THE WORLD HAS BECOME RESTLESS.
Political instability, economic uncertainty, social division and right in the middle of it all: Women who lead. Leading teams. Making decisions. Showing attitude. In an environment that no longer seems to have an attitude of its own. In times like these, methods are no longer enough. In times like these, some people ask themselves quietly, perhaps for the first time really honestly:
Who is actually leading here? Me or what life has taught me?
The invisible set of rules
Women in leadership find themselves in a field of tension that men in the same position rarely experience: Their own way of leading must be feminine enough and strong enough at the same time – two requirements that often contradict each other.
This dilemma is not new. But it becomes louder in uncertain times because the pressure increases, and because under pressure what would otherwise remain hidden becomes visible.
What is rarely discussed: This area of tension is not only socially conditioned. It is also biographically colored.
Long before we became managers, we learned what space we were allowed to occupy. How much space we are entitled to. Whether visibility is safe. Whether strength is admired or punished. Whether we are allowed to show weakness or whether it costs us a connection.
These experiences leave behind patterns. And these patterns work silently, persistently, often invisibly. Especially when it counts.
What shapes us without us realizing it
In my work as a psychosocial counselor and supervisor, I encounter the same moment again and again: a manager – competent, experienced, reflective – sits opposite me and says:
- “I actually know how I should lead. But at certain moments, I no longer recognize myself.”
This sentence is not a sign of weakness. It is an indication of unconscious patterns – and of untapped potential.
Biographical research describes how life stories become patterns that guide our actions – interpretations that we develop early on and that structure our actions long after the original situation has passed. So we don’t just lead with our knowledge and expertise. We also lead with our history.
Viktor Frankl put it in a nutshell:
There is a space between stimulus and reaction. Our freedom lies in this space.”
Those who do not know this space react. Those who know it lead consciously, authentically, from within themselves.
Inner orientation as a response to external uncertainty
2026 is not a year for perfection. It is a year for attitude.
But attitude does not come from new strategies. It comes from clarity about who you are, beyond the role, beyond the expectations, beyond the scripts that others have written for us at some point.
Women in particular often carry two contradictory scripts within them at the same time: that of the conformist, caring, harmonizing woman and that of the assertive, rational, unwavering leader. Both scripts are learned. Both work. And somewhere in between, your own sometimes gets lost.
Socially, we are currently experiencing a time in which old certainties are breaking away. Role models are being renegotiated. What was considered strong leadership yesterday often seems empty today. What was dismissed as female weakness – empathy, intuition, connection – is proving to be profoundly contemporary.
Women who want to lead authentically during this time do not need any further optimization tools. They need access to themselves.
Biography coaching: searching for clues instead of solving problems
Biography coaching is a form of leadership development that starts where traditional coaching often stops: with the question of where you come from.
Not “How should I lead?”, but: What has made me the leader I am today? What patterns have shaped me without me realizing it? What potential have I lost along the way – and what would be possible if I could get it back?
It is not about coming to terms with the past. It’s about understanding it – as a resource, as a mirror, as a starting point for more conscious decisions. The central question is: Am I leading or is my history leading?
Three questions to ponder
You don’t need a process to start reflecting now. Three questions that take you further:
- Who did you learn leadership from? Who in your history has shown you what authority looks like – and what have you adopted without consciously deciding to do so?
- What have you discarded for your success? Which sides of yourself (creativity, gentleness, playfulness, wildness) no longer have a place in your leadership role? And do you sometimes miss them?
- When do you lead from within? There are moments when leadership feels easy. What is different in these moments?
Leadership as a return to oneself
We live in a time that demands orientation. From organizations. From societies. From leaders.
Women who want to provide this orientation – credible, sustainable, connected – eventually reach a point where external optimization is no longer enough. At which the decisive question is not: What should I do differently?
But rather: Who am I as a leader, beyond my role, beyond the expectations, beyond the story that others have written for me?
Because sustainable leadership does not begin with optimization. It begins with awareness.
