Why more and more educated women are abandoning the old model of success

There is a quiet shift going on in the world for the position of women and the integration of female leadership. This collective stillness is palpable for many women, for a change begins from stillness, from listening within and what to look at to change. 

Because where success once equaled status, turnover and influence, another sound is now emerging softer but more powerful. No longer from the outside in, but the turnaround from the inside out. 

More and more women are asking the question that is shaking up the old success model: ‘What if success no longer means doing more, but making better, different choices?’

We come from a time when work was synonymous with value. Where productivity was confused with meaning and where ambition was often accompanied by exhaustion. It is the outdated system, from generations before us. When it did work and we followed. In fact, we are the first generation to change it. Whether you want to or not.

More and more female forerunners are already deciding to play the game differently. Not because we are less ambitious, but because we have started to think differently about what is truly valuable. Not by retreating longer, but by standing up and rewriting the system from within.

The old success model is cracking

For years we were taught that success was measurable: in sales, growth, numbers, visibility. It was a model built on performance, not fulfillment. It required women to excel in a structure that was never designed for them: linear, hierarchical, endlessly focused on more.

And that begins to crack, to chafe. Because women who seemingly have ‘everything going for them,’ a rich career and promotions, thriving business, prestige and influence, they feel something is missing. Not in results, but in meaning. Not capacity, but direction. Because success at the expense of peace of mind, health or meaning is not success. It is a form of self-loss. Of shriveling and undervaluation.

The old model promised freedom, but mostly delivered pressure. It promised status, but disconnected us from deeper purpose. It promised growth, but ignored integration.

The emergence of a new paradigm

The new generation of women leaders defines success differently. They dare to choose life and ambitions, life and career, life and their future. They no longer opt for more, but for correctness. No longer for harder, but for intelligent simplicity. No longer for faster, but for strategic slowing down in order to accelerate and grow.

In this new paradigm, growth is not about expansion, it is about integration. Nor do I believe that in work/life balance. I believe in Life/Work integration. 

Life first, supported by successful business second.

It is not how much you do, but in what quality you are present. Not how many people you reach, but how much you really touch. Fortunately, this shift has already begun and more and more women are shifting from ‘performance’ to ‘presence. From status to the position where they are successful without working harder and have to fight to be seen, heard and appreciated. They are building business models that fit their values, energy and stage of life. They dare to slow down to deepen. They dare to work less, not out of convenience, but out of wisdom. Without losing impact, revenue and freedom. 

Because meaning is the new measure of success and profitable growth, integral on a personal, business and financial level.

Intelligently simplify as a leadership strategy

This shift requires a different form of leadership: conscious, systemic and future-oriented. For me, a modern form of leadership, namely Future-Fit leadership. Being fit and healthy in all areas, personal, business and financial. Not the kind of leadership that is about control, but about direction and focused growth. Not about doing everything, but about choosing what really matters.

The core of sustainable and Future-Fit leadership. That's what intelligent simplification is all about. To simplify intelligently means to:

• You consciously stop what no longer contributes to your impact
• You invest your time and energy in strategic priorities (business and personal)
• You structure your business around clarity, peace of mind and profitability

It takes courage to stop performing by old standards and instead lead from vision.
Because only when you dare to let go of what is no longer right will there be room for what is truly of value.

Doing less does not mean achieving less

By doing the right thing, by wasting less, fragmenting less, alienating less from what drives you ... that ultimately accomplishes so much more.  

It was also a trap of mine until I saw what it was costing me in time, energy and money/sales. Now I know better. Even in my business, in practice, I see it happening every time:

Once women simplify their business, their influence grows. Their profits rise, their energy recovers, their clarity returns. They stand up for their value and strengthen their position, choosing high-value offerings for the right customers. Where they get more results and impact. It is the ability to integrate structure, focus and meaning, so that success no longer depends on constant commitment, but on strategic direction from peace of mind and with results.

From success to meaningful growth

The future of leadership is female not in form, but in value. Because frankly, I have some resistance to the word female leadership. Mainly because of how it is contrasted with male leadership. And I think that's bullshit, to me it's AND AND. And where it chafes is that the AND AND is not the standard, because in many companies, but also in important social and political positions, the percentage of women leaders is still lower than the male leaders. The inequality is still there in the places and positions where the old system still prevails and is dominant. This has to change so that we can successfully move towards meaningful growth together, making the new success model the new ‘normal. 

Because where the old success model was about being loud, (over)shouting and proving, the new is about connecting, being authentically visible and embodying. Where the old focused on performing, the new focuses on being present in what matters. And that's what I wish myself, you, but also the generations after us.

This requires that we no longer measure success in hours, revenue or status, but in influence, peace and fulfillment. Because ultimately, success is not what the world sees of you, but what you feel inside: is it still right? Is it contributing? Is it making a difference?

The redefinition of success

The women who will make a difference in the next decade are not the hardest working, but the most aware. The forerunners who pave(er) the way for the next generations. Not those who do everything, but those who dare to redefine what success means. The new status of success is not visible in what you own, but in what you embody: peace, direction, fulfillment and the freedom to stay true to yourself and what is essential.

Are you also that forerunner, that visionary where this resonates? Then you know that something is moving not just in the marketplace, but in you, and that it can no longer be ignored. You feel it's time to redefine success. To replace the structures that once provided security with systems that balance freedom, meaning and profit.

That is exactly where Scale to Freedom stands for: redesigning your life, your business structure and your future. So that profitable growth is no longer about more, but about better, better chosen, better managed, better lived. From peace, space and results. For women who want to build influence and legacy, who want to turn their potential, expertise and experience into direction, control and impact.

Not working harder. Building wiser. Enriching life.

One Life. Lead it. Live it.

Warm regards,

Gerdi 

Strategic Business Partner 

Founder Integral Growth System™

When you are ready to work less hard, live enriched with more meaning: 

Scale to Freedom: 6 months of intensive transformation

In my premium route Scale to Freedom we work intensively together for six months on your complete transformation integral. We reset, redesign and rebuild your business and life. This is not superficial coaching, but a deep strategic partnership in which you learn to steer from peace, direction and vision.

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→ Explore Scale to Freedom : the strategic growth and transformation for women leaders who want to enrich their lives and simplify business without diminishing their ambitions.

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ELLLE requires guts, commitment and a willingness to invest. It is for women who bring movement, not wait and see.

→ Sign up for the waiting list of the ELLLE Board 2026 and become part of the movement redefining success from harder to wiser, from more to meaningful.

Last call: limited availability

Just a short sprint into 2025? Strategic Sprint 30 days of intensive transformation

A short and intensive strategic collaboration of 30 days for maximum 4 established leaders, consultants and entrepreneurs.

The set-up:

• 1:1 Exclusive day deepdive - We reframe your value, sharpen your positioning and prepare your business for sustainable growth in the AI era
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In this sprint you will discover:

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The Freedom Strategy Sprint is for you if you:

✓ Already successful, but stuck in more of the same
✓ Feels that knowledge alone is no longer distinctive enough
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This is NOT for you if you:

• Still in the start-up phase of your business
• Looking for quick fixes or tactical hacks
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I still have some available spots in November and December 2025.

Go to www.gerdihulsink.nl/strategiegesprek To schedule your strategic intake.

The future does not reward creators who run harder. 

She rewards leaders who know what remains priceless.