Today is my birthday. And while the past month was carefully planned, what I did not anticipate was the depth of its impact: on me, and on the people around me.
April became a reflection on contribution, legacy, identity and community, shaped by three moments.
My life partner defended his doctoral thesis with brio, shedding light on an overlooked subject around migrations in Brazil and contributing to historiography. The room was filled with friends whose curiosity and support made the moment unforgettable.
Together with my friend Lisa Neuberger, I taught a course on Purpose in Business in Madrid, exploring what it truly means to lead with intention and build a path aligned with one’s values. What struck me most was how quickly individuals become a community when they have the courage to be seen, and how purpose is not something we find by thinking alone, but by exploring, experimenting, and stepping into new experiences.
And finally, I co-created the first chapter of a European women leadership seminar bringing together women leaders of today and tomorrow in Paris. One of the highlights was a panel discussion with four remarkable women leaders sharing their story.
While preparing for that panel, I had a series of deep conversations with four remarkable women leaders coming from different industries, cultures, and career paths.
While these conversations center on women’s experiences, the leadership questions they raise are universal.
At first glance, their journeys have little in common. And yet, as I listened, a pattern emerged around how they navigated their choices, their doubts, and the expectations placed on them.
Each of them had, at some point, been confronted with a version of the same question: Do I adapt to the system, or do I shape my own path within it?
None of them followed a predefined script. They explored, pivoted, questioned, often moving before feeling fully ready. And in doing so, they redefined what success could look like on their own terms.
What follows are four stories.
Four perspectives on leadership, identity, and growth.
Four invitations to rethink what it truly takes to build a meaningful path.
Why Adaptability Isn’t Enough
In today’s workplace, one message is repeated over and over again to women:
Work harder. Be more prepared. Master your craft better than anyone else.
Many women build their early careers on excellence, delivering flawless work, mastering every detail, proving their value through effort. And while this discipline matters, it is not what ultimately defines success at more senior levels.
At some point, the game changes. Leadership is no longer about producing the best output. It’s about creating impact: influencing decisions, building relationships, and navigating complex human dynamics.
“I’m Franco-Moroccan. I grew up in Morocco, moved to France at 18, and have lived in Spain and the US. I’ve always had to adapt,” explains Sonia. Being “between two worlds” forced her to constantly read contexts, decode unspoken rules, and adjust her behavior without losing herself. A skill she now sees as fundamental in leadership.
Most professional environments operate with implicit codes not designed with women in mind. Women who succeed often do so by learning to decode and adapt to them.
Adaptability is a strength, but it comes at a cost: over-adaptation, the risk of losing one’s voice, and the tension between fitting in and staying authentic. “The real question is not whether women should adapt. It’s how much, and at what price.”
The shift is not just in individuals, it’s organizational.
“How do we create an environment where people don’t have to over-adapt? How do we introduce different ways of evaluating performance, professional quality, and impact?”
What if we expanded our definition of excellence beyond technical mastery to include relational intelligence, trust-building, and the ability to mobilize others?
“One of the most underestimated drivers of career success is simple: people enjoying working with you.”
In highly technical environments, this is often overlooked. Yet time and again, opportunities flow toward those who create positive, energizing working relationships, making others want to collaborate, contribute, and grow. This is not just about being nice. It’s about being effective in a human system.
Sonia’s message to the next generation of women leaders:
“Work smart, not just hard. Build expertise, but also influence. Create positive dynamics—without over-adapting.”
Before Confidence Comes Action
Insights from my conversation with Aude Estèves, Marketing Director at Natixis Wealth Management
We often tell young women to prepare more, think more, and wait until they feel fully ready. But some of the most fascinating career trajectories are not built by certainty: they are built by movement.
That is what makes Aude Esteves’ journey so compelling.
Her path did not follow a conventional script. She moved from literature and dance to media, public affairs, insurance, private banking, and entrepreneurship. What connects these chapters is not linearity: “I was always encouraged to follow my instinct and my choices,” she reflects.
That belief shaped everything that followed. While many women grow up internalizing hesitation, Aude was raised to see choice as freedom, rather than risk. “If I followed what I loved, I would naturally become very good at it.”
Her story is also a powerful reminder that growth rarely comes from staying where we are most comfortable. It comes from accepting temporary ambiguity, taking intelligent risks, and valuing learning over status. Returning to study, accepting an internship at 30 to enter a new sector, leaving stable environments to pursue more meaningful challenges.
As she says, “There is no point clinging to one idea if, in the meantime, you are not building experience.”
Another thread runs throughout her journey: the importance of mentors who did not decide for her, but helped her trust what she already knew and gave her the encouragement she needed to choose growth over comfort.
Her message to the next generation is refreshingly direct:
“Be fully authentic. Go for it. Dare.”
And perhaps the most important reminder of all:
“Stop overthinking. Act. Action always produces something valuable.”
The Freedom to Shine
Insights from my conversation with Liping Wu, co-founder of The Other Gift
In the world of luxury, beauty is often seen as an outcome. For Liping Wu, it is a philosophy, one that has quietly shaped every decision of her life.
Born in China into a traditional environment, her path seemed pre-written: academic excellence, stability, continuity. But at 21, she chose something far less certain. She left, first for Shanghai, then for Paris, guided not by a plan, but by a conviction that her life needed space to unfold.
Today, as co-founder of a creative agency working across luxury, culture, and design, she curates more than objects or collections.“We don’t just create products,” she explains. “We create universes and connections between them.”
At the core of her work lies a clear set of values. “Freedom has no price,” she says. The freedom to choose collaborators, shape projects, and remain aligned with one’s vision. Along with benevolence, connection, and a deep sensitivity to beauty in all its forms, from craftsmanship to storytelling.
Yet her journey has also been one of reclaiming her voice. “For a long time, I didn’t allow myself to show my ambition,” she reflects. “Now I know: I have the right to shine.”
In an industry that often rewards hardness, Liping built her success differently, through intuition, empathy, and long-term relationships. What others once perceived as fragility became her differentiator.
Her ambition, once too vast to name, has since evolved into something both simpler and more radical: “To make the world more beautiful, more harmonious.”
Not as an aesthetic goal, but as a way of leading, one creation, one connection, one story at a time.
You Don’t Have to Fit the Mold to Belong
Insights from my conversation with Dr. Valérie-Anne Ramis Cladera, Regional Senior Value Advisor for the Middle East & Europe at SAP
In many high-achieving environments (especially in science, tech, and business), success is still associated with a narrow path: the “right” school, background, and progression. Valérie Ramis’ journey challenges that assumption.
She trained at École Normale Supérieure and the Sorbonne, completing a PhD in molecular chemistry focused on medical applications. During that time, she realized she wanted a more direct impact on people and chose to move into the corporate world. An MBA broadened her perspective and led her into tech and business development at SAP.
On paper, it looks like a sharp pivot. In reality, it reflects a deliberate way of navigating choices, very much aligned with the design thinking methodology she teaches in business schools.
“There is a structured approach that is very aligned with design thinking: analyzing, exploring possibilities, deciding and then executing. And there is also a creative side that is equally important to me, coming from a family of artists.”
This combination of analytical rigor and creative instinct has shaped her path in environments often defined by rigid expectations.
“I never saw myself as an impostor. Everything I had learned, I brought with me.”
Valérie has spent much of her career in male-dominated spaces, from scientific research to global tech. Yet her message is not about fitting the mold. It is about trusting the value of what makes you distinct. She also reframes career moves:
“Changing paths is not failure. It shows that you are stepping out of your comfort zone.”
Her story is a reminder that how we position ourselves shapes how others perceive us. Difference does not need to be justified. It can be leveraged as a source of breadth, freshness, and perspective.
The real invitation is this: not to shrink in order to belong, but to bring the full richness of who you are. and let that become your strength.
Before You Go
Birthdays invite reflection. This year, I find myself less focused on what has been achieved, and more on what has been shared, built, and discovered alongside others.
These conversations reminded me that impact is rarely individual. It is created in relationships, in courage, and in the spaces where we allow ourselves to be fully seen.
Thank you for reading. Thank you for being here and for being part of my journey. You are what makes it so special 💜.
With gratitude,
Sophie
P.S.: If one idea or story stayed with you, I’d love to hear it. I read every message :)
