Gin,

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about who we call a leader.

We tend to reserve that word for people with certain titles: executive, director, founder, entrepreneur, manager.

But some of the women carrying the greatest responsibility I know don't necessarily have leadership in their title, and often don't recognize themselves as "leaders".

They're raising families while building careers. They're caring for aging parents. They're the person everyone calls when something goes wrong. They shape decisions, relationships, businesses, ministries and communities—sometimes without ever thinking of themselves as leaders.

Leadership, I’m increasingly convinced, has less to do with position than with responsibility.

And responsibility can be surprisingly invisible.

You can be the one holding everything together and still never consider that what you're doing "counts" as leadership.

So I've been sitting with a different question:

Where are you leading simply because something - or someone - has been entrusted to your care?

Around the Table

I'm creating something new for women, and this question is shaping it.

When I first began imagining the women who might gather around the table, I thought in terms of leaders. But as I've listened to women describe their lives, I've realized that word can be too small if we only associate it with a title.

I'm becoming much more interested in women who carry significant responsibility.

Some lead organizations. Some own businesses. Some influence from positions without formal authority. Many are simultaneously carrying enormous responsibility at home.

I'm paying close attention to who recognizes herself in that description.

If that's you, I'd love to hear from you: Where are you carrying significant responsibility right now?

Be well,

Gin

P.S. - As I create this new offer, you’ll be reading “Around the Table” to keep you in the loop. I’m spending time this week interviewing women who are carrying significant responsibility to craft the offer that will be most worth her while.