backbone for everyone else.
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You’re “fine” on paper, but inside you feel stagnant, flat, uninspired.
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You’re shrinking in rooms where you should be expanding. Playing small. Watching mediocrity get promoted over excellence.
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You’re navigating systems built for someone else — male-coded, white-coded, power-coded.
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And beneath all of it? A longing. To align. To belong. To live and lead from your truth... to be barefoot, to wear clothes that feel like you, and to feel a sense of freedom and safety, all at once.
This is the price of Good Girl™ conditioning.
And it’s too damn high.
But regardless of where you are in your career right now, don’t mistake invisibility for insignificance.
When I worked in recruitment, I used to hate my job. Like really hate it.
I thought it had no value. It was a made up role. I just fell into it.
And honestly, people often treated me like it didn’t - recruiters will know that people can take a few steps back when you say what you do, and that stuff digs right into the "I am not enough" wound that many of us already carry.
But here’s what I’ve learned since: even the jobs that feel thankless at the time are shaping us.
Recruitment taught me to see the brilliance in people before they could see it in themselves.
It taught me to sit with discomfort and keep showing up and putting myself out there.
It taught me that not seeing your value doesn’t mean you don’t have any — it just means you’re in a season where the truth is harder to find.
And most of all: it taught me the foundational knowledge for playing "The Game Of Thrones" that I support so many of you with today. There is a reason I am a Jedi Master at that, it's because I have spent my entire professional career playing it!
And that’s why, when I meet people who feel overlooked or undervalued, I always say this:
Don’t mistake invisibility for insignificance.
Your value is here.
Your work is planting seeds that will bloom later.
And one day, you’ll look back and realise this season gave you something essential. And I have never been wrong yet.
Heck, even the summer I spent working as a "Chamber Maid" helped feel what it is like to be invisible, and taught me that no one should feel that, regardless of our role at the time. I have spent my whole life since making sure other humans feel seen by me.
What makes a Career Baddie™?
A Career Baddie™ doesn’t play by those rules.
She’s not reckless — but she’s unapologetic.
She’s not “too much” — she’s aligned.
She leads from her whole self — soft and strong, strategic and soulful.
She knows her worth before anyone else validates it.
She sets boundaries that protect her brilliance.
She chooses congruence over contortion, truth over performance, presence over perfection.
She is the softest and most feminine that she's ever been. But she's also the most powerful.
And yes, it can look a little “unhinged” from the outside.
But they’ve called us hysterical, emotional, unhinged for centuries anyway.
So why not let that be our power?
Your turn, here's your reflection this week
Where are you still playing by Good Girl™ rules?
Where are you shrinking, silencing, or second-guessing yourself?
And what’s one “unhinged” move — however small — that would bring you closer to your truth?
Because the world doesn’t need more Good Girls™.
It needs more Career Baddies™.
Rooting for you and your delicious audacity always
Ruth x
Ps. Here’s how to know if you’re actually a Career Baddie™ in disguise too ↓
→ You’ve perfected the internal eye-roll in meetings. (Oscar-worthy subtlety, btw.)
→ You sit through a man’s 40-slide deck thinking: I could have done this in five. Before lunch. With actual impact.
→ You’ve caught yourself shrinking just enough so nobody calls you “too much" but it gives you the ick.
Sound familiar?
Then you’re ready. Hit reply and I'll make sure you are first to know about the next cohort of Women Who Lead 🫡
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