For every woman who’s ever tried to “do it all,” alignment for women leaders starts with telling the truth about balance.
I’m writing this for every working mom who’s ever tried to balance it all.
And discovered the myth of “having it all” means both your career and family demand 100% of you. The math doesn’t work.
Like so many women, I know that sinking feeling of dropping your baby off at daycare for the first time.
The mental juggling act of pulling into the driveway after a long day, wondering where you’ll find the energy for dinner, baths, and bedtime stories.
Or trying to watch your kid’s game on glitchy WiFi from 30,000 feet while guilt quietly crushes your chest.
I waited until I was professionally established and financially secure to start a family.
Just as my career was taking off, so was my family.
One daughter, then twelve months later, twin girls.
Everyone told me, “You can balance this.”
The kids. The clients. The marriage. The self-care.
“You got this.”
So I chased balance like it was an Olympic sport.
And for a while, I pulled it off.
Until I didn’t.
I would collapse, exhausted and resentful, wondering why I felt so off when I was doing everything “right.”
A Wake-Up Call
After a high-profile client event in Miami that looked incredible on paper, I called my mom, buzzing with adrenaline.
“Mom, such an incredible day. We hosted clients on a private yacht, big names came by…”
I waited for her to say, “Wow, Molly, amazing!”
But instead, she asked, “How are the girls and Fred?”
I hesitated. “Good… good…”
Then she said something I’ll never forget:
“Molly, someone’s going to raise those girls. I hope it’s you.”
That moment stopped me in my tracks.
It wasn’t that I was out of balance.
I was out of alignment.
Balance Is a Myth. Alignment Is the Goal.
Balance implies perfection, even distribution, and control.
Alignment is different.
Alignment means your time, energy, and values are all pointed in the same direction.
It’s not about doing everything; it’s about doing the right things.
That realization led me to create what I now teach as The Alignment Audit, a simple, honest framework to get back in sync with what matters most.
Here’s how it works:
- Write down what is important to you. One helpful way to think about this is through the lens of mental, physical, emotional, relational, and spiritual.
- Rate these items on a scale of 1-10 (where 10 means it is extremely important to you).
- Now, rate yourself on how much time, attention and energy you have invested in these important areas of your life in the last few months (1 not much; 10 a lot).
- And finally, calculate the difference.
For example, I might say health is a 10 for me, but I’ve skipped most of my workouts in the last month, so I give myself a 4. So my gap is 6.
The difference that we calculate is our opportunity to align. To dig deep into what we say is important to us and how we are living into it.
When you live in alignment, life doesn’t suddenly get easy.
But it gets meaningful.
You stop trying to “do it all.”
You start doing what matters most.
This is the shift I needed—moving from chasing balance to living with purpose.
How The Edge Helps Women Leaders Live in Alignment
That wake-up call years ago didn’t just change how I lived.
It changed why I lead.
Because I’ve seen how many women who are leaders of leaders are running on empty, pouring into everyone else while their own purpose sits on pause.
That’s why I created The Edge Leadership Collective.
It’s an intimate leadership accelerator that helps ambitious women leaders step back from the noise and reconnect with what truly drives them. Inside The Edge, women learn the same alignment principles that changed my life and allowed me to lead and unlock next-level success and fulfillment.
The Edge gives women the time and tools to realign their lives so they can lead with strength and confidence. When women live in alignment, they don’t just find their edge; they live from it.
That’s the power of alignment for women leaders.
If you’re ready to transform the way you lead at home and work, I invite you to apply for The Edge. And if you know a woman who could use this kind of space, share it with her.
Because when one more woman finds her edge, she lifts up those around her.
More on Women and Alignment:
- The Mindset Shift For The Working Mom
- Reclaiming the Right to Success and Fulfillment
- Episode 167- Eve Rodsky on The Hidden Costs of Doing It All
- Moms: Give Yourself These 7 Permission Slips for Mother’s Day
- Episode 148- Allyson Felix on Overcoming Fear and Achieving Greatness
- Episode 149- Lisa Bilyeu on How to Build Self-Confidence
Molly Fletcher inspires leaders, teams and organizations to up their game. A keynote speaker and author, Molly draws on her decades of experiences working as a sports agent. Sign up to receive her newsletter, subscribe to the Game Changers with Molly Fletcher podcast, and watch her TED Talk on The Secrets to a Champion Mindset.
