The only woman at the table

“You are the one that is posting regularly on LinkedIn”

These were the words when one of my UEFA colleagues entered the room yesterday, a colleague I hadn’t met in real life before, we were just connected via LinkedIn.

Yesterday I had the first match of this season as an UEFA Venue Director.
In this role you get assigned to a club together with some other people you most of the time don’t know yet.

This woman actually indicated that she wasn’t that fond of LinkedIn yet, she didn’t know what to do exactly with this platform. And that is what I hear more often.

However, you read this Inspiration Boost most probably because you saw me on LinkedIn, because that is where the majority of my subscribers come from. Fabulous women (and sometimes also men) I haven’t met in person before, just online, a great way to connect.

This is not going to be a cheering post for LinkedIn (although I love the platform), but I just wanted to make you aware of this.
Like I also want to make you aware of the fact that if you want change, you need to change yourself.
Most of us will agree that it is important to have female role models, but when it comes to actually showing up as a role…..there it stops.

I haven’t considered myself a role model for a long time and that might be the same for you, but we all are; even if only for the younger generation: for our daughters, for our nieces, for the daughters of our friends and so on.

At the Match Day Organisational Meeting yesterday morning – the meeting where the match organisation is discussed with both teams and the emergency services – I was once again the only woman at the table.

And yes, I love working with men, but it would be nice to see more women in leading positions, not only in the world of football, but in other male-dominated industries as well.

So that is why I am visible, that is why I am sharing my journey. And I encourage you to do the same. Be the role model you wish you had when younger.
Be this role model for your (future) daughter, niece, neighbour.

We need you!
I can give the example, I can lead the way but I cannot do it alone.
Therefore I want to create this ripple effect which I do with my new online Feminine Leadership group programme, which I will be launching soon.

In this programme I teach you how to become a Fierce & Fabulous Feminine Leader without compromising an ounce of your femininity in the male-dominated industry you work in.
It will be transformative💖; we will have deep-dive online Masterclasses, Q&A’s and secret audios.

Would you like to be informed about this programme? Please send me a message, and I’ll make sure you’re the first to be informed and receive the best offer.

Do you first want to know how you are sabotaging your own career? How you miss out on promotion opportunities, exciting projects, job satisfaction, and salary raises?

On 13 October at 12:00 CET and on 19 October at 20:00 CET I’m giving my free online Masterclass where I’ll tell you what your biggest career saboteurs are.

Yes, I’d love to be there!

I wish you a great weekend! I will still finish my social media posts for the coming days: this month it is exactly 20 years ago that i officially started working in the world of football and because of that I share a valuable tip every day in this month of October. Talking about showing up😅

And don’t worry: I of course love it when you respond to my social media posts, but a secret audio is in the making in which I will share all 31 tips. I will keep you updated on that one as well.

Esther Huijsmans

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