Hoping for praise on that project. Reading affirmation sticky notes as reminders of your worth. Asking someone if you handled a situation well. Waiting for the “Midwestern Wave” as you let someone into your lane.

Not because you aren’t worthy of praise. But because external validation doesn’t make you great. You are great already.

Sheri Riley presented an inspiring opening keynote at the IWL Fall Women’s Leadership Virtual Conference last month. She shared a powerful piece of advice: Own your greatness instead of constantly trying to prove it to others.

So let me repeat: You are great already.

As women, we struggle with “owning our greatness.” We’re taught to be pleasers and humble. We walk the tightrope of likability bias. We often struggle with Imposter Syndrome. The data is clear that celebrating our unique talents and contributions is not easy for us.

In fact, studies show men rate themselves 33% higher and engage in more self-promotion despite women performing equally well. For self-promoters, the praise generates more job offers and higher pay.

It is time for that to change. Working toward that very mission, greatness was on display October 6^th and 7^th. And it’s time we own it—each and every one of us in the IWL community.

Among a global pandemic, at an inflection point for IWL, we boldly made the decision to pivot to a virtual conference and still deliver a premier experience. We had no virtual playbook, no guarantees, and no idea what the response would be. What we did know is that women, and other marginalized groups, hit so hard by the events of 2020, needed IWL to fulfill its "why" now more than ever.

So we stepped up to the opportunity. The result? Our biggest and best event—EVER. A conference with more attendees, more corporate partners, and more learning moments. An experience that reached 38 states and 19 countries. A convening that brought women and male allies together for actionable steps to accelerate the advancement of female leaders. An event that was…truly great.

At the end of the day, we didn’t try to prove we could do it. We owned that we could. And we did.

So let me repeat one more time: You are great already.

When you are great, you can do great things. Never hesitate to own it.