The Flame Inside Our Young Girls

Guest Blog By Chelsey Friedrich – Freelance Writer, Aspiring Author, Business Professional

“You’re being bossy, ladies shouldn’t be bossy.”

I don’t know about you, but this is something I recall hearing many times as a young girl. I wasn’t trying to be bossy. I just wanted to take charge of the situation, even if I was simply directing the kids on the playground to take turns on the slide. I look back now and see that those were the first times that my leadership skills appeared, but I didn’t know it and didn’t harness it because “that’s not what young ladies do.”

What if someone had taken the time to recognize these skills and help you grow as a leader, rather than shushing you? Maybe it would have helped you become more confident. Who knows? But what can we do about this now?

Raising Our Daughters

We are seeing a shift in the professional world where women are beginning to take on more leadership roles, becoming entrepreneurs and still running a home and caring for children. We are the women that our daughters look up to. It is important to shift that old way of thinking and help our girls harness their power from the first moment we see it take shape.

Instead of snuffing out her flame, help light her fire! Give her power to learn that she is a natural leader and she can move mountains!

Don’t shush her; DIRECT HER. Help her see how she could have handled that situation more effectively as a leader, not as a “young lady”. Be her guidepost in her growth. I guarantee we will see more young female pioneers emerge from this change. Their confidence won’t be stomped on, it’ll be bolstered.

Developing Our Future

In our day-to-day we will encounter those that are younger, fresher in their careers. Once upon a time those new, young women would be looked at as competition; someone who would eventually take our seat at the table. Because of the way we viewed them, we immediately became defensive. In our new, shifting world, we view them as teachable, moldable and the future of females in the workplace. They aren’t enemies, they are allies in success.

Let’s work with our younger female colleagues. We can harness their inner fire for success. Take what you know and teach it and don’t forget to learn what you can from them. These women have a lot to offer that we may not have ever been granted the opportunity to learn if we didn’t extend a helping hand. Become a professional role model and watch them grow.

We all are natural born leaders, and our generation had to grow those skills in spite of being told otherwise. This new generation deserves to be told that because they are ladies, they should be direct, strong and to allow their inner leader to grow.

Let’s shift the way we raise young women these days and let’s show them that they have power beyond measure. Don’t snuff their flames, help light their fires!

BIO:

Chelsey is a young mother of two who has set herself insane goals for her life. She has a background in leadership in the sales and finance world. She is currently working on her first book while growing her entrepreneurial skills as a freelance writer.

Chelsey’s biggest goal is to motivate and inspire women in business to use their power to be successful each and every day. You can find her on her LinkedIn Profile.