Their Face Tells The Story

I had a "whaaaat?"-moment when I met up with a few women from the LeadHERship Coaching Collective for lunch recently. One of them looked so strikingly different that, honestly, I couldn't figure out why or what had changed.

Was it the difference between seeing someone live versus on a screen? Had she lost weight? Had she had work done? Maybe I was picking up on her mood (she was very happy that were meeting up)? I was genuinely stumped, and a little bewildered that I couldn't pinpoint it.

Months later, I mentioned it to one of the other participants. Her answer came quickly and without hesitation:

"That's what happiness looks like."

Yes! That was it.

This woman had moved beyond surviving--which, at one point, was itself a real goal--into something more. Comfortable in her own skin. Thriving. Glowing.

It brought back a memory from about a decade ago. I was working with two coaching clients from the same company, and over time I'd thought (lieterally) their faces/appearances changed as they grew/did inner work.

No way, I thought. I'd chalked it up to my imagination. Maybe craving visible proof of their transformation? It was certainly not something would notice.

Then I sat down for an annual update with their leader, a very high-profile executive. I say that because I didn't think he would have any real time/capacity/awareness about their progress. Midway through our meeting, he paused, looked up at me, and said something like, "It's so strange… they actually look so different. Like their faces have completely changed. Lighter and lifted."

(Whaaat? HE noticed???) I was gobsmacked.

He saw it. Without any prompting. Without any context. He saw the changes. The growth. Wow.

There is something that happens when a person genuinely shifts. Not just their mindset, but their entire way of moving through the world. It shows. It radiates. It's visible to strangers on the street as well as (perceptive) executives in the boardroom.

We spend so much energy on the external--the wardrobe, the posture, the presentation. And those things matter. But the most magnetic, undeniable transformation? It shines from the inside out.

Warmly,
Heidi