Strong leaders rarely reach their goals and achieve success alone. As humans, we need other humans to thrive. Research has shown that having a strong support system has many positive benefits. There are three core groups that make up a strong support system—family, friends, and professional colleagues like mentors. This month, we would like to share a slightly different take on #LeadHership and tell you a little about Leon Adams, Owner and Life Coach at 2E.M.B.R.A.C.E, a no-nonsense style empowerment coaching system designed to give women an alternative solution to creating the life they deserve. Leon also co-owns a business with his daughter, check them out at Sydney's Sweet Shoppe.
Leon started 2E.M.B.R.A.C.E after he spent a lifetime witnessing domestic violence and mental manipulation in his own family and community. He wanted to make sure young girls and women knew how to give themselves a chance at living the life they deserved and were truly meant to have.
Leon also established a non-profit in 2009 called A Girl’s Promise, Inc, a 501 (C) (3) aimed at providing financial resources to disadvantaged youth for educational purposes that will include books, tuition, and scholarships.
Although women hold almost 52 percent of all management- and professional-level jobs worldwide, American women lag substantially behind men in terms of their representation in leadership positions. Leon would love to see women fill more of those roles.
“I also believe that women once achieving a leadership role, should assert themselves more into policy changes that threaten the status quo or real change doesn’t happen.”
For more women to feel confident in pursing leadership positions, it is important that they have a strong sense of self. It starts with learning to love yourself first and foremost which Leon says is the key to build the confidence needed to connect with who you really are. This puts women in the forefront to write their own stories with themselves as the leading role.
Leon loves seeing his clients turn into strong decision makers and going after what they want is powerful and rewarding. We asked him what we can do as a community to help empower women to be leaders and inspire children.
“Everything starts with Education – Everyone in the city needs to get behind making sure children and young adults regardless of race or socio-economic status learn to read. That responsibility belongs to all of us as a society…and we should take it very seriously. If we don’t educate our disadvantaged population, we are actually only talking to a select group of women about leadership and professional development and that would be more than unfortunate.”
Thank you, Leon! With allies like you effecting change in the world, we look forward to seeing more #LeadHership opportunities for the girls and women of the future!
