Not power over. Power to.

Speak, lead and disrupt. Women - it's time to rewrite our story.

Power. It’s a word that carries weight. Or should that be baggage?

For.. ever, power has been defined as power over - control, dominance, keeping others in their place.

And women (and other underrepresented groups) have been on the receiving end of it: from being told how to dress, how to lead, how to parent, how to exist, to entire careers being gate kept by the unspoken rules of ‘professionalism.’ (What does that even mean any more??)

Wanna know what I think? Power over isn’t power at all. It’s fear dressed up as authority. It thrives on silence, compliance and on women making themselves smaller so someone else can feel big.

I’ve had enough. And if you’ve been following me, I’m pretty sure you will have to.

What matters now is power to.

Power to lead and run businesses on our terms.
Power to speak the truth without apology.
Power to show up messy and human and still be taken seriously.
Power to change systems that were never designed with us in mind.

This kind of power doesn’t come from a title, a fancy corner office, or waiting for permission. It comes from stories, the ones we tell ourselves and the ones we dare to share out loud.

Every time a woman tells her real, everyday story, something shifts. A crack appears in the old narrative. Someone else feels less alone. Someone else dares to imagine a different way.

That is real power. And it’s flippin’ contagious.

Want in on the action? Here are three ways you can start moving from power over to power to in your own storytelling:

1. Unearth the story beneath the story.
As I’ve shared recently, the first version of your story is usually the polished one: “We grew sales 20% last year.” Fine. But the real story might be, “I grew sales 20% while dealing with panic attacks and caring for my mum with dementia.” Which story do you think will actually change something?

2. Reclaim your language.
Notice when you minimise yourself: “I just…” “It was nothing really…” “I only run a small business.” Those little words are power over, baked into your vocabulary. Swap them for: “I’m proud because…” “This mattered because…” Watch what happens when you stop shrinking your own story.

3. Share it anyway.
The biggest trick ‘power over’ ever pulled was convincing women to stay silent (and we fell for it, hook, link and sinker). But no more. Share your real story (business and personal), in a meeting, in your marketing, with a friend over coffee. The more we speak, the harder it becomes to ignore us.

And for the doubters out there. This isn’t soft. It isn’t fluffy. It’s not stories of about your cat or favourite holiday destination. It’s about what happens when you take off the mask. It’s revolutionary.

Because when women own their stories, we own our power to. Power to connect, to disrupt and to create businesses, communities and futures that look nothing like the ones we were handed.

And why? Because every freaking time one of us claims that power, we make space for another woman to do the same. That’s how the tide turns.

So here’s my challenge: what’s the story you’ve been holding back? The one that feels too ordinary, too messy, too risky? Tell it. This week. Somewhere. To someone. To me. Because your story isn’t “just” a story, it’s power. And we need it now more than ever.