My LEAD Conference Recap!

A month ago, I flew down to Phoenix, AZ with little 8-month-old Evie in tow and attended Beautycounter’s leadership summit, L.E.A.D. And let me tell you, it was so transformative for me. I not only learned more about the company’s mission and how to grow my business as a consultant, but more importantly, I gained so much needed insight and inspiration from the passionate speakers and 1,700 other fearless leaders who attended.

I left feeling enriched and filled with new perspectives that I’ve really had to let sink in and reflect on more deeply. And as I’ve been meditating on these this past month, they have grown into some important revelations that I’ve begun implementing into my life. Now I want to share these two main things I’ve learned with you.

1. Fearless Leadership

This was a major theme for the conference, and it was something that I really had to step outside of my comfort zone to accept and embrace for myself. I have a tendency to tune out messages that aren’t for me. Sometimes it is good wisdom and called discernment. And other times, it’s me feeling overwhelmed and it can inhibit my growth. But I let this fearless leader message sink in, and I’m so glad I did.

From this conference, I learned so much about what being a leader actually is. Being a leader is more than being a boss or making the rules or forging a trail. It doesn’t mean doing it all alone or starting a company, product, etc. entirely from scratch. We all are leaders and we all are followers. That’s what our CEO Gregg Renfrew said. How are we all stepping into our areas of leadership?

I’ve always felt uncomfortable with the idea of being a leader – I thought it would feel like a show, like I was a fake and unqualified for this title. I felt anxiety about putting myself out there in that way for all to see. I was self-conscious and afraid to act.

There really is a lot of vulnerability with being a leader. And, it is scary; it is supposed to be scary. So if it’s scary, how could I be fearless as a leader?

When I think of the most inspiring heroes I’ve looked up to, I realize that I found them brave not because they were unafraid but because they courageously acted despite having fear. Fear of the unknown, fear of failure, fear of getting hurt. And the reason they could do this was because they believed in their cause. That their cause was worth fighting for, no matter the personal discomfort and outside judgement it may bring, no matter the time it may take to fulfill.

Have any of you taken the Strengths Finder test? I’ll get to why this is important. I have taken it and one of my top strengths is Belief. I have to believe in something in order to work hard, stick with it, and invest time and energy into it. When I found natural health and living a wellness lifestyle, I instantly believed in it. I’ve been learning and teaching in wellness for over 15 years and building my business around this for 8 years.

If I join a team, promote a product, or share my thoughts on something, it’s because it comes from this deep sense of belief.

And Beautycounter is not just a makeup company; it is a cause that I and the other current 40,000 consultants believe is worth fighting for, worth representing. We will fearlessly venture forward into the unknown, as leaders in the Clean Beauty Movement.

2. Surrender

I’ve found that the best way to act without fear is to surrender my fear and anxiety to God. To surrender to His will for me, for my family, for my work. I never thought I was a fearful person or one that worried much… and then I had kids. And I have been fighting the worry since then.

When I was traveling with Evie, I became inundated with conflicting states; I went from feeling excited about the trip and revelling in how much I love traveling with my babies to being overwhelmed and questioning why I would want all the extra work involved in traveling and attending this conference with a baby.

I raced around that day, trying to handle everything and just make it to the conference at all (I didn’t bother trying to make it on time, that was simply not worth the stress). But then, I let go of the anxiety of having everything together. It’s ok if I walk into a conference late, maybe a little sweaty and disorganized. It’s ok because I showed up, did it with as much excellence as I could and I did my part. And I got so much more out of the conference than if I had been trying to perfectly attend every event, talk, panel, etc.

But let me tell you, Beautycounter is awesome to moms. They had a special mother’s room equipped with all the Beautycounter products my baby and I could possibly need and a TV set up in each individual “cubicle” room so I could watch the talks while nursing in peace and sitting on the most comfy couch. I truly love this company.