The Power of Showing Up (Even When Everything Falls Apart)

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Last week, we pulled off our first Executiv Women in Leadership Summit, and honestly? It was simultaneously the most beautiful and chaotic day I've experienced in a long time.

Our summit, Leadership in the Age of AI, was everything we envisioned and more.

It was a gathering designed for women leaders — and it showed. The depth of the conversations, the powerful insights exchanged, and the genuine connections made created something rare: a room full of some of the most talented women in business who not only understand the challenges, but also champion one another.

That’s the kind of space we set out to build, and our first summit brought it beautifully to life.

But behind the scenes leading up to the summit? Pure chaos.

Let me paint you the real picture.

We planned our summit in three months. Yes, three months. I decided like the delusional person I am, that it was okay to announce this at our last c-suite event in May and pull off the fundraising, partnerships, planning and full execution of a summit with 200 women in the summer months when there is corporate blackout. IYKYK.

We pulled rabbits out of hats. Literally.

Pitched more companies than I can count, secured over 10 corporate sponsors, multiple in-kind partners, and an all-star panel of C-suite speakers from top companies like Deloitte, McKesson, RBC, Miele and more.

To top it off, we secured the Walmart CTO, Michon Williams, as our opening keynote!

Yes, slam dunk.

You can imagine the type of work that needed to be done to pull this off with our team of 2.5. It was just me and our VP of Sales & Partnerships working full time in the biz. We hired partial planning help - yes partial because budgets didn't allow for anything else.

We were the sourcing team, set designers, the planning team, printing, packing, event signage, the delivery, the setup, the teardown - you name it, we did it ourselves.

What do you think of my design chops though? 😉 

Did the center table break during the delivery? Yes. Did I find a replacement at 8pm the night before at Homesense? Yes.

Did I forget to review the networking lounge floor plan even when I said, "Yes - all good"? Yes. How did I miss that?

To top it off, I forgot to send the shot list to our photographer, which means I have zero professional photos of my team, my husband or my friends and I on the red carpet. At our own event - the event we poured everything into for months!

And the 20 thank you cards I bought for our speakers, partners, and friends? They sat at home on my kitchen counter the day of the summit.

I sent an email to my husband the night before saying exactly this, "If I faint by tomorrow and don't make it - the show must go on." He understood.

You get the picture.

But here's what our guests experienced at the Executiv Women in Leadership Summit:

Our opening keynote delivered a heartwarming, raw story about the challenges we face as women - growing up, navigating boardrooms, managing mat leaves and raising little humans while chasing her biggest dreams.

You could feel the collective exhale of recognition in the room.

Our second keynote, Richa Gupta, Founder of Good Food For Good, shared a beautiful story about her own “squiggly career” — from immigrating to Canada with two bags, to leaving fashion for an MBA at Schulich, to General Mills, to launching her social enterprise, and now supporting entrepreneurs at Canadian Food Innovation Network. Her lesson touched all of us: the path less travelled isn’t easy, but it’s always the most meaningful.

Our panels of women leaders embraced the realities of leading through AI, normalizing that no one knows what they are doing in the age of AI, and we're all figuring it out. This normalized the over-dramatized narrative we see online.

Our closing keynote, Ekaterina Dobrokhotova, literally did magic. Not metaphorically but an actual magic trick that left everyone floored. Not to mention, she is a world-class storyteller and speaker.

Our makeup booth and headshots by Katisha Rasheed at CF Group had lineups all day and the women raved about the experience and their photos!

Our leadership breakout sessions led by our members, Erin Helcl, Mojgan Fay, and Kim Jack created breakthrough conversations about career design, pivots, and what really matters in leadership in the age of AI.

Then after the summit, the five-star reviews started pouring in.

One attendee captured it perfectly, "From insightful panels and energizing keynotes to rich breakout conversations, the day was a great reminder of what's possible when we learn, lead, and lift together."

She didn't mention anything about the AV issues I noticed. She didn't notice the room setup issues. She experienced exactly what we hoped for - meaningful dialogue, genuine connections, and practical insights about leading the in the age of AI that she could carry forward immediately.

What actually saved us:

From our incredible day-of coordinators, to the volunteers from our community who showed up with their whole hearts (Nancy, we love you!), to the friends who rolled up their sleeves for setup and cleanup, and to the amazing sponsors who made our summit possible - it truly took a village.

Three things I'm carrying forward:

1. Showing up matters more than showing up with perfection. Every woman I spoke to in the room said they were delighted to be there and felt energized by the experience.

2. Systems are only as good as the humans implementing them. Next time, I will be hiring a full planning team!

3. Five-star reviews don't come from perfect logistics. They come from people feeling seen, heard, and supported to lead better.

While we're not planning the next summit yet, we are planning our next C-suite event in a different city - and I know there will be some chaos. 😉 

But, I also know that chaos and beauty can absolutely coexist, and that sometimes all that matters is that you keep showing up without overthinking.

The thank you cards, though? Those are definitely going in my carry-on the night before. 😉 

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Mahatma Gandhi