Photo by Hazel Thompson
About Me
I know that when I’m inspired, I feel I can move mountains, overcome fear and follow my dreams. I feel a surge of energy that speaks to the very essence of who I am.
I call this my ‘fierce’.
Brita at the Women for Women International flagship Car Boot Sale. Photo by Alison Baskerville
My Fierce
When something inspires me, it is my fierce that responds. I call it that because when I follow it, I allow my true power to shine without holding back. Fierce also implies something that is not tainted by the norms that are learned and govern our everyday lives.
When I was 15, I moved from Germany to Venezuela with my family and it was there that my fierce ignited! I witnessed extreme poverty for the first time and how it disproportionately affects women and I could not comprehend or accept it. It was also at that time, that I became aware of inequality in my own life, observing the different treatment and expectations of my brother and I based on our different gender.
Living with that fierce power within me that wanted to create change — and finding myself in a conservative society with clear gender norms — created a struggle in me.
This often made me feel very lonely and not ‘normal’.
It wasn’t until I went to the University of Sussex to study Women’s Studies, that I realised that I was not alone and that there had been many women before me, who had found the bravery within them to follow their fierce and use their power to create the change they wanted to see.
This set me on a path to follow my fierce and be true to my purpose. We all have a purpose and when we stop and think about life changing events and how they have impacted us, and what values we have taken from them, that process allows us to define what matters to us, the impact we want to create: our purpose!
“Nothing has a greater power to help me overcome my fears than the inspiration I feel when I read or hear about other women who follow their fierce.”
My Journey
There are many quotes that inspire and guide me, and one of my favourite ones is ‘Life’s a journey, not a destination’. Looking back over my journey so far, it looks more polished than it was.
I think that happens so often, doesn’t it? With hindsight, everything looks so clear.
The reality is, of course, that as you are on the road, stumbling over obstacles and nevertheless forging ahead, with doubt in your mind and fear in your heart, it feels everything but clear. One thing is true, my fierce has guided me. I knew I wanted to do something about the inequality that women experience.
I didn’t know what and how, but I knew I had to find a way. I didn’t know it at the time, but what I did was follow my purpose rather than a ‘career’.
My journey has shown me that when we get through fear and we follow our fierce, we create the greatest impact around us.
My Children
My daughters Emma and Aras, who are 23 and 21 now, have motivated me personally to commit to choosing fierce over fear every day.
Taking on the role of ‘mother’ is a daily opportunity to learn and grow as a person. Every day I realise there is so much I still need to learn, so many fears to understand and so many opportunities to choose fierce. The desire to inspire my children to follow their fierce is one of the greatest driving forces behind my commitment to grow and develop my self-awareness.
I believe that we can best serve the people we love, when we understand ourselves better.
Through my professional work and through my role as a mother, I have learned that the greatest impact we can have, is when we lead ourselves consciously, caringly with deep trust - in short: when we own our fierce power. That is when we inspire those around us to do the same.
“When we are inspired and we lead ourselves, we inspire others to do the same. That is the greatest impact we can ever have.
That is why we choose fierce.”
My Community
Over the past 25 years, I have met, connected and worked with many wonderful fierce women all over the world. Every day I am grateful for my vibrant and inspiring community of humans that show me that change is possible.
One of the things I talk about in my book Fears to Fierce is my belief that we are all activists! Being an activist is believing that your voice matters and using your voice. That has been a big part of my journey. That is why owning my power has been so important to me, because I know it is a precondition for using my voice and creating the change I want to see.
Being an activist for me is also an intrinsically communal activity. Once you know what you are passionate about, you will meet others who share your passion, and you will join together. Everything I have done has been as a part of a community. Whether it is my colleagues in the various jobs I have done or my friends, or the community of people I am training with in trauma healing, I thrive when I connect and work as part of a team. I believe we all do and finding our tribe is key.
I am excited that you are reading this, and I hope you will join this community of changemakers and get involved in creating the change that you want to see. Sign up to my Fierce Inspiration newsletter, let me know your thoughts on Instagram or any other social media channel you use, or you can email me here hello@britafs.com
“Sisterhood, being aware of our shared humanity, is a feeling. We can tap into it. When we do, it becomes a way of being.”
My Work
I have on purpose not spoken about the professional roles I hold, because we so often define ourselves through the job titles, and that is what I want to change.
You ARE NOT a job title.
You might play a certain role, but that role is not who you ARE. What drives you is your fierce and your purpose and that is what I am interested in, because I know from my experience that it is where the magic happens.
But that obviously doesn’t mean that the work we do in those roles is not important. The various roles I have held have allowed me to fulfil my purpose and contribute to immense and important changes way beyond my own life. So if you want to learn more about my ‘career’ path, I understand.
I just want you to remember that it will transform your life if you first work on defining your purpose and then you look at what jobs will allow you to fulfil your purpose.
In my bio below, you can see the different organisations I work with and have worked with. You can also visit my LinkedIn profile. And because I often get asked for top tips for how to get into the not-for-profit sector, I recorded this video a few years ago. I hope you find it useful. Let me know your thoughts.
Brita’s Bio
Brita is an author, public speaker and transformational coach. She works with individuals, groups, organisations and businesses, using her 25 years of experience, to facilitate transformation and impact. Driven by her purpose, Brita believes that the power to achieve the change we are dreaming of, resides within us. Brita works with organisations and businesses to create working cultures that are value-led, inclusive, in-powering, innovative, trauma-informed and sustainable. She is passionate about promoting alternative models of ‘leadership’ as a response to the urgent problems facing our society and world.
Brita is an advocate and promoter of our own inherent power and is passionate about equality. Over the past 25 years, she has frequently written and spoken publicly about the challenges of addressing inequality all over the world. Originally from Germany, Brita went to school in Venezuela and has throughout her career worked with people from many countries around the world.
Brita is an Associate Certified Coach (ACC) with the International Coaching Federation. She trained as Deep Transformational Coach with the Centre for Transformational Coaching. She is also trained in Theory U: Leading from the Emerging Future. She completed the Timeless Wisdom Training (TWT) with Thomas Huebl and is currently training as collective trauma healing facilitator.
She is Company Director of her company Fierce Power Ltd. Brita also serves as Chief Adviser to Fair Share, Ambassador for Compassion in Politics and Ambassador for Common Purpose . She is a Trustee for Seja. For 13 years, Brita served as the Executive Director of Women for Women International – UK . She co-founded Women for Women International in Germany, in 2018. She was the Chair of the Network Gender Action for Peace and Security for 5 years and previously worked as the Programmes & Policy Director at Womankind Worldwide. She started her career as Policy Officer at the European Women’s Lobby.
Fears to Fierce (Rider / Ebury) is her first book.
Following your fierce is all about leading your life according to the values that matter to YOU!
Mine are:
LOVE, KINDNESS, EMPATHY AND COMPASSION
BEING AUTHENTIC
BEING HOPEFUL
CREATING AND EMBRACING CHANGE
GROWING WITH INTEGRITY
CULTIVATING OUR SHARED HUMANITY
Get started on defining your values today. Together with your purpose, they will guide your actions. If you want to learn more about how to define your values and your purpose, why not get my book Fears to Fierce.