Welcome to my web Women in Tech Global Conference twenty twenty five session, thriving through transitions, leading with flow in uncertain times.I'm Amy El, founder and executive coach of InnovateU and fascinating certified adviser for creating inspiring transformation. Last December, I shared my leadership journey story and became an international best selling author with my first collaboration book, Evolution of Leadership in STEM, Women Catalyzing Change. I emphasize on empowering women in STEM leaders professionals to uncover their unique values, amplify their voices, advance their careers, and create more positive impact while being fulfilled in life. Prior to starting my entrepreneurship journey, I was in technology sector for over twenty five years. I located near Toronto and in Canada, and thrilled to be here with you. How about you? Type in the chat to share with me where you're joining from today, and also use a word to describe how you're feeling. I'm energized. Welcome. Yeah.

I'm near Toronto. I'm wondering where are you located, and where are you joining from today? If you're feeling good, excellent. Tanya from Florida. Yes. Wow. Sunny days there. Minneapolis, Colorado, Texas, Toronto too. Welcome. And Seattle, New York, Montreal. Wonderful. And UK. Excellent. Feeling inspired. I love that. I hope you're enjoying the session so far today. I'm also curious if you are currently in transition, whether it's in your career or your personal journey. If you are if you don't mind to share on the chat also, are you going through it to type a tea? Or share if you're going through career or personal or both transition. Love to hear from you. I see. Yes. Going through both, Anna. Both as well for me. Yes. Two months ago into a new role. I see. I understand that, Sharon. Currently trans transitioned to an engineering role? Okay. Right. Internal changes in company.

That's we are hearing a lot. New assignments at work, definitely, Tanya. Thanks for sharing that. Mhmm. A lot of larger, transitions are happening in the company as well, Leo. Yeah. I see. Trying to pursue a new role. So you're looking into transition. Thanks for sharing that, Deborah. Absolutely. I can see many of you are. Now this session is an invitation for you to reimagine transitions, not as setbacks, but as gateways to growth. You will have practical tools and ready to navigate this transition with confidence, personal agency, and lead with flow no matter what the future holds. Let's also level set our understanding of transition. Transition is a process of change from one form to another. It is not a single moment. It's a movement, a shaping, a becoming. There is a natural fluidity, and it often unfolds without a clear roadmap. Think of the seasons, the shift from winter to spring.

It doesn't just happen overnight. Here is where I live. It begins with the snow melts, the ground softens, new grass gently emerges, And bushes swell the butts swell and slowly bloom into vibrant life. That is transition. When it happens in a career or in a personal journey, it can be messy, it can be subtle, or powerful and full of potential if we know how to lead through it with flow. As you're navigating this transition, do you feel like you have been thrown off course? Are you overwhelmed? Are you running on empty yet expected to lead with strength? Or are you anxious because you're leading change without a clear view of the destination? If you have one or more of these feelings, this session is for you. In the next fifty minutes, I want you to invite you to think about rethink of transitions. They're not as detours, but as launch pads.

My first significant transition in life was when I was 17. I moved to Canada by myself as a visa student. And a more recent one was after twenty five years in tax sector, I pivoted my career and became a certified coach and started my company InnovateU. In between, I experienced multiple transitions and led teams through some of them. Like you, I have lived through transitions both personal and professional ways. From one side of the globe to the other, from one sector to another, And what I have learned from these transitions was that each transition elevated my growth as a person and as a professional. One key learning I had was that thriving through trans transition is not looking for a definitive result or having the perfect plan. It is about finding clarity, courage, and confidence to lead with flow.

Three years ago in January, I was informed that my position was eliminated after three rounds of transformation over seven years. I was going to exit the company that I have been with over twenty three years. It was not a shock to me because I was in the leadership team and working through the transformation plan. I knew I would be going through a transition, and that was fine. What I didn't know was that I were to lose my father unexpectedly with no sign beforehand, almost exactly a month later in the same year. I was shocked. I was sad, and many thoughts and questions just swirling in my head. Yet I had to keep my heads clear.

There were a lot of things I needed to handle. My mother was devastated, and she lost 10 pounds within a month. My focus and clarity shifted overnight. The following few months was a few true tests to my resilience in uncertain times. What was my feeling then? I did not know. I felt overloaded. There were moments that I doubted my ability to handle all that transition, both in the personal and professional fronts. Fortunately, I got through it. Looking back, I was facing the challenge head on in life because of the three strategies that I applied to lead through the transition that I will be sharing with you today. And I also have seen this play out with leaders I coach as well. One of my clients, let's call her Donna, she was a director in her company and her department who had been promoted to senior leadership role with, an expanded team through a major league organization.

So she told me at the beginning that there was so much uncertainty going on and changes, and the teams were feeling unsettling. And rumors were flying around of more job cuts and more changes, and teams' morale was low. She also felt that she lacked the ability to lead the team despite her performance showed otherwise. Through coaching, we worked on pursuing to reconnect with what truly mattered to her, Embracing the imperfect actions and reframing uncertainty as opportunity that we built her confidence. Now today, she's not just navigating the transition, She's leading her team through with flow. The strategy I'll share with you today are grounded in my own lived experience, and they also reflect the principles of flow of coaching I use.

A framework that supports leaders to find clarity, focus, and momentum even in uncertain times. They helped me and the leaders I coach navigate transitions to lead with flow. Now don't forget if you have any questions as we're going through the session, type it on the chat, and I'll get to do it at the end. Okay. I just wanted to make sure that my slides are proceeding okay. Perfect. Now the first strategy I wanna share with you is pause to find your anchor. Uncertainty clouds our vision. The first step is to pause and reconnect with your inner compass. It is easy to go into the panic mode and try to scramble and make premature decisions when we are in transition. Therefore, it is critical to slow down and ask yourself these questions. What truly matters? Write them down.

And those hundreds of thoughts in your mind can cause more churn and uncertainty than it truly is. At the beginning of my transition, is my family and love health and well-being that matter most? What are your values? I took the time to reconnect to them. And what are you fear of? At that time, it was my mom's health, the will that she would live, and I was afraid that I couldn't help her. Also, my ability to find my next career step that I really wasn't clear on. But a key question that to ask for yourself is what is within your control? What can you do even the smallest thing? By answering these questions, you will gain clarity. That become very clear for me. The first few months was I had a focus to help my mom go through that emotional rollercoaster ride.

The day to day to regain her strength and self confidence to live on. And then to explore what I wanted to do next in my career. I'm very grateful that she has overcome the challenges and living well. Gaining the clarity is key before you can mobilize yourself and others through the transition. Just like an anchor in rough waters, it does not stop the waves, but it keeps you from drifting. Think about your current transitions. Ask yourself those questions. What is the one thing that is clear for you right now? If you're willing, share that on the chat. And strategy number two, lead with courage, not perfection. In times of uncertainty and transition, often high achieving women leaders might fall into the trap of perfection. But it can paralyze you if you wanted to find a perfect plan or a perfect solution.

What it is important then is to ask yourself, what would feel like one bold and brave step forward? The unknown ahead does not have to stop you from taking that one step forward. Be curious to experiment. If one way doesn't work, then learn and try another way. Embrace experimentation over certainty is key. Identify one area you can lead with courage. Experiment instead of looking for perfection. At the time, I let myself try different approaches to help my mood. Some ways work better than others, and I learned along the way. I also let myself to explore different career options. I kept an open mind. Now think about the transition you are in now. What is the one brave step that you can take today? Share it on the chair chat as well, and support our growth together. Now strategy number three.

Reframe transitions as building confidence that energizes growth. The question to ask yourself is, what new possibility is emerging through this transition? As in my case, my self confidence was dropping at the beginning of the transition. I felt somewhat rejected as a professional, and there's so much happening in my personal life as well that I needed to handle. But when I gained the clarity and took courage to try new ways of thinking and experiment, the transition became a welcoming and creative space. I took time to explore options, invested time in myself to learn and grow. The process included that I took the steps to train as a certified coach, my horizon expanded and confidence grew. It led me to pivot my career and established InnovateU.

Thank you so much for sharing on the chat that experiment is really important and never give up. I love that, Obi. And Angela says exploring options. Right? Not paying attention to the challenges. Yeah. Like, just to minimize it. Right? Like, don't explode it. We're so big. And Amanda says, learning technologies. Absolutely. Yeah. Enrich yourself. Right? Getting new skills. Absolutely. Thank you so much. Now remember, confidence is built in action. I encourage you to take the small steps. You do not need to have all the steps figured out. Each action you take will boost your confidence and also lead to the next step. The question for you is, what new possibility is calling you forward? When you apply these three strategies, you're now ready to lead yourself and your team of flow. Then you might ask, well, what does flow means? You might think. Flow is a state when you're fully immersed, focused, and involved in an activity.

It is guiding principle in my coaching practice to help my clients to reach that flow state. When you have clarity of what you want and align to your values, you can concentrate. Perform the activities become effortless and deeply rewarding. You will face challenges with confidence. That's when you're leading the flow. As a leader, when you lead with flow through transition, your team feels empowered, engaged, and fulfilled. You and your team are aligned on purpose. They are driven and with high performance. Now, which one of these three strategies speaks to you? Share that on the chat. I love that evergreen that you're sharing. Yes. Complete the task of being procrastinating. Absolutely. Don't let it halt us, especially looking for perfection. That can really paralyze us. Right? I encourage you to also write a sentence that starts with, I choose to lead through this transition by and then you fill in the blank.

If you're comfortable, do share it and put it on the chat. Let's inspire each other. Let's recap. We talked about the three key strategies you need to lead with flow. One, pause to find your anchor. Two, lead with courage, not perfection. Three, reframe transition as building confidence that energizes growth. Transitions are the moments leading with flow is how you move through them. And you don't have to do it all alone. Ask those you trust to help. Your coach and mentor, your peers, friends, and family. Let's keep that conversation going. I invite you to connect with me or schedule a time to converse where you can explore how leading through your current transition could look like. I'll leave you with this quote today. Transition challenges, leading with flow transforms us. Let's take a look if there is any question on the q and a.

Thank you so much for