Empowerment Is Trusting Yourself
- Authentic Leaders, Charlotte Søndergaard
- Mar 6
- 4 min read
Updated: Mar 8
Authentic leadership is the courage to stay connected to yourself and feel empowered to trust yourself, even while performing.
Watching the 2026 Winter Olympics reminded me that the Olympic Games reveal something deeper: authentic leadership and empowerment. They reveal amazing performances and thoughtful reflections in interviews with the winners. I was not only highly entertained — I was inspired by Gen Z athletes’ authentic leadership and empowerment.
Performance is not built on discipline and talent alone. It is built on self-awareness, purpose, and trust in oneself. Empowerment is trusting yourself enough to lead from who you truly are — with self-awareness.
What can we learn from athletes’ empowerment and authentic leadership?
On International Women's Day, it is meaningful to celebrate women who lead in alignment with their values, strengths, and intentional choices.
Women who embrace vulnerability.
Women who learn from experience.
Women who rest when needed.
Women who challenge expectations.
Women who cheer and celebrate others.
And women who still pursue great achievements.
That is empowerment. That is authentic leadership.
Becoming the Scientist of Your Own Mind – Eileen Gu
"I get to become every day the person my eight-year-old self would admire."
Gu treats her mind as something she can train. She observes thoughts, journals, identifies patterns, and adjusts how she responds to pressure.
Her approach reflects neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to rewire itself through awareness and repetition. Instead of treating fear as fixed, she treats it as information.
Her story reminds us:
Mindset can be trained like a muscle
Self-awareness drives growth
Focus on what you can control
Gratitude and curiosity accelerate development
Empowerment begins when we realize thinking patterns can evolve.
Redefining Winning – Chloe Kim
When Chloe Kim won silver, her reaction was joy rather than disappointment. She could have become the first athlete to win three consecutive Olympic gold medals in snowboarding halfpipe. Instead, she celebrated the next generation.
She encouraged her protégé Gaon Choi after two failed runs:
"You got this. You're a badass snowboarder. What's there to think about? Just do it."
Chloe Kim expressed genuine happiness for Gaon Choi, who won gold.
"I feel like a proud mom. I've known Gaon since she was little… She won her first Olympic gold medal at the same age as I did. It's such a full-circle moment."
Rather than focusing on what she did not win, she focused on what she had achieved — and on supporting others.
Her story reminds us:
Celebrate your excellence
Lift others as you rise
Success is not zero-sum
Legacy grows through empowerment
Authentic leadership is not about standing alone at the top, but about mentoring and building a legacy.
Choosing Freedom Over Pressure – Alysa Liu
Alysa Liu stepped away from elite competition due to burnout and pressure. During her break, she focused on well-being, friendships, and rediscovering joy.
"I would say every athlete should take a break. Or not just every athlete but every person. Take a break from that life you're so stuck in. Because stepping back will give you such a different perspective."
She began seeing skating not as an obligation but as creative expression.
When she returned, skating became a space for dance, music, design, and athletic challenge, and her happiness shines as bright as her gold medal.
"I don’t need this. But what I needed was a stage, and I got that. So I was all good, no matter what. If I fell on every jump, I would still be wearing this dress, so it’s all good."
Her story reminds us:
Success without well-being is unsustainable
Rest is recovery, not weakness
Creativity and identity can evolve
Stepping back can create strength, happiness, and appreciation for what you do and can do
Empowerment sometimes means choosing yourself and investing in your own well-being and growth.
From Armor to Play – Frida Karlsson
Frida Karlsson once experienced performance pressure that felt like wearing armor.
"Now, I’m here playing my favourite game with my best friends. So there’s quite a big difference in feeling and attitude."
Competition once felt heavy — like survival. Now she makes sure that being with friends, being on the floor all night long, and her overall well-being are part of being a world-class skier. This has made it possible for her to return to the joy that first drew her to skiing.
The shift from protection to play improved both performance and well-being, and her gold medals and authentic happiness prove it.
Her story reminds us:
Joy unlocks performance
Resilience grows through struggle
Authenticity means not hiding behind a mask
Balancing daily life with friends and social connection supports long-term strength
Sometimes the best performance happens when pressure is replaced with play.
What Authentic Empowerment Looks Like
Empowerment is multidimensional. It can mean training your mindset intentionally, celebrating excellence, challenging expectations, protecting your well-being, and choosing joy over pressure.
These women share that:
They define success for themselves.
They follow their inner compass.
They lead from authenticity rather than expectation.
Becoming Authentic in Your Own Presence
On International Women's Day, the most powerful questions may not be:
How can I become like them?
Ask instead:
Where am I wearing armor?
Where am I performing instead of playing?
Where am I silencing my joy?
Where do I need courage — to stay, challenge, or step away?
Empowerment Begins Inside
Empowerment is the quiet decision to trust yourself. Leadership is not only about achievement. It is about how you show up when pressure is high. When we embrace ourselves and own our presence, we create space for others to rise.
Empowerment is trusting yourself enough to lead from who you truly are — with self-awareness.
Authentic leadership begins with the courage to know yourself — and to trust that who you are is enough to lead. This is the work we explore in the Becoming an Authentic Leader program.
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