What I Learned About Conviction From Wicked
Last week, I rewatched Wicked with my husband and daughter in anticipation of the sequel. Just like the first time, I found myself sucked into the moment as Elphaba is standing on the balcony, song-battling it out with Glinda, when she sings, “Something has changed within me…”
I’ve always loved the raw emotion in this scene, and hearing “Defying Gravity” again felt less like a show-stopping musical moment and more like someone had distilled the exact experience high-achieving female founders face when they reach that point in business where they can’t keep leading from someone else’s playbook.
Something has changed within me
Something is not the same
I’m through with playing by the rules of someone else’s game…
Isn’t that what the friction of success really is?
That quiet but unshakeable truth that the strategies, systems, and expectations you once built your business on no longer fit the woman you’ve become?
Only now, we’re talking about the moment you finally decide to do something with it.
For female founders and business owners, that moment where your inner voice becomes louder than your conditioning is the beginning of conviction-driven leadership.
What Conviction Really Feels Like
I think we often think things like conviction and courage are loud and dramatic. That they should feel some kind of way, but I’ve found that conviction rarely arrives with certainty or a perfectly mapped strategy. In fact, it often shows up before clarity.
It looks like:
“I can’t keep doing it this way.”
“I know I planned it to be this way, but it doesn’t fit me anymore.”
“This is working… but I can’t do what I really want if we keep it like this.”
The first time I ever felt this, I was still working for The Boeing Company. I was leading a large-scale transformation, literally attempting to shift the leadership culture of the company. I knew the work I was doing was deeply important and made a difference. Even more, I was really good at it, but the things that it required of me no longer felt like they fit the woman and leader I’d grown to be.
I made the decision to leave the company, not totally sure what my next step would be, and I can tell you with certainty that that moment was agonizing. There’s no roadmap for how to change course, no guarantee that the path you’re choosing will be the “right” one, and there’s very rarely any applause. It’s deeply lonely (even when you’ve got a great group of people you trust around you), but it’s also the moment that turns friction into direction.
In the years since, I’ve watched the same story play out in every high-level founder I work with.
The internal shift always precedes the external change.
If you’re feeling that tension, that’s your business running on an outdated version of you.
When Leading From Conviction Gets Hard
Once you’re done “playing by the rules of someone else’s game,” you have to live with the consequences of choosing your own.
Sometimes that means:
Letting go of offers that generate revenue but drain your joy (did that with my TEDx application coaching offer)
Making team changes that feel painful
Saying no to good opportunities because they’re not your opportunities
Being misunderstood by people who loved the old version of you (oooh this one is a doozy)
Playing a bigger game when no one around you is asking you to
I think this is why that balcony moment in Wicked is so powerful.
When Elphaba finally sees the Wizard clearly, when she sees the system for what it is, she chooses to honor her own moral compass instead of sticking with the status quo.
I don’t want to minimize the fact that it cost her relationships, her reputation, and her sense of belonging, but the benefit… she holds onto her soul.
What in the world would change if you stopped contorting yourself to fit a business you’ve outgrown… and rebuilt one that reflects who you are now?
What Conviction-Driven Leadership Actually Looks Like
We’ve talked a lot about a fictional character, so let me ground this in a real example.
A few years ago, one of my former clients, Lisa Smith, made the decision to publicly challenge the way families are supported in substance use recovery programs. It many ways, it probably would’ve been easier to stay silent, to keep quietly coaching families in one-off situations in order to avoid the scrutiny and pushback that inevitably comes with challenging entrenched systems.
But Lisa’s deep belief that families need support and healing alongside their loved one wouldn’t let her.
Her conviction is exactly why she’s changing her industry today.
Conviction Is the New Growth Strategy
If you’ve been following along with this series, it’s likely you’re standing on your own balcony right now. If you take nothing from me, take this:
Your next level is not coming from a new funnel, a rebrand, or a more polished sales strategy.
Your next level is coming from a truer, more honest version of you.
Conviction is not mindset work, inspiration, or soft leadership. It’s strategy.
When your conviction shifts, your:
message sharpens
audience is called in
offers evolve to match the next level
business structure realigns to match
visibility expands and allows you to shine a light on the issues that matter most
leadership deepens
team rallies and goes all in with you
Growth, revenue, and impact accelerates
If You’re Feeling the Shift… This is Your Moment
If you’ve been feeling the friction of success, this is your invitation to step into your next season grounded in the truth of who you’ve become.
You don’t need a full plan or to be perfectly clear on where you’re going. You simply need the next aligned step.
That’s exactly what a Strategic Clarity Call is for.
It’s a dedicated space to articulate the conviction you’ve been carrying, name what you’ve outgrown, understand the friction beneath the surface and what it’s trying to tell you, and map out the steps toward a business aligned with your next season of leadership.
If you’re ready for that leap, book your Strategic Clarity Call.
You don’t have to defy gravity alone.
