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08.12.25

Redefining Success: Leading Yourself First

By Nicolette Bresnahan, Senior Vice President, FMWF Chamber

Kristi Huber speaking to Women Connect attendees about redefining success during the July 25 Women Connect session.

Kristi Huber speaking to Women Connect attendees about redefining success during the July 25 Women Connect session.

Explore how redefining success starts with leading yourself first, protecting your energy and aligning your life with what truly matters.

You’ve climbed. You’ve delivered. You’ve done everything “right.”  

But what if success doesn’t feel like you thought it would?  

At the close of July’s Women Connect session, Kristi Huber left us with a challenge that may be the most radical of all: Redefine success on your terms

For too long, many of us have wrapped our worth to: 

  • Job titles 
  • Paychecks 
  • Performance reviews 
  • Productivity stats 

But what remains when those shift or fade? 

Kristi admitted: 

“I didn’t know who I was without my job. But I had to find out.” 

Leading Yourself First

To reclaim a healthier version of success, Kristi challenged us to shift from autopilot to intentional living, starting with how we lead ourselves. Her practical tools offer a roadmap for realignment: 

  • A “1 in, 1 out” rule for intentional commitments: for every new yes, something else must come off your plate, helping you protect your energy and avoid silent overload 
  • A “trigger map” exercise to identify the habits, situations or signals that lead to burnout 
  • Using AI (yes, really) to help surface deeper insight and honest self-reflection 
  • And perhaps most powerfully: a Reclamation Journal to reconnect with your why 

Together, these tools help reframe success not as a fixed destination, but a reflection of who you are becoming. 

Success evolves. You do, too. The bravest thing you can do is pause and ask: Does my definition of success still serve me?  

Ask yourself these three questions today (and come back to them often): 

  • What version of success am I chasing, and who wrote that script? 
  • What do I need to unfollow to find clarity? 
  • What would it look like to lead myself well, starting now? 

Success evolves. So should your strategy.

Ready to Lead with More Clarity? 

Join us Aug. 26 as Tracy Jordre shares her story of redefining success through adversity and reimagining what it means to lead well. 

Women Connect: The Architecture of Resilience 

Tuesday, Aug. 26 | 3:30 to 5 p.m. | Armory Event Center, Moorhead 

You’ll leave with tools, truth and a renewed sense of what sustainable leadership really looks like. 

Save your seat and take the next bold step in your leadership journey. 

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