Hello beautiful soul
Y’all… the past few weeks have been a homecoming.
Time in the UK and Europe that filled me in all the right ways.
→ Hosting an IRL Women Who Lead workshop in London with the brilliant Clarissa Sowemimo-Coker
→ Welcoming my tiny, perfect nephew into the world
→ Celebrating my two best friends’ 10-year vow renewal
→ Honouring my parents’ 50 years of marriage
→ Watching dear friends say “I do” in the golden light of Biarritz
→ Teaching yoga beneath the trees at the same wedding
→ Walking the grounds of my old school in Bristol—feeling who I was and who I’ve become
→ Sitting beside my mum at Human Work, witnessing both of us grow
But more than any one moment, I’ve simply been with my people.
Friends who are family.
Family who’ve become even more dear.
So many moments that rooted me deeper into love.
I feel full. Gratefull.
And somehow more me than ever.
Not the polished version—just the real one.
Now, it’s time to fly.
Back to New York. Back to the unknown.
There’s a new chapter ahead—one that asks for more trust than planning.
More presence than prediction.
More becoming than knowing.
But what I do know is this: all the love I’ve felt these past few weeks? It’s coming with me.
And with that—let’s talk about what I’m bringing back to New York beyond the love:
Clarity. Boundaries. Truth.
Because I’ve been thinking a lot about something I call leaky behaviour.
It’s what happens when someone’s words and actions don’t line up.
They say one thing, do another—and whether they mean to or not, their energy spills out sideways.
It’s not always loud. Not always obvious. But it’s dissonant—and you feel it.
I used to think I could stay solid while the people around me were leaking.
Spoiler: you can’t.
I once worked for someone who regularly dismissed my input. Talked over me. Ignored my ideas. Left me out of conversations I should’ve been in.
Nothing explosive—just slow, constant erosion.
Tiny cuts that made me question my place, my voice, my worth.
And I told myself the usual: be kind, stay calm, keep working hard.
They’ll see it eventually.
Plot twist: they didn’t.
Because integrity isn’t contagious—unless you model it first.
The moment everything changed? When I finally spoke with leadership energy.
Not with blame or rage. Just quiet, grounded truth:
“Hey, I need to call out what the rest of the organisation is feeling.
We’re saying one thing and doing another.
And nothing erodes trust faster than that.
Leaky behaviour leads to a leaky ship—and I know we don’t want to lose the top talent that’s making us fly.”
They denied it, of course.
But something shifted.
Not because they saw the light—
but because I stopped pretending it was okay.
I stopped absorbing the dissonance.
I stopped letting someone else’s disconnection distort my clarity.
I led. Them. Me. All of us.
And my body responded immediately.
My neck unclenched. My stomach settled. I could breathe again.
Because here’s what I’ve learned:
You can’t stay strong while holding in what needs to be said.
You can’t stay clear while soaking in someone else’s static.
You can’t protect your energy without protecting your boundaries.
Say the thing. Set the boundary.
Even if they don’t change—you will.
Women Who Lead Sisterhood One continues, and the magic is so so real.
As one woman said as we wrapped this week’s call:
“Wow. I was meant to be here today. On this program. In this room.
Today’s session was so powerful. I know I’m in the right place.”
And honestly? That’s when I knew the magic had landed.
We were in the energy of The Explorer—the part of us that’s bold, curious, and alive, but often gets buried young.
We talked about the rupture—when girlhood becomes performance.
When we go from being to behaving. From radiant to “appropriate.”
We went deep into beliefs—
Which ones infuse you with power?
Which ones infect you with self-doubt?
Then we laid down the foundation of values.
Because when you know your values, you gain a compass like no other.
Does this potential choice take me closer to who I am—or further away?
This is me just before I hit “Go Live.”
Face full of fire—because I knew how expansive it was about to be.
And I was right.
The next Women Who Lead cohort begins September 10th.
I’m opening up my calendar for calls from August, and the waitlist opens NEXT WEEK.
If you want to be first in line, just reply to this email and I’ll make sure you’re on the list.
A micro invitation for this week:
Where are you tolerating leaky behaviour—yours or someone else’s?
Name it. Speak it. Release it.
Your nervous system will thank you.
Your turn:
What’s one small truth your body is asking you to speak?
Reply and tell me. I LOVE GETTING YOUR REPLIES and I read and reply to every message.
Rooting for you always
Ruth x
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