Reset, Recharge, and Rise: Elevating Women through Shared Strength and Personal Power

When was the last time you hit the pause button—not just on your to-do list, but on life as a whole? For many women today—entrepreneurs, executives, and professionals whether actively working or in their Executive Encore phase —the concept of taking a breather can feel indulgent, even impossible. We're expected to juggle responsibilities, excel effortlessly, and lead with grace. Hustle culture pulls us in, while we cautiously guard against burnout. It's a mix of high-pressure and conflicting messages, packaged in a way that leaves us feeling inadequate.

The truth remains—no matter how strong we are, everyone needs a moment to reset.

Transforming our lives and our work in a new year or era isn’t simply about pushing forward—it’s about redefining the norm and elevating our vision. It means replenishing our inner reserves, harnessing genuine and unfiltered motivation, and embracing our unique inner strength to overcome challenges with self-trust and clarity.

This blog is a roadmap for doing exactly that. This blog is inspired by my conversation with Lisa-Maree Blumenfeld on the Executive Encore video podcast. Listen to the podcast or watch it on YouTube. 

By resetting, recharging, and rising, you can achieve far more —you can rewrite the playbook on how women grow, lead, and inspire in your personal and professional lives and into your Executive Encore phase.  Lisa-Marie shared what she has learned during her incredible entrepreneurial story and shared how we can harness the power of a pause to reset.

2025. A New Year - A New Era
Women are natural architects of resilience. From navigating professional hurdles to balancing personal responsibilities, women often wear many hats—each one requiring strength, adaptability, and determination. But what happens when the balancing act becomes an overwhelming juggle? The quick answer—we wisely listen to our body, pause, reset, and recharge. We also ditch the myth of work/life balance.

2025 is the year to reclaim your power, realign with your vision and goals, and lean into the collective strength of women supporting women. This blog explores how women in business, leadership, and entrepreneurship can thrive by harnessing the power of intentional pauses, building supportive networks, and rising stronger together.

Why Resetting Is Not a Weakness but a Superpower
For too long, our society has viewed pausing to recharge as a sign of weakness. Women especially have felt this pressure—being told that taking a step back even to care for others might indicate a lack of dedication or ambition. But in reality, taking time to pause allows us to gain clarity, align priorities, and come back stronger.

The Benefits of a Strategic Pause:

• Clarity: By stepping away from the whirlwind of responsibilities, you're able to see the bigger picture and recalibrate your goals.
• Renewed Energy: Pausing and resting help prevent burnout, enabling you to approach challenges with a rejuvenated mindset.
• Creative Breakthroughs: Often, your best ideas come during periods of calm reflection—not while you’re overwhelmed with tasks.

A reset isn't a setback. It’s a deliberate act of self-trust, self-responsibility, and self-empowerment, setting the foundation for your next rise.

Rising Through Connection and Strength
Women naturally thrive by fostering connections and building a supportive community. Despite the myth that women struggle to collaborate, the truth is that when placed in the right environment, we excel together. Women are the driving force behind strong and thriving communities. Shared experiences foster collective strength, offering the reassuring knowledge that we are not alone in our challenges or ambitions—a realization that can be profoundly empowering.

Lisa-Marie elaborated on this dynamic in her mentorship with startups, highlighting how open communication builds trust, loyalty, and collaboration. Whether you're collaborating with colleagues within your company or building connections with entrepreneurs and like-minded communities, these relationships play a vital role in driving both professional and personal growth.

Ways to Build and Benefit from Supportive Networks:

• Seek Mentorship: Learn from those who’ve walked the path before you. A mentor's insights can shorten your learning curve and provide much-needed perspective.
• Build a Community: Foster bonds with other women who understand the unique challenges of your field. Whether it’s through professional organizations, masterminds, peer-advisory groups, or online communities, surround yourself with those who inspire and motivate you. Choose your community with care and intention.
• Give Back: Empowering others strengthens the community as a whole. Share your lessons, offer mentorship, and uplift others in their journeys.

Communication Is the Bridge:
At the heart of rising and thriving is effective communication. Whether it’s with your team, clients, or stakeholders, open and intentional communication builds trust and sustains relationships—especially when the stakes are high.

Lisa-Maree emphasized just how critical communication became during remote work transitions. Companies that intentionally cultivated dialogue saw lower turnover rates, whereas those relying solely on automation or impersonal tools suffered from disengaged employees. In 2025, the impact of generative AI on how we communicate will become increasingly evident. Will AI enhance our ability to express our needs and aspirations, or will it create new obstacles? For women, in every role we undertake, the power to clearly articulate our vision, goals, desires, and needs is vital for building supportive, empowering environments. Lisa-Maree shared profound insights into generative AI, highlighting its potential while addressing the challenges of fostering genuine professional connections—especially in ensuring people feel valued and cared for.

Key Communication Practices for Self-Leadership:

• Advocate for Yourself: Speak with an elevated level of self-trust about your skills, aspirations, and accomplishments. Self-advocacy grounded in self-trust is not arrogance; it is a powerful expression of clarity and belief in your vision.
• Listen Actively: Build genuine connections by truly hearing your family, friends, colleagues, peers, or clients’ concerns and insights. As a thoughtful connection in my network has observed, no one wants to waste their mental and emotional energy engaging with a conversational bully.
• Empower with Empathy: Engage in conversations with empathy, offering support even in challenging moments. By fostering understanding, you build trust—the foundation of meaningful and lasting relationships.

Harnessing Your Personal Power and Articulating Your Vision
True leadership means supporting and elevating others. It’s equally important to nurture your unique strength and energy along the journey. This starts with valuing your unique voice and strengths, and knowing how to advocate for yourself in scenarios like fundraising, pitching ideas, or leading teams.

One critical conversation Lisa-Marie highlighted is the disparity between how men and women pitch ideas. While male entrepreneurs often paint big, bold visions (even veering into unrealistic territory), women tend to stick to concrete data to validate their points. At some point in our growth as girls and women, we internalized the message that turned into the belief that we must constantly prove our worth and validate the value we bring—supported by facts and evidence. Along the way, we’ve lost touch with the innate magic and power that define us as women. While facts are essential, it’s equally important to inspire trust and passion in your vision—don’t be afraid to spotlight both elements.

Tips for Embracing the Innate Magic and Power of Feminine Leadership:

• Balance Data with Passion—Perfect your pitch or presentation by weaving in aspirational ideas along with factual data.
• Trust Your Intuition—You’ve earned your seat at the table, your presence in the room, and your right to speak. Back your decisions with your strong belief and self-trust, even in challenging situations.
• Lead by Example—Taking care of yourself, setting boundaries, and communicating effectively set the tone for those who follow you and experience your unwavering belief in your vision.

Call to Reset, Recharge, and Rise
Whether you're leading a business, advancing in your career, or starting a new entrepreneurial journey in your Executive Encore, remember this—you don’t need all the answers right away. Taking time to pause, drawing support from like-minded women, and embracing your unique strengths are all essential steps in the marathon of fulfillment and self-actualization—not a sprint.

Are you ready to take your next step? Reach out to your and my community of inspiring, driven women. Start with LinkedIn, Podcasts, and YouTube. Discover the advice, mentorship, inspiration, and empowerment you need to reset, recharge, and rise in 2025. Together, we’ll help you break barriers and reach new heights.

The world needs your unique voice—and your story is worth telling. 💪✨

Connect with me, or share your favourite “reset moment” in the comments! Let's elevate together.

Catch the full interview with Lisa-Maree Blumenfeld on the Executive Encore podcast or watch it on YouTube. This blog offers a summary of her insights. The full conversation is packed with inspiration and thought-provoking ideas to help you reflect on both your life and work. Don't miss the chance to discover more valuable takeaways!