Young African women leadership is changing in real time, and honestly, it is beautiful to watch.
I think about this a lot. How leadership rarely comes with fanfare. How it often begins in those quiet, personal decisions you make when nobody is watching. You know those mornings when you drag yourself out of bed even though your motivation is hiding somewhere under your pillow. Or those moments when you decide to speak up even though your voice shakes a little. That is the stuff real leadership is made of.
Maybe we underestimate it because it feels small. But small is where the shift starts.
For young African women, especially between 18 and 35, this journey feels layered. You are building a career, a sense of identity, a voice that feels authentically yours. And you are doing it while trying to figure out money, relationships, purpose, health, family expectations, and everything in between. Sometimes I wonder how women manage all of this without falling apart. Then I remember that every woman I know has cracked a little at some point, and somehow that made her stronger.
FOCN loves to remind women that leadership is not a position you wait for. It is something you practice. I see it in our community all the time. A woman decides to set a boundary with confidence, even though she feels a bit guilty about it. Another picks up a course because she wants to sharpen her skills. Someone else encourages a younger woman who is struggling. These choices may look ordinary on the surface, but if you pay attention, they are shaping who she is becoming.
I think the world talks too much about confidence and not enough about courage. Confidence is great, but courage is what gets you moving when confidence is still sleeping. And for women, courage looks different. Sometimes it is loud. But a lot of the time, it is quiet and steady. It is you deciding to try again after failing. Or finally applying for that opportunity you convinced yourself you were not ready for. Or calling yourself out gently when you know you can push a little harder.
Even rest takes courage. Real rest. The kind where you stop pretending you are fine and allow yourself to pause. Because to be honest, a lot of us were raised to power through everything. But exhaustion does not produce excellence. And young women especially need to hear that resting is part of strategy, not evidence of weakness.
If you are wondering what rising with intention looks like in your actual life, it might be simpler than you think. Maybe it means rewriting your CV this week, even though you hate doing it. Maybe it means asking for help instead of acting like you can carry everything on your back. Maybe it is finally acknowledging a dream you have been afraid to say out loud. Or choosing a healthier relationship with your own mind, your own ambition, your own self worth.
Something interesting happens when you make these small intentional choices. You start to feel more like yourself. You start to trust your instincts. And somehow, the world begins to respond to that version of you.
The messy parts of growth are still there, of course. Nobody magically escapes doubt or fear or the occasional emotional meltdown. But evolving is not supposed to feel tidy. Most transformation feels awkward while it is happening. You only understand it in hindsight, when you catch yourself doing something confidently that used to terrify you.
One thing I truly love about FOCN is how often women discover they are not alone. There is something powerful about knowing that somewhere out there, another woman is waking up early to chase her goals, fighting her anxiety before a big presentation, trying to negotiate her worth, or learning to walk away from things that shrink her. It feels like community even when you do not know their names.
Leadership is not perfection. It is willingness. The willingness to learn, to adjust, to grow, to show up again. The willingness to build a life that matches your potential.
So today, try to rise with intention. Even if it is one tiny step. Even if you feel unsure. You are writing a leadership story that another young woman will someday look at and think, if she could rise, maybe I can too.
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