The Emprise Framework

If there's one thing I've learned in 2020, it's that the conventional way we have been pursuing our careers no longer serves many of us well -- especially women. In fact it hasn't been working well for many of us for quite some time, but 2020 has opened our eyes to two critical realizations: 1)  many of us have been operating just at the edge of our breaking point without getting enough fulfilment from our work life; and 2) change is possible -- change both in the way we work and the way we approach the division between our personal and professional lives.

Women need to look beyond the traditional expectations and indicators of success that we have inherited from an enterprise-based system. This system, by the way, was designed largely by men for men, most of whom had hard-working wives tending to household management duties. The current context within which we find ourselves requires a different approach to the design of our lives. This is where we can lean on a life design framework I have developed called the Emprise.

Emprise is a framework that gives women the opportunity to design a pathway forward that puts us in a position of leadership of our own lives. It gives us the tools to find our next calling, be it big or small, and to use that calling to live our biggest, most fulfilling lives, personally and professionally. 

Emprise is built on four leadership principles: abundance, ownership, courage, and authenticity. Pursuing Emprise means making a conscious decision to use these principles to inform decision-making processes, major life choices, and the way we show up in the world.

Emprise is especially well-tuned for female professionals because:

1) Women tend to carry more of the load of personal and professional responsibilities, and the societal impetus to 'have it all' and find 'work-life balance' only adds to the list of unrealistic ideals that set us up to struggle. Emprise helps us reframe expectations we set for ourselves, and design a life that is supportive of all of our varied needs and responsibilities.

2) Our ability to not just survive but thrive as professional women necessitates a deep resourcefulness. To be successful and fulfilled, we must uncover hidden assumptions we have made about how we are supposed to live our lives, and what success is meant to look like. We must learn to call upon our internal strengths, and supplement them with the strengths of our network. The framework of Emprise establishes a pathway for doing this.

3) We are at a critical inflection point in the trajectory of women's empowerment. Right now we have the opportunity to examine what it means for us as individuals to be powerful female leaders, and to chart a course for the future of female leadership. As women we must take the reins and do this work now. The work to find and pursue Emprise creates the opportunity to delve into the creative and deeply introspective work of re-envisioning our own highly individualized vision of strong female leadership. We must make this re-envisioning an intentional part of our growth and development journey.

Want to learn more about pursuing Emprise? Read about the four Principles of Emprise here.

Lara Holliday is the Founder + CEO of Tide Risers

Want to hear more about this? Watch Lara’s TedX talk here.