Back yourself, especially when it’s hard

Last week I sponsored the HR Big Meet — the Glastonbury of HR — and let me tell you, it was a ride.

And that was just getting through the event doors.

We’d invested so much in the lead-up: branding, giveaways, stand design… only for our courier to completely fail to deliver any of it.

Cut to panic stations.

Except there weren’t any.

Because my incredible wing woman Lottie just handled it.

She didn’t flap, freeze, or wait for permission.
She got in the car, drove across the country, picked everything up, and brought it back to London.
She didn’t moan. She didn’t spiral. She backed me, backed the mission, and most importantly, she backed herself.

She is on her own support board, and she is very definitively on mine.

So, a question- Who’s on yours? 

I mean the people who go the distance when it matters, sometimes literally.

And are you part of that team of people yourself?

Sadly, too many women I know aren’t on their own boards.
Too much waiting for permission, voice-finding, or waiting to feel “ready.”

Sometimes you just need to put on your big pants, make a plan, and do the thing.
Because clarity comes after action, not before it.

And when we move, life moves with us.

Behind the scenes, I’d also hurt my back pretty badly the week before. 

I was in pain. I was exhausted. I could have pulled out. Many told me to.
But I knew: I could do hard things.

So, after taking some specialist advice, I adapted.

I ducked out of a social event to preserve energy. I got hands-on healing and hypnotherapy support from my friend Lisa. I tooled up with orthopaedic support.

I built a plan to help myself through it and I took action.

Not martyrdom but leadership. Of self.

Backing myself, in pain, under pressure, in uncertainty, is a lesson I keep re-learning in business and in life. 

Because if I don’t back myself, I can’t expect anyone else to.

At the event, I asked the women I met one question:

“How do you want to reclaim your wild potential?”

It’s a good question to ask yourself.

But my answer?
By fully showing up. Even when it’s hard. Especially when it’s hard.

So please, put yourself on your own support board.

Because when we do, we can find a way to do hard things.