She walks into the room like she owns it.
Not out of arrogance—
But because she belongs.

I call her Madam President.
Not just because it’s adorable,
But because she leads with the kind of presence
we need in boardrooms, parliaments, and communities.

My one-year-old niece doesn’t speak in full sentences.
But her clarity is sharp.
She knows what she wants.
She knows when she wants it.
And she makes you want to follow her.

When she walks, she cheers.
And when she’s curious, she’ll go up to strangers—
smiling, waving, saying hi like they’ve been friends for years.
That’s her version of networking.
No fear. No hesitation.
Just authentic connection.

She dances freely,
makes everyone laugh,
pulls you into her joy like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
She loves without performance.
Leads without effort.

And I ask myself—
Isn’t this the kind of leadership we’ve been craving?
The kind that’s intuitive, grounded, magnetic.
That makes space for others to feel alive.

Before the layers.
Before the overthinking.
Before the nervous system was wired for survival instead of presence.

She is a reminder:
Your Phoenix moment isn’t in becoming someone else.
It’s in returning to who you were—
Before the world told you who you should be.

You weren’t born burned out.
You weren’t born afraid to speak.
You weren’t born questioning your worth.

You learned those things.
And you can unlearn them, too.

Maybe the most strategic thing you can do as a leader
is uncover the toddler in you—
The one who led with joy, clarity, curiosity, and connection.

That’s the kind of leader I want to follow.
That’s the kind I help my clients become.