IF SHE CAN SUCCEED, ANYONE CAN

There have always been women who can succeed in a man's world and we hold them up as the reason change isn't required.   

They say, "If SHE can succeed, ANYONE can."  But it doesn't come without a price.  

As a woman who has spent the majority of her life in male-dominated and male-oriented spaces, I know exactly what it takes to succeed.  

It takes the abandonment of part of who you are.  

It takes leaning into aggression and competition and denying your empathy.  It takes fighting to win at all costs and spurning collaboration.  It takes keeping up a façade of strength regardless of how you really feel.  

Just because SHE can succeed, doesn't mean everyone can.  Nor does it mean that there is not an unhealthy price for her success. 

I have historically not seen myself as a Feminist.  To me, Feminism was about changing the world to work better for women.  First as a soldier, then as a mortgage broker, and finally as a financial advisor, I was in the business of winning in a man's world.  I took immense pride in winning without accommodation.   Winning against the odds.  

I got really good at abandoning part of myself.  So much so, that I wasn’t sure those parts even existed in me. 

Over the last decade, I have inadvertently built a female-centric financial planning practice with an all-female advisor team.  As I write this, we are adding our 6th female advisor.   

I say inadvertently because I didn't set out to create a female-centric firm.  What I did is become more and more aligned with who I am and my own strengths and in the process, I attracted female clients and female advisors.  

I came to realize that the way I do business better aligns with women who feel stifled and inauthentic by the broader industry. 

• We don't sell, we serve.   
• We don't pressure, we teach and advise.  
• We don’t push to get hired, we look for alignment with a potential client.  
• We don't make product pitches, we deliver on the promise of Advice-Based Financial Planning.  

I accidentally created a world that works better for female clients and advisors.  A world where everyone is invited to bring their authentic selves to the table.  Where doing this work feels like an act of service to the world.  

I have become a Feminist because what I discovered is that a world that works better for women is actually a better world! 

And it's not just better for women, it is better for everyone!  It is more accepting of people from diverse backgrounds.  It serves a broader group of clients.  It allows men to be their authentic selves as well.  It makes room for new ideas and opens the door to Next Gen advisors in a whole new way.  

I was recently given a book by my friend and industry collaborator Alanah Phillips and her colleague Brody Luebkeman.  After reading Proposals for the Feminine Economy by Jennifer Armbrust, Alanah reached out and said, "This is how you do business!"   

I initially had some resistance because 1. It's a Feminist Manifesto and 2. It is bright yellow (I hate bright yellow with my whole soul!)  but I trusted Alanah and Brody and dove in.  

Lo and behold, Jennifer put words to what I had created in my practice.  She offers a framework to describe what was going on that made women feel so at home in my practice as clients and advisors.   

We have rejected the Masculine Economy and are operating in the Feminine Economy. 

The Masculine Economy is all about competition, ego, materialism, and scarcity.  

The Feminine Economy is based on collaboration, gratitude, empathy, and service.  

What I love most about this framework is that it really isn't about male or female.  It is about masculine and feminine energy and values.  All genders are a balance of both.  And our industry has rejected the feminine to the detriment of everyone. 

After over 25 years of working in male-dominated industries, I have become a Feminist.  I am passionate about bringing more feminine values into the financial services industry not because women can't make it without change, but because change serves EVERYONE! 

I hope this serves you, 

-Lucila


PS You should read the book!  Get your copy HERE.  Come find me on LinkedIn and tell me what you think!