Watch my interview with Women's Empowerment Coach, Emma Mulvany! [video]
Unlocking Your Inner Power: A Conversation with Emma Mulvany on Feminine Self-Leadership
I really enjoyed having Emma come to the VIP Group for Empowered Women of Chicago for an interview on LIVE WITH LIZ about “The Art of Feminine Self-Leadership: Reclaiming Our Voice & Power!”
Wow! I'm still buzzing from my recent conversation with the incredible Emma Mulvany, a truly inspiring women's empowerment coach. We sat down for an interview, and let me tell you, the insights she shared on feminine self-leadership were absolutely profound.
For so long, many of us have navigated the world trying to fit into a version of leadership that doesn't always feel natural. Emma shed such beautiful light on what it means to lead from a place of feminine energy – embracing our intuition, our desire for collaboration, and that innate nurturing spirit we often possess. It’s not about being “soft” in a disempowering way; it’s about recognizing the immense strength in these qualities.
One of the biggest takeaways for me was when Emma spoke about trusting our inner knowing. How many times have you had that gut feeling, that little voice inside, and ignored it, only to wish you hadn’t later? Emma emphasized that this intuition isn't just a fleeting thought; it's a deep source of personal power. It’s about tuning in, listening, and allowing that inner wisdom to guide us.
We also talked about how societal conditioning can sometimes lead us, as women, to disconnect from this inherent power and our authentic voice. It really made me think about all the subtle (and not-so-subtle) messages we receive that can make us doubt ourselves or hesitate to speak our truth. Emma passionately talked about the importance of reclaiming that voice – by setting clear boundaries, feeling empowered to say "no" when we need to, and expressing ourselves authentically, without apology.
What really resonated with me was Emma's perspective on power itself. It’s not about dominance or control over others, but about cultivating inner strength. It’s the power to influence, to create positive change, and to lead our lives from a place of genuine self-awareness and confidence. She also beautifully articulated how our emotions and vulnerability aren't weaknesses to be hidden, but actually powerful assets in our leadership journey, allowing for deeper connection and authenticity.
This conversation with Emma Mulvany was a powerful reminder that embracing our full selves, including our feminine energy, is key to unlocking our true potential. It's about leading ourselves first, with compassion, intuition, and courage.
I highly encourage you to explore Emma's work if you're on a journey of self-discovery and empowerment. And of course, I encourage you to watch the full interview with the button link below!
What does feminine self-leadership mean to you? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
Interview Auto-Generated Transcript:
hello Hello I'm Liz Hansen from Chicago
Budoir and so excited to be with you
tonight for our live with Liz series And
this is an interview series that I do
bringing on women in our community who
are making a difference And I'm so
excited to have Emma Mulvani here
tonight with us Hi Emma Hi
Thanks for joining us So Emma is an
empowerment mentor and we're so excited
to hear from her and her expertise To
get us started Emma tell us a little bit
about what you do Yeah so I'm um
obviously a women's empowerment mentor
and I help women who are so female
entrepreneurs women in leadership
positions really own their power reclaim
their confidence so that they can have
the impact that they're here to have So
I believe that we need more money more
resources and more decision-making power
in the hands of women but that's going
to be hard to do if we're not owning our
roles stepping into the roles and
feeling confident doing them So that's
where I come in Okay I love that We need
more empowered women and empowered women
are going to change the world So love
that work you're doing How did you get
into doing this work
so I think I got into it probably a
similar way that a lot of coaches and
mentors do It was a mix of kind of
following professional breadcrumbs but
also a personal awakening of my own So I
was a holistic nutritionist um before
this and so I was helping women repair
heal their relationship to their body
And the more I was doing that the more I
realized it had nothing to do with the
food and everything to do with how we
relate to ourselves how we relate to
society in general the messaging that
we're taking in the conditioning that we
receive from the time that we are young
and essentially a feeling of not
belonging to ourselves not being able to
make the decisions that we know are so
right for us and feeling disconnected
from our bodies And so I was kind of
sitting with that feeling into what was
coming up for me there And then parallel
was starting to wake up to all these
moments in my personal life where I just
felt a sense of abandoning myself not
trusting myself not following my
intuition when it was whispering or
screaming at me And the more like just
evidence that I gathered of these like
just tiny awakening moments started to
pile up into something that I felt was
going to eventually crack open And it
did
And yeah I just felt I think so
connected and so pulled
to share to start to share that message
that I started to weave it into the work
that I was doing with women in the
holistic nutrition realm And then it
just kind of snowballed and took on a
life of its own from there because I
it's hard to articulate and it's not the
most concise but I do everything very
intuitively So it was kind of every
little like yes that I said that I was
like "Oh that's interesting Oh that's
interesting." And just kind of kept
following these little like pebbles and
whispers that were coming to me And then
it just kind of I felt like landed me
here And once I made this decision it
was about a year and a half ago to fully
transition to women's empowerment it was
like an arrival moment of like oh this
is what I'm supposed to be doing This is
where it's it's igniting me It's just
coming through me in a sense Um felt
like you know just there was this
message and this work on my heart that I
had finally heard it and was ready to to
do it So I love that So I feel like your
work and my work in some ways dovetales
I have women in the Chicago budoir
photography studio who are coming to get
some se sexy sensual photos taken to
feel more comfortable in their skin and
people are coming to you to find their
path their empowerment their power So
tell me can you relate obviously without
using names or revealing any information
can you tell us a story or a combination
of stories of women who've come to work
with you who have you've really helped
them make a difference in their lives
what did that look like yeah Yeah So I
just wrapped up with a client that I
tell people all the time like she was
like the purple unicorn woman Like she
was just like my ideal client coming at
the exact perfect time for me and she
um she was working in a she came to me
she was just starting a new role at a
startup and she was going to be their
chief operations officer and she even
though she had this huge resume of all
these really kick-ass things she had
done she was terrified and scared to get
into this role And she said you know I
just she's like I know I'm smart I know
cognitively I can handle this like I
know all these things with my head as
far as how I can perform in this role
but she said "But my outsides don't
match my insides I'm not projecting that
same confidence outward that I know I
should be feeling because this is what
it says on paper but I'm not able to
show up that way I'm not able to
articulate the way that I want I'm not
able to just be that presence in the
room that I need to be." And about a
month in she was sharing that you know
it was being reflected to her from her
superiors like "We need you to like
really take the reigns here and like own
this." And so they said you know "What
do you need?" And she's like "I think I
need like coaching." And so that's when
I stepped in and started working with
her And we just wrapped up a six-month
package It was so beautiful She cut to
the end saying she can finally believe
that what excuse me she can finally
believe the feedback that she's
receiving from other people as far as
you are meant for this You are so good
at this She was turning around results
for them that they weren't even
expecting her to do within the first six
months And uh profound peace she kept
saying and um her results were just
absolutely fantastic She's still writing
things up for me as far as a testimonial
just because she got so much out of the
process because she came to it also so
willing and so vulnerable that every
session she was just cracking open to
more and more ways that she was
conditioned not to use her voice and
conditioned not to believe that she
could really have an impact in this role
And so we really stripped away you know
kind of all of those layers and helped
her to
see really in a sense the truest form of
who she is And that is somebody who is
confident who acts with integrity who
speaks with integrity um and really owns
her power and her role And so I could
not be more proud of her and everything
that she's accomplished I love hearing
stories like that Women stepping into
their power and their true role Like
it's that's what I want for every woman
to find that So you work primarily with
women You you want women to to gain
their power and and find their peace
What makes what makes this process
different for women than it does
typically for men i mean I know not
everything's such a bind but obviously
working with women you see things that
are different with women than with men
Can you talk a little bit about about
that and how women have been socialized
to believe different things or feel
different things that you're working
through yeah Yeah So I think you hit it
a little right on the nose there as far
as men and women just have from the time
of birth such a different experience of
life And so they are receiving very
different messages from the moment that
they are able to the moment that they're
sentient beings So women are projected
onto a lot and we receive a lot of
messaging around not being good enough
and everything that we receive all of
the messages whether it's from society
and media or our family or inherited
patterns that we receive from you know
family and everything Um it all serves
to disconnect us from our power and that
is something that we don't see happening
in men as much Not to say that there
isn't a population where that's
occurring but it's rampant among women
That that is kind of the gold standard
is disconnecting a woman from her
identity and her sovereignty So knowing
and feeling that we belong to ourselves
we are not property of another person We
are not someone to be projected on to No
one else is to make decisions for us
That aspect of not objects Yes 100% Yeah
Yeah So so much of my work right now is
returning women to that belief in that
knowing of sovereignty that you are a
whole entire being worthy of all of your
needs wants dreams desires everything
without needing to prove anything earn
anything deserve it
Um it's just an inherent right that you
have as a human being And so it's less
common for men to hear messages like
that and to even need to reclaim a sense
of sovereignty when they're not usually
disconnected from it but women are Um
and the
more we go through life the more we
accumulate and continue to accumulate
conditioning and layers of expectation
that are placed on us that are
just typically at odds with who we
really are and what we're really here
for And that's what I love about working
with women who are about have kind of
started to embrace the midlife
transition So if it's like late 30s
early 40s 50s it's so fun because yes
like it's so fun because there's even if
they're not fully awake to like man this
isn't working for me There's an attitude
that I love that is I'm going to try and
watch my language It's like a no fs left
to give Like they know now they've
reached this point in life of like no
more filter like it's time to live full
out to embrace what I'm here for Whether
that's you know
something big
and impactful within their community or
maybe it's just even within their homes
They're just ready to belong to
themselves and have not just their needs
met not just survive but live big dreams
and live their potential
So I'm not sure if that completely
answered the question about men and
women but one thing that you said that
really stuck out to me was the the
inherent your inherent value and power
So I I love to the thinking about how
when we hold a newborn baby we love that
baby and we value that baby And that
baby has done nothing That baby has not
earned a degree That baby has not lost
weight That baby has not gotten a job
That baby has not started a business And
yet we know that baby is so valuable and
lovable right and as you've grown up
from baby to adulthood you have not lost
that value There's like nothing you can
do or not do that will diminish your
value But yet somehow we often forget
that right we think that our value is
based on our accomplishments or our
achievements or what we do or our job or
profession right but something that I
try to help women remember in the
budwire studio is that you are valuable
capable beautiful and worthy right here
right now just as you are
Um so I know you are probably consider
yourself an entrepreneur You're a small
business owner Talk to me a little bit
about that How did your journey to
becoming a business owner um how did you
find the I guess the courage or the
knowhow to start a business on your own
you don't have a 9 to5 You don't have a
corporate job What was that like for you
starting your own thing yeah So I'll
start by saying I knew from the time I
was young that I would start something I
was never that person that could follow
authority super well I didn't I was kind
of a disruptor from day one I'll say Um
and I was very fortunate that I had my
grandpa had his own business And so when
we were over there every week he would
constantly be telling us and not in a
pressure-filled way but just like "Hey
this is really cool Like if you can be
your own boss like come up with an idea
invent something do something where you
get the freedom to be your own person
essentially." That always stuck with me
And so I knew I would do something but
then of course you know get on the
hamster wheel of life And I was in kind
of a more corporate setting for a little
while And then when I had my first
daughter I continued to just consult for
that company but I was starting to feel
more and more I was like "The time is
coming." Like the intu the intuitive
nudge was there that the time was coming
to do something different
And I don't know if it was a postpartum
haze or what it was but when my second
daughter was two months old I was like
"Yeah right now." Like I'm I'm going to
start right now and I had just gotten
certified as a holistic nutritionist and
so jumped right into it And I will
say it's not like it was exactly smooth
sailing but I think because I trusted
myself and really followed not just
following my intuition but one of my
um one of my primary goals with starting
my own business was saying that it had
to match my life I wasn't going to kind
of contort and distort and like do this
mental and physical gymnastics with my
kids and my family life and everything
to fit the business The business had to
fit me And so it's always been this like
very ever evolving intuitive flowy
cyclical way of doing business that at
first I thought I'm doing this wrong
like I'm not doing it the kind of like
you know the masculine way where it's
linear and progressive and I'm doing all
the things I was really leaning into the
seasons and really leaning into my own
unique rhythms And with that I realized
was this like superpower for actually
getting results that were sustainable
that once I started to really map and
mold my business to these feminine
cycles and the seasonal cycles I could
catapult my success in certain areas And
so continuing to lean on that and come
back to that with each child that we
added into our family became really the
backbone of my entrepreneurial journey
that if I look back I can see all these
patterns of just following the cycles
And continuing to have it match me and
continuing to trust that you know what's
meant for me and what's meant for this
business is going to come And I will say
since
I landed I'll say in women's empowerment
um the satisfaction and then the
amplification of results
has really taken off and magnified I
think by being with other women being in
groups and networking groups and support
groups of other women because it
just becomes such a source of energy for
me um to be with other women and to be
in spaces like this and it really makes
the entrepreneurial journey as lonely as
it can be Um because it was very lonely
for the first couple years It just makes
it so much richer and such a deeper
experience and it just I think makes
then the work that much more
satisfying I love hearing about that I'm
also an entrepreneur a business owner I
everything you're saying resonates with
me as well You mentioned that you're a
mother Talk to me a little bit about
things you are doing or not doing with
your children and especially with your
daughters to raise you know the next
generation of empowered women Yes Uh
okay Where to start so the first thing
is boundaries So I have massive massive
boundaries and I say you know to some
people they're pretty annoying and to
some people they love them So
um I set a lot of boundaries around my
time around my attention So something
that I've been doing with my kids since
they were little because we're still
kind of in the trenches with them Um is
when there's more than one talking at
once or more than one asking for
something at once I always say like
"Mommy does one thing at a time." And I
pick you know whoever it is who gets to
speak first And it just even though it
doesn't always work perfectly and
everyone can still talk at once it sets
this tone
that hopefully as they grow up they'll
start to hear in their head like one
thing at a time and putting your
intention on the one thing that is in
front of you or that's important to you
And I have conversations with them
regularly around if you don't want to do
something if your body is telling you
not to do something listen to that and
instilling in that this like
relationship where they communicate with
their body to know what's right or wrong
um for them And what else feel like so
much we talk a lot about nervous system
regulation a lot about body boundaries
um and just knowing when boundaries have
been crossed And a big one that I will
say we're working on now and so we're
not quite to the other side yet But I
don't know if I have great wisdom is
rage and like what to do when you get
angry because that is something that
like for the longest time especially in
my family was not like acceptable out of
the girls So it's like we couldn't get
angry We couldn't express the anger and
so something I'm working through not
allowed to ex like you could have a lot
of emotions but not that one Yes
Interesting And so just noticing my own
dialogue with them when they get angry
and then also kind of you know doing my
own inner work of changing my
relationship with anger and rage and
giving them helpful ways to express it
Um yeah I think there's so
Yes of course One of the things I have
um worked hard on is telling my kids I
don't know when I truly don't know
something and also I'm sorry when I've
messed up Those are two big ones for me
I didn't hear a lot of that growing up
in my um family of origin Um there was a
lot of like well I know everything kind
of from my parents and I've really
worked hard to be like you know what I
don't know Let's go look that up Let's
let's see if we can figure that out
together I I don't know all and I don't
know what you need all like they'll say
what should I do here and I I don't know
what you need or what you want to do I
mean I've got two teenagers and they're
starting to make some big decisions
about what they want to do with their
life and I'm not here to tell them
exactly what they're going to do with
their life you know Yeah And then also
I'm sorry you know that kind of weaves
in with the like I I make mistakes all
the time as a mom you know and admitting
that I don't know everything and that
sometimes I make mistakes has I think
been a big part
of my changing like the
generational story that that was handed
to me Yeah absolutely And I love that
piece about repairing because that is
the big thing that they're identifying I
have also have a psych degree as like
that's the big piece of trust and so in
a relationship with other people you
repair afterwards and also repairing
with yourself in times where maybe
things didn't go you didn't stand up or
stand with yourself in the way that you
would expect or hope to you can repair
that selfrust as well but I I love that
piece doing that with your kids that's a
big one so um this is going to a big
question but it's something I ask
everyone who comes on the Live with Liz
series which is this What does it mean
to you to be an empowered woman today in
the modern
world to always put my knowing first
okay powerful Your knowing before
someone else's Mhm Then how do you find
out I mean just how do you find out what
your knowing is how do you if if
someone's listening to this and they say
I don't know what my knowing is yeah So
there are two pieces to that One I would
say so I use a framework called the
pillars of empowerment and it has four
pillars and it's selfrust integrity uh
intuition and sisterhood And through
those four things by reclaiming those
aspects and there's obviously processes
and things underneath each one Um but
through that we reclaim um our inner
knowing But the biggest piece that makes
all of that work even possible is
creating space There's just not enough
space in our modern life to to slow down
to hear the inner knowing to reconnect
to know who we really are So we have to
do the work to and create the space to
do the work to scrape away the layers so
that we can hear and reconnect to for me
the knowing comes through the body So
reconnecting to your relationship with
your body and hearing what your body has
to say um and letting that knowing kind
of rise up It's that gut feeling you
know and I think it's something we all
have it Everybody has the capacity
They're hearing it all the time
Um but it's turning the volume up so
that you hear it above everybody else I
think this is more important than ever
as we have AI I mean it was one thing to
ask Google a question and to trust
Google Now with AI
generating you know interesting
statements and content I think it's more
important than ever for women
to have this connection to their own
intuition
Um we're going to have I feel like in
the coming years more and more AI kind
of I think trying to write the script
for us or present us with material
that's just at our I mean it's so easy
at our fingertips to generate this But
what we really it's that kind of AI
generated that kind of internet um
language is going to be totally useless
if you don't know how it's going to
apply to you and how it's going to
impact you and what you want out of your
life Right Yes You can't get an AI
answer for what your purpose is here
Yeah Oh for sure And my big thing is
balance And so when I talk about like
kind of masculine and feminine and
different things like that my kind of
feminist approach is not that we need
to dismiss or downplay or lessen the
masculine necessarily It's that we need
to elevate and raise up the feminine So
there is space
for positive aspects of AI and positive
aspects of the tools that are available
to us and we just have to check it and
kind of balance it with with what our
knowing says because it can be something
very supportive of our knowing and very
supportive of the impact or the mission
that we're here to
create But again yeah just letting
it letting it come from a grounded
authentic place rather than just words
Yeah Yeah Emma it has been fantastic to
talk to you I could talk to you all
night about this Love it so much and I
love your energy Tell our listeners how
they can get a hold of you or follow
along with your work Yes So my website's
probably the best place It's
emmaulvani.com Um but then also on
Instagram it's empowerment by Emma with
a couple underscores there Um that's
kind of where I hang out the most Um and
those are yeah definitely the best
places to to see what's happening and to
reach out if you need anything
Well thanks so much Emma It was great to
hear from you today If you're listening
to this and you would like to be
interviewed on Live with Liz I'll drop
the link in the comments We'd love to
have you I interview once a month a
woman in our community who's making a
difference So thanks again Emma for
sharing with us about female empowerment
It was great to have you Thank you so
much for having me