What does "tiara" symbolize for Tiara International?
Tiara International was unofficially launched in 2007, as a program designed by consulting firm ClearSpace LLC specifically for their female leaders. At its inception, we playfully called the leadership development program, “Hand Me My Tiara, Please,” which was meant to illustrate a new, emerging relationship that women can choose to have with power — an understanding that power is innate and a birthright, not something to be earned after grueling, tireless effort and countless trials and judgments from others.
We designed the program with women in mind, because at the time the leadership programs available to women simply just missed the mark for the women we were consulting and coaching. The women we work with (executives, professionals, entrepreneurs, advocates, authors, and more) were looking for a leadership program that included:
An inside-out framework beginning with the individual’s sense of self and purpose
A transformational method that would continuously shift limiting beliefs that appeared as obstacles in the path
A community-oriented approach where they could feel connected to other like-minded, like-spirited, and like-hearted women leaders on the path
Practical tools that could be used immediately in situations they faced in the office, on their career paths, and even in their homes
Balancing of feminine and masculine leadership traits in developing a true leadership style
An integrated planning process that include all parts of life in one plan (modeled after the way the female brain naturally functions)
Permission to have fun along the way, even when facing huge hurdles or leading toward a world-changing outcome
It took us a year to develop our framework, method, and core curriculum, which is now known as the Tiara Model for True Leadership (SM). This multi-faceted, dynamic model provides us the leadership development needed to grow, develop, achieve, reflect, lead, influence, and more.
During the evolution of our model, as business leaders, we needed to make (and re-make) key strategic decisions at each step. Decisions like: Were we going to remain as a service offering and program or were we going to launch as a new business? What business structure would we choose? How would we constantly challenge ourselves to serve our global audience in an accessible and practical way?
One question we faced repeatedly was about our name. Tiara. Was it too feminine? Too playful? Too princess? Too pageant? Too confusing? Too deep? Was it a tribute or a setback?
Every time we challenged ourselves about the name and our brand, our leadership team chose to keep the Tiara symbol at the heart of our brand, in spite of some resistant feedback in the marketplace.
We chose to keep it because we have welcomed the questioning dialogue. Every time we’ve had a hard-hitting or emotional conversation about the name, we return to the following core Tiara principles that we hold as truths for our business and for all of our clients, of all ages and genders; today, we choose to share them with you:
We are all born leaders.
We are all leaders because at the end of the day and the beginning of the day we are each leading our lives in some way.
Power and purpose come from within.
When we are grounded, centered, and fostering a quality relationship with ourselves, we are connected to power, purpose, and peace-of-mind at each moment. We do not have to wait for, earn, or work hard to have a connection to our inner sense of self.
We are deserving.
Women in particular have inherited a specific way of being extraordinarily hard on themselves. This is reflected in data gathered by The Confidence Gap, which is very familiar to many of us. We often feel like we have to be 110% perfect in every scenario to be deserving of the new job, the award, the compliment, the day off, or the thank you card. Yet we all need to embrace being deserving of acknowledgement, generosity, appreciation, and more — just for being ourselves and doing what we do.
We make a difference.
In any of the movies that star a young king or queen who has taken the throne before his or her expected time, we quickly learn that someone who holds the throne has influence, no matter their age, experience or training. We believe that we each have a deep wish to contribute to the world, and that we each have the ability to be of great influence; yet, we may need training and support to have the impact we most desire.
True Leadership can be expressed by each of us at any time, in any scenario.
When we have the awareness and proper tools, we can express ourselves and influence others as true leaders, no matter what situation we are facing or role we are in.
For us, the Tiara is a symbol of those beliefs, reminding us of our innate power and grace. Whenever we forget or doubt these truths, we are reminded of them by our clients, our colleagues, and our friends. Tiara women everywhere demonstrate these truths in their lives on a daily basis, no matter their age, country, role, experience, or native language.
The Tiara woman has a quiet confidence.
She is not aggressive, but gets her point across. She lives on her time, by her rules and without apology. She gives as well as receives in equal measure. She is not selfish, but rather full of self, self that knows she can do anything she wants.
