In case you aren’t following along on social media, a new Muse came earth side and I’m getting to know her.
I’m really grateful for the network I have of business owners who also enjoy writing to step in and guest post when my real life takes priority over cyber life.
I am thrilled to share today's guest post from Chrysta Bairre, a voice that resonates deeply and aligns with what I believe about authentic leadership and social media presence. When Chrysta first shared this piece with me, I found myself nodding along with every word.
As someone who navigates for herself and others the complex balance of being professional while being real online, Chrysta’s message about the power of showing up authentically hit home.
Chrysta's journey from trying to maintain a "perfect" image to embracing her whole story mirrors what so many of us experience as business owners and content creators. As the founder of She Goes High, a 1,900+ member women's leadership community, and author of "Beautiful Badass," Chrysta brings a unique perspective on how vulnerability can become your greatest strength in building genuine connections online.
I'll let Chrysta take it from here – and I encourage you to read all the way through. Her insights about the difference between sharing wounds and sharing journeys might just change how you think about your own social media presence.
Over to Chrysta...
My highest engagement as a business owner has consistently come from sharing my most vulnerable moments.
When I launched my career coaching and speaking business, a colleague and friend advised me to "show them your scars, not your wounds". She explained that to build my credibility, I needed to share about my challenges only once I had "figured out" how to overcome them, so I tried my best to put on my "perfect” on social media face. But I'm not perfect on social media or in life. I don't think I've had one single day of having my shit completely together. Maybe I have my shit 50% together. Or maybe 80% together. Or maybe 23% percent together. And that's real life.
I wondered how I could show up as the face of my business and be “perfectly” fallible human in the process. Not long after I was invited to share my personal story at a mental health awareness event, and my business mentor told me not to do it. I felt so strongly that sharing stories of mental health is important for humanity, so I told my story and waited for the backlash my mentor said would come.
It never came.
Instead, people reached out and told me how much they were moved by my authenticity, and I even got a few career coaching clients from the opportunity! It turns out my vulnerability made them feel more comfortable sharing vulnerably with me.
After that speaking opportunity, I began to share more openly about my struggles on social media, in my newsletters, and on stage. I shared about personal and business struggles, and my people found me. Today I think of it less as “showing my wounds”, and more as showing my journey, and the stops along the way.
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Chrysta Bairre is an advocate for herself and others. As a child she grew up in poverty, surrounded by family members with mental illness and addiction, while her own non-apparent disability went unrecognized and undiagnosed. A queer woman with several disabilities, she fought to get the help and support she needed to thrive, and became a voice for unseen and under-served people like herself.
Today, Chrysta is a career coach and professional speaker, helping women increase their income and impact through valuing their own inherent worth, setting boundaries and saying no in business, and advocating for themselves. She engages and inspires on stage, speaking to employees on banishing burnout, overcoming impostor syndrome, and workplace mental health.
Chrysta is also the founder of She Goes High, a 1,900+ member introvert and neurodivergent-friendly women’s leadership community in Northern Colorado. She Goes High hosts more than 30 events per year to support women leaders in taking up their space in the world and leaving their legacy!
Her first book, Beautiful Badass: How to Believe in Yourself Against the Odds, shares stories and lessons from overcoming poverty and depression in this guide for women who want to take command of their destinies and no longer fall prey to the hardships and setbacks that previously defined them. She is currently writing her next book on the topic of asking for help.
Connect with Chrysta:
Website: https://liveandlovework.com/ LI: https://www.linkedin.com/in/chrystabairre/