The Work — Amy Small

You've done everything you were supposed to do. The resume. The posturing. The performance.

It all feels heavy, nothing like the way you imagined. And at the same time, you're not really sure who you'd be without it.

This isn't a phenomenon I've read about. It's one I'm still living. I left a high-paying executive career after 23 years to launch a startup with zero guarantee of success or income. I went back to school for a masters in Leadership and Development to focus more on people than performance. I became a professional facilitator for programs like YPO and Empathy Lab, and finally found the rooms where I can see myself clearly again.

None of this has been neat or linear. But the mess is part of the process. And it's easier when you're navigating it with others who are right there in the muck with you.

As I figure out how to pull all of these experiences and insights together, I'm piloting several small, peer-based groups for women in leadership who've wondered what might happen if they put down all the noisy, external bullshit they've been carrying — and started listening to themselves again. Over the next few months, my goal is to test and gather feedback on the practices I've been building so I can make sure they're as valuable as possible for everyone.

About the pilot

Each group will be its own confidential space where you're invited to take down your armor. To explore the parts of yourselves you usually keep tucked away, because they clash with the myth of being a "woman who does it all." To voice the needs and questions you might be too nervous to talk about anywhere else.

You join as yourself. Not as your title, not as a representative of your company. The group is small, closed, and cross-industry on purpose — no hierarchy, no politics, no one who reports to you or needs something from you.

Format

Small cohort, closed group
6 women per group

Structure

6 sessions over 6 months
Two hours each, virtual

Who it's for

Senior women leaders
who are ready to be honest

What's being built

Trust. Language. Community. Clarity. Intuition.

How it works

Somatic awareness — every session opens and closes in the body, not the head
Peer witnessing — you're heard by the group, not coached or advised
Shared inquiry — questions the whole group holds together, no right answers
Co-created safety — the norms come from the group itself, not a rulebook

This is not

Coaching, or a course, or a program with a workbook
Sponsored by your employer or anyone else — though many participants expense it through PD budgets
A place to network or be seen

Something tends to happen when senior women get in a room together and are finally honest:

They get clearer on how they want to feel — not just what they want to accomplish. And that clarity tends to change how they show up. For their teams. For their families. For themselves.

I'm forming the first groups now and looking for the right people — not filling seats. If this is landing somewhere, I'd like to hear from you.

Get in touch