What The Most Successful Women Know About Leadership

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Upcoming Featured Events at Executiv

We are thrilled to bring Pivot, Grow & Thrive to Montreal!

Pivot, Grow & Thrive Montreal will be bringing together ambitious women leaders navigating career transitions, reinvention, and growth.

This signature Executiv event features senior women leaders who have successfully led bold pivots across industries, roles, and life stages.

You’ll hear honest, behind-the-scenes stories about what it really takes to change direction and thrive in the next chapter of your career.

Our speakers include:

• Annie Bergevin, Fractional CFO & Former Investment Banker on Wall Street

• Fanny Mooijekind, Head of Marketing & E-Commerce, Dupray

• Karla Level, Founder & CEO, Level Executive Search

Beyond the conversations on stage, Pivot, Grow & Thrive is designed for meaningful connections. Meet new and current Executiv members alongside like-minded women leaders, recruiters, partners, and executive coaches who are actively shaping the future of leadership.

Whether you’re exploring a pivot, scaling your impact, or seeking a room where ambitious women truly support one another—this is where clarity, confidence, and opportunity meet.

Curated. Intimate. Built for women ready for what’s next.

👉 Get your ticket.

This week I had the privilege of hosting two events at Executiv honouring International Women’s Day. These were Executiv Women in The C-Suite Fireside Chat and Executiv x Miele Women in The C-Suite Dinner.

Both events left me beaming with joy and with unshakeable conviction that I'm on the right path doing work that I am meant to be doing in the world.

At these events I noticed a pattern among the most successful senior executives on our panel and our c-suite members.

By the time you get to the highest levels of leadership, you have mastered a completely different way of coping with stress and challenges that are a natural part of these high profile careers.

Here's what stood out to me:

1. They put themselves first.

Many women at the very top of the executive ranks have mastered the art of setting boundaries. The real kind. The kind where you actually protect your time, your energy, and your mental peace without apologizing for it.

They have figured out that you cannot lead well when you are running on empty. So they don't. As one of our members said at dinner yesterday, “You have to put on your own oxygen mask first.” They schedule recovery like they schedule board meetings. They say no a lot and they do it without the guilt spiral that many of us often struggle with.

Building in rest and recovery, and actively creating boundaries is crucial for their continued success.

Try this:

• Block 30 minutes on your calendar every morning before anyone else gets access to you. Guard it like a board meeting. I do, and its been a gamechanger.

• The next time someone asks you for something that doesn't serve your priorities, practice saying, "That doesn't work for me right now."  Then, offer alternatives. You don’t need to overexplain why you’re saying no.

• Audit your calendar this week. If it doesn't reflect your actual priorities, something needs to come off.

2. They don't complain.

As I engaged with all of these women in dialogues on and off stage, I noticed something interesting. Whenever something starts to head into complaining land, it is almost immediately ignored. If someone started that convo, they exited it fast or quickly changed the topic.

The higher up you go, the less energy gets wasted on what isn't working, who did what, or how unfair something is. They acknowledge reality, come up with solutions or they move on. Fast.

They have seen enough to know that the energy you spend venting is the energy you could spend solving. So, they solve.

Try this:

• Next time you catch yourself venting, give yourself 5 minutes max. Then ask, "What is the one thing I can do right now to move past this?"

• Replace "This is so unfair" with "What's my next move?" It sounds small but it isn't.

• Find one person in your life who you can be honest with and keep the complaining out of the workplace entirely.

3. They know how to advocate for themselves and aren't shy about it.

Every single one of these women know how to walk into a room loud and proud and confidently articulate who they are and what they bring to the table.  It is a beautiful thing to see.

The best advocates are also the most authentic ones. They are bringing their full selves forward in their roles - bumps, bruises, and scars, and that's exactly what makes them so likeable.

They also acknowledge that we can’t wait for someone else to advocate for us. We play an active role in building champions and allies at work. If you can't communicate what you bring to the table, no one will do it for you.  It starts with you.

Having the right people in your corner can catapult your career. Access to a supportive network of peers and allies like we have at Executiv can make a huge difference.

Try this:

• Before any important meeting, know what your contribution was, how you added value, what you recommended, or what you improved in the project or work being presented—and be ready to speak to it.

• Identify one or two people who have visibility into your work and influence within the organization, and be deliberate about investing in those relationships.

Accelerate Your Career Growth with Executiv

To learn more about our private network for women in leadership (Directors to C-Suite), as well as our coaching programs, community, and events, email us at [email protected] or visit www.executiv.ca.

Our invite-only network brings together 200+ top women in leadership from global Fortune 500 companies like Miele, Ipsos, Google, Amazon, and Colgate, as well as leading Canadian organizations including RBC, TD, Scotiabank, Canadian Tire, and many more.

We are a community that is highly vetted, deeply connected, and committed to each other’s success.

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“Don’t be afraid to be seen trying. Be that woman who never gives up on her dreams.”

Emma Watson