Getting Back to Rose & Resolve

It’s been a while since I’ve talked much about Rose & Resolve, and there’s a good reason for that.

Earlier this year, I had a preventative double mastectomy. I knew going into it that I would need some real time to recover, so I decided to step away from R&R and give myself that time.

I’ll admit, slowing down isn’t always easy for me. I’m used to working, juggling a lot of things, and generally having a pretty full plate. I like being busy, especially when I’m working on something I care about.

But recovery doesn’t really work that way.

There were days when I felt pretty good and days when I was quickly reminded that my body was still healing. I had to get better at listening to it, being patient, and accepting that I didn’t need to be accomplishing much beyond getting well.

And as hard as it can be to put things on hold, I’m really glad I did.

My health needed to come first. Full stop.

What I didn’t expect was that stepping away would also give me some much-needed perspective on Rose & Resolve.

Before surgery, I had so many ideas about what R&R could be. If you know me, that probably won’t surprise you. I can come up with ideas all day long. I was thinking about different programs, content, workshops, coaching, ways to build the community, and all kinds of things I could do.

The problem was, I was starting to make something I loved more complicated than it needed to be.

When I had to stop working on it for a while, I had a chance to think about what I actually missed.

And that was pretty easy to answer.

I missed the people.

I missed the conversations I was having with women about their careers, leadership, transitions, and what they wanted next. I missed hearing someone talk through something she’d been stuck on and being able to ask a question that helped her look at it differently.

I missed coaching.

That realization helped me think differently about what I want Rose & Resolve to be right now.

Instead of coming back and immediately trying to restart everything—or adding even more—I’ve decided to simplify.

I want to focus on doing a few things really well, and at the top of that list is 1:1 coaching.

That’s the part of this work I enjoy most, and it’s where I think I can be the most helpful.

I love working with women who have a lot of experience behind them but are trying to figure out what comes next. Maybe they’re navigating a leadership challenge. Maybe they’re considering a career change. Maybe life has thrown them a curveball and their priorities have shifted. Or maybe things look perfectly fine on paper, but they know something isn’t quite working anymore.

Those are conversations I love having.

Not because I have some magic answer. I don’t. But after more than 20 years of leading, mentoring, and working with people through all kinds of change, I know how valuable it can be to have someone in your corner who will listen, ask good questions, challenge you when you need it, and help you sort through what’s actually important.

That feels like the right focus for Rose & Resolve.

It also feels very connected to something I’ve been thinking about a lot this year: trusting what you already know.

We spend a lot of time looking outside ourselves for answers. We ask friends, colleagues, Google, podcasts—and yes, probably ChatGPT. We gather more information and more opinions, hoping something will make the answer obvious.

Sometimes we absolutely need that input.

But sometimes we already have a pretty good idea of what we need to do. We just need enough time and perspective to recognize it. Taking time away because of my surgery gave me a chance to think about my health, my priorities, and what I wanted to spend my energy on when I came back. I realized I didn’t want to come back and immediately fill my plate again. I wanted to be more intentional about what went back on it.

For Rose & Resolve, that means fewer things, done well. More conversations. More connection. More 1:1 work with women who are figuring out what their own next chapter looks like.

Will R&R grow and change over time? I’m sure it will. I still have plenty of ideas — I don’t think surgery cured me of that.

But I don’t feel like I have to act on all of them right now. And that may be one of the biggest things this time away has taught me. Just because you can do something doesn’t mean you need to do it. Sometimes figuring out what matters most and giving it your attention is enough.

For me, right now, that means taking care of my health, being grateful for how far I’ve come in my recovery, and getting back to the part of Rose & Resolve that I’ve genuinely missed.

The people and the conversations.

I’m really looking forward to both.