How a Four-Year-Old’s Wonder Sparked a Five-Continent Journey of Feminine Leadership
Some leaders chase change. Others dance with it. And then there are those rare individuals who transform uncertainty into artistry, weaving together threads of global experience, feminine wisdom, and transformational vision to create something entirely new. In a world grappling with unprecedented challenges from climate change to social inequality the qualities traditionally dismissed as “soft” are proving to be our strongest assets. At the forefront of this revolution stands a remarkable leader whose journey from a curious four-year-old to an internationally recognized author and change catalyst embodies the very essence of feminine leadership reshaping our world.
Pamela Thompson, BN, MSc., didn’t just stumble into global leadership she danced her way there, following a philosophy that “life is an adventure” and trusting her heart and intuition to guide her path. As Founder of Female Wave of Change Canada and Creative Life Coaching & Consulting, she has spent decades proving that authentic, collaborative, and emotionally intelligent leadership isn’t just nice to have it’s essential for creating the conscious, equitable, and peaceful world we desperately need.
The Spark That Ignited a Global Journey
Thompson’s fascination with cultures and global service began with a moment of childhood wonder that would shape her entire trajectory. At just four years old, visiting a well-traveled friend of her father’s, she wandered through a home filled with treasures from around the world. In that moment, a profound knowing crystallized: “One day, I’ll travel the world, collect beautiful things, and serve in some meaningful way.”
“I didn’t know how then, but that early spark shaped my path,” Thompson reflects. “Decades later, I’ve had the privilege of living and working on five continents, learning invaluable lessons from each culture and community I’ve experienced.”
This wasn’t mere wanderlust it was the beginning of a deep understanding that meaningful leadership requires genuine connection across cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives. That four-year-old’s intuition would guide Thompson through roles in conflict zones, international organizations, and ultimately to founding movements that are transforming how we think about leadership itself.
Following Heart and Intuition: The Art of Adventurous Leadership
Thompson’s approach to life and leadership defies conventional career planning. “Throughout my life I have followed my heart and my gut,” she explains. Before starting her first business in 1992, she averaged three to four years in each position, moving on when she felt she had learned enough. Rather than climbing a traditional ladder, she created her own path by putting intentions out to the universe or strategically connecting with colleagues over lunch to explore new opportunities.
This philosophy of treating life as an adventure has shaped both her personal and professional journey in profound ways. It’s led her to embrace uncertainty as a creative force, to trust in the unfolding of possibilities, and to understand that the most meaningful paths rarely follow straight lines.
“When I felt I had learned enough I would either put it out to the Universe and an amazing opportunity would show up or based on what I knew I wanted to do next, take a colleague out for lunch and ask them who they would recommend I get in touch with,” she shares. This approach demonstrates a key principle of feminine leadership: the wisdom of collaboration and the power of authentic relationship-building over aggressive self-promotion.
The Entrepreneurial Pivot: From Stability to Self-Determination
Thompson’s transition to entrepreneurship in the early 1990s exemplifies how feminine leaders often create opportunities through authentic connection and collaborative spirit. While working in the federal government and holding what she considered the “steady job with benefits,” she attended a workshop on project management. Her natural facilitation skills caught the attention of the workshop leader, leading to an unexpected conversation that would change everything.
“When I told him I had a background in group and family therapy but no formal facilitation training, he replied, ‘We need to talk,’” Thompson recalls. Within six months, she had joined a management consulting firm on a handshake, gaining valuable experience in strategic planning and multistakeholder consultations.
But when faced with choosing sides between partners, Thompson chose a different path entirely. “Uncomfortable choosing sides, I decided to chart my own course and founded InPro Consulting, which I successfully led for over a decade.” This decision reflects the feminine leadership principle of seeking collaborative solutions rather than competitive victories.
Defining Feminine Leadership for a New World
For Thompson, feminine leadership isn’t about gender it’s about qualities that are desperately needed to address our world’s most pressing challenges. “I believe feminine leadership holds the key to creating a better world; a more conscious, equitable, just, sustainable and peaceful world,” she states with conviction.
She defines feminine leadership as encompassing “qualities like creativity, collaboration, authenticity, inclusiveness, intuition, emotional intelligence; qualities typically associated with the feminine, that said, men as well as women, can have and learn these qualities.”
The evidence supporting this approach is compelling. When women are involved in decision-making processes like peacebuilding and politics, outcomes are consistently more inclusive and positive. Research shows that women leaders create environments that increase morale, make people feel seen and heard, and foster teamwork and collaboration that results in increased productivity and solutions that incorporate multiple perspectives.
“When people feel like they are respected, valued and belong in the workplace, those qualities carry over into their personal lives,” Thompson notes, highlighting the ripple effect of feminine leadership principles.
Female Wave of Change Canada: Modeling Shared Leadership
Thompson’s commitment to feminine leadership principles isn’t just theoretical it’s embodied in the structure and approach of Female Wave of Change Canada, the national, member-based nonprofit she founded in 2020 as Ambassador for Canada of Female Wave of Change, a global social movement founded in 2017 by Ingun Bol in the Netherlands. The organization serves as a living laboratory for collaborative, heart-centered leadership.
Since launching, Female Wave of Change Canada has hosted monthly virtual gatherings that embody the values of feminine leadership: collaboration, inclusivity, authenticity, and heart-centered action. “Each event is co-created with a featured guest, and our diverse Board shares facilitation roles modeling shared leadership in practice,” Thompson explains.
The organization is intentional about inviting women from various cultures and backgrounds to speak, creating space for meaningful dialogue and community input. Feedback from members directly shapes programming, demonstrating the feminine leadership principle of co-creation rather than top-down decision-making.
One of their most innovative initiatives emerged from this collaborative approach. Early in the pandemic, Thompson invited members to co-create an environmental education initiative. Within six months, they developed the Mother Earth Ambassador Program, an experiential outdoor education program for girls ages 9 to 12 that teaches stewardship, connection to nature, and leadership rooted in care. The program was piloted to rave reviews and is now seeking partners to expand across North America and beyond.
Leading Through Uncertainty: Wisdom from the Field
Thompson’s experience working in conflict zones and with high-level organizations has taught her invaluable lessons about leadership under extreme uncertainty. Her approach centers on a fundamental principle: “We develop our leadership from the inside out. To lead effectively through extreme uncertainty, we must first examine our own relationship with it.”
Her hard-won insights include accepting that not knowing what to do is okay, trusting that clarity will come in time, letting go of the need to force answers, and believing things will unfold for the greater good. Most importantly, she emphasizes listening to and trusting the body’s wisdom.
“Your body always knows what’s best for you,” she affirms, offering practical wisdom for embodying these principles: daily body scans, time in nature, movement, deep rest, staying connected, nourishing the spirit, and giving oneself grace.
“By intentionally adopting practices that nurture our minds, bodies, and spirits, we can turn times of uncertainty into opportunities for growth and creativity,” Thompson explains. This approach transforms traditional crisis management into creative opportunity a hallmark of feminine leadership.
The Art of Change Framework: A Revolutionary Approach to Transition
Thompson has developed a systematic approach to navigating change that reflects feminine leadership principles. Her “Art of Change Framework” is a 5-step process designed to support individuals through personal and professional transitions, grounded in the metaphor that “life is a dance.”
The Framework is built on the belief that “embracing change is a creative process that opens us to new possibilities.” This shifts the typical fear-based response to change into one of curiosity, courage, and opportunity—a fundamental reframe that empowers rather than paralyzes.
For teams, the Framework helps leaders understand how each member typically responds to change and what support they might need. This proactive approach reduces resistance, minimizes emotional withdrawal, and prevents conflict that often arises during transitions.
For women leaders specifically, the Framework offers a powerful personal journey, guiding them to identify what they need to let go of, integrate lessons learned, envision their next role or ideal organization, and craft an aligned, actionable path forward. The Framework includes embodied tools that help move beyond overthinking to reconnect with inner wisdom fostering clarity, confidence, and resilience.
Preventing Burnout: The Creative Living Approach
Thompson’s approach to helping mission-driven women navigate change without burning out combines her Art of Change process with the 7 keys to Creative Living articulated in her bestselling book “Learning to Dance with Life: A Guide for High-Achieving Women.” Creative Living, as she defines it, is the “conscious cultivation of improved health, happiness, fulfillment and inner peace in your life.”
Her work addresses a critical issue facing high-achieving women. In “Learning to Dance with Life,” she identifies 19 attributes of high-achieving women such as “giving more than receiving,” “doing more than being,” love of learning, self-discipline, and wanting to make a difference. When women recognize these attributes in themselves, they realize they’re not alone and begin to understand their unique challenges and strengths.
This recognition is crucial because high-achieving women often don’t see themselves as such, despite their significant contributions and accomplishments. Thompson’s framework helps them claim their achievements while providing tools to sustain their impact without sacrificing their well-being.
From Burnout to Breakthrough: The Author’s Journey
Thompson’s path to becoming a bestselling author emerged from her own experience with burnout—a testament to how feminine leaders transform personal challenges into resources for others. After returning from Afghanistan in late 2012 and taking on a demanding contract with an international nonprofit, she found herself deeply depleted.
“Though I was initially aligned with their mission, the scope quickly expanded, and I became deeply depleted. When offered an extension, I paused and realized I was running on empty,” she recalls.
Rather than pushing through, Thompson took a break with no clear plan, rested deeply, reconnected with nature and loved ones, and began studying mindfulness. Following a virtual “Transformational Author Experience” in May 2013, the puzzle pieces of her life came together, and the 7 Keys to Creative Living emerged.
This experience led to “Learning to Dance with Life,” followed by “The Exploits of Minerva: Reflections of a Sixty-Something Woman,” a part-memoir, part personal growth guide exploring six women in a Women’s Circle who have supported one another through various life transitions over two decades.
Her most recent work, “Truths & Contradictions: Life-Changing Experiences in Afghanistan,” serves a dual purpose: dispelling myths about Afghans, Afghanistan, and Islam while shining light on the incredible courage and resilience of the Afghan people. A portion of sales is donated to Right to Learn Afghanistan, supporting the education of women and girls and demonstrating how feminine leaders align profit with purpose.
Afghanistan: Lessons in Adaptability and Cultural Wisdom
Thompson’s experience living and working in Afghanistan profoundly shaped her understanding of leadership and cross-cultural collaboration. Her key learnings continue to influence her approach today, demonstrating how feminine leaders extract wisdom from every experience.
“Stay flexible and open to possibilities,” is one crucial lesson. While contracted to support the Ministry of Public Health in developing a strategic plan, the Minister requested something outside her original scope. Instead of working in isolation, Thompson interviewed the 15 senior staff, integrating their input with her analysis to craft a report.
“This pivot not only deepened my understanding of the Ministry’s inner workings but also built trust and rapport with its leadership team,” she explains. This approach exemplifies feminine leadership’s emphasis on collaboration and relationship-building over rigid adherence to initial plans.
The experience also reinforced the importance of self-care and staying grounded during stress. Each day in Afghanistan, Thompson meditated, practiced yoga, and aimed for eight hours of sleep to stay grounded, responsive, and resilient. During a workshop following news of an attack on the Ministry of Public Health, she acknowledged the fear while reassuring the group of their safety, helping them stay focused and complete their work.
These experiences demonstrate how feminine leaders prioritize both task completion and human wellbeing, understanding that sustainable success requires attention to both.
The Power of Transformational Storytelling
Thompson views storytelling as a powerful catalyst for change, considering herself a “transformational author” a term first coined by Christine Kloser. “A transformational author doesn’t just tell stories they illuminate truths, challenge assumptions, and inspire growth. Their work often emerges from lived experience, from hard-won insights gained through personal or professional change.”
For Thompson, storytelling serves multiple purposes: sharing wisdom, inspiring others, and catalyzing change through the process itself. “Sharing a vision of a better world and suggestions of how to move toward that vision can inspire others to join a movement,” she explains.
This approach reflects feminine leadership’s understanding that change happens through connection and inspiration rather than force or coercion. By sharing authentic stories of struggle and transformation, feminine leaders create permission for others to embark on their own journeys of growth and change.
Understanding High-Achieving Women in Transition
Through her coaching and writing, Thompson has identified common themes among high-achieving women facing transitions. Unlike many people, these women don’t typically fear change when asked to rank themselves on a scale from one to ten regarding their comfort with change, they usually rank themselves as nine or ten.
However, they face unique challenges: feeling restless and uncertain about next steps (unusual for women who typically know when it’s time for change), feeling impatient and wanting to know the next best step immediately, and sensing that despite their accomplishments, something feels incomplete.
“They may question the path they’re on, craving deeper alignment with their values, or sensing an inner nudge toward change,” Thompson observes. “At this crossroads, they are ready to pause, reflect, and realign their life and leadership with what truly matters. They don’t just want to succeed—they want to live and lead with purpose, clarity, and impact.”
This insight reveals a crucial aspect of feminine leadership: the drive for alignment between values and action, and the courage to pause and reassess even when external success might suggest staying the course.
A Universal Approach to Coaching
Thompson’s coaching philosophy reflects feminine leadership’s emphasis on connection and authenticity over technique and strategy. “I believe that most of us are more the same than we are different. We all want to be loved, valued, respected, belong and most of us care about family. Because of this I connect with people from that perspective and at the heart level.”
Rather than adjusting her approach based on cultural background or leadership style, Thompson focuses on building trust, asking the right questions, and deeply listening. “Because coaching is a lot about asking questions and supporting clients to ‘go inside’ and answer their own questions, what I think is more important is connecting with the client and building trust, asking the right questions, and deeply listening and supporting people to move forward.”
This approach demonstrates feminine leadership’s trust in people’s innate wisdom and capacity for growth, emphasizing facilitation over direction and collaboration over control.
Supporting Feminine Leaders in Organizations
Thompson believes organizations must actively value and integrate feminine leadership qualities into their cultures. “Organizations need to openly value the qualities of feminine leadership including authenticity, inclusiveness, creativity, emotional intelligence and collaboration so that these qualities are integrated into the organizational culture.”
Her recommendations include rewarding teams rather than individuals, enabling opportunities for feminine leaders to co-create solutions, and believing that people from all levels of the organization have a role in the co-creation process rather than having solutions come “top down.”
Importantly, Thompson emphasizes balance: “The masculine qualities of being rational, goal-oriented, and objective also have a role in organizations, yet these qualities need to be balanced with the feminine ones.” This nuanced understanding reflects feminine leadership’s inclusive approach, seeking integration rather than replacement.
Building Global Sisterhood Through Virtual Connection
Thompson recognizes the powerful role of virtual gatherings and online communities in building global sisterhood and solidarity. “When women from different backgrounds and cultures connect, we realize how similar we are. We all face similar challenges and have much to learn from one another.”
She notes that virtual connections help overcome isolation and fear around creating change: “Many of us have some fear around creating and effecting change, particularly when it comes to the bigger issues. By joining with like-minded souls, we become energized and can create movements that on our own are not possible.”
This insight reflects feminine leadership’s understanding of collective power and the importance of community in sustaining change efforts.
A Legacy of Transformation and Understanding
Thompson’s vision for her legacy encompasses multiple dimensions of impact, all centered on feminine leadership and global understanding. She hopes to increase understanding of feminine leadership qualities and their importance for our future, become an internationally recognized author, and ensure her book “Truths & Contradictions” reaches thousands while supporting the education of Afghan women and girls.
She also aims to see the Mother Earth Ambassador Program implemented in hundreds of communities worldwide, inspire women and men globally through her stories and leadership lessons, and contribute to building peace and understanding in the world.
Perhaps most personally, she hopes “to inspire more and more women to believe that they can do anything they set their mind to (including my four precious grandchildren).”
Dancing Toward the Future
Pamela Thompson’s journey from a wonder-struck four-year-old to an internationally recognized leader and author demonstrates the transformative power of feminine leadership principles. By following her heart and intuition, embracing uncertainty as creativity, prioritizing collaboration over competition, and maintaining focus on service and meaning, she has created a body of work that is reshaping how we think about leadership itself.
In a world facing unprecedented challenges, Thompson’s approach offers hope and practical wisdom. Her emphasis on authenticity, emotional intelligence, collaboration, and inclusiveness provides a roadmap for leaders seeking to create positive change while maintaining their own well-being and sense of purpose.
As she continues to dance with change and guide others in their own transformative journeys, Thompson embodies the future of leadership, one that honors both achievement and wisdom, individual growth and collective good, professional success and personal fulfillment. Through her books, coaching, and organizations, she is not just describing the feminine wave of change she is helping to create it, one authentic connection and collaborative step at a time.
