Boldly Strategic: How Women Can Drive Career Growth in 2026

"Courage is often situational. Boldness is repeatable. It is a strategic leadership muscle that strengthens with use." - Tonya and Amy

Have you ever found yourself unexpectedly raising your hand to publicly weigh in on a topic that you're passionate about?

In the summer of 2025, mine reached for the sky at a colleague’s book launch where the main book topic dominated the conversation: fear. Unexpectedly, the specific mention of how fear can stall women’s career growth came up, as did my hand.

For female leaders at any level, I believe bold leadership behaviors are essential to pushing past fear to accelerate greater and faster career progression. I also personally know this to be true from not only teaching it to over a thousand people but also having measured the after-effects of it in my Transformational Leadership (TL) program launched in 2025.

Our Tiggett & Co. data showed that a fourth of the women who completed the TL program achieved 75%-100% of their one-year career goal within three months or less. That required pushing past the fear of discomfort and risk and being more willing to explore possibilities. This is boldness at its core.

Boldness is a career strategy and behavior that serves women to push beyond fear, status quo, and to not live in regret of not having taken action.

What if You're Unsure if Leading Boldly Is for YOU in 2026?

If you...

• desire change

• would love to break a status quo

• want to look back on 2026 without regret

• wish to pursue something that's been a goal or area of interest

• deeply desire better in your career

Then consider...

Bold leadership grows through ACTION (even micro-steps count), not perfection.

The good news is, the journey is not complex- it begins by DOING something small versus dreaming and doing nothing at all.

Back to the book launch and raising my own hand; I jumped in to strongly advocate for unapologetic boldness as one antidote to fear for women and career growth, which is the foundation of my "unapologetic boldness" work—a strategy I’ve been teaching and refining since 2018 with women globally.

The raising of my hand inadvertently sparked an animated exchange with fellow attendee and HR consultant, Amy Lahmers, who offered a complementary perspective: humble boldness.

What followed was a rich debate—two lenses on bold leadership. Mine champions unapologetic boldness as a catalyst for women’s advancement; hers emphasizes humility as a powerful leadership anchor. The contrast was compelling—and a contrast we both believed deeply relevant for today’s leaders.

Out of that discussion we decided to co-host a webinar in December 2025 on Leading with Boldness, an interactive program designed to explore how to uncover or reclaim one's boldness without sacrificing authenticity, credibility, or emotional intelligence.

Our Shared Perspective on Boldness

Together, we believe boldness is not a personality trait. It’s a leadership practice that can be learned.

To help continue the learning from our webinar, and foster more curiosity for oneself on this topic, we've co-authored a white paper with the purpose to:

• Recap the key take-aways from our webinar on the importance of boldness for female leaders and

• Provide you with your very own strategic 4-Step BOLD Leadership Reset for 2026

White Paper_Boldness_Tiggett&Lahmers_Final.pdf

Download PDF • 293KB

Here's a Hint on the 4 Steps:

1. Name the Goal

2. Assess the Risk and Focus on the Possibilities

3. Create Momentum

4. Lead with Curiosity

These micro-steps in the 4-Step BOLD Leadership Reset for 2026 PDF, also contain key questions that accompany those steps that will keep you boldly moving forward in 2026 - regardless of any risk levels you may face in stepping more fully into your leadership or personal boldness this year.

Join Us on This Bold Journey

Bold leadership isn’t about becoming someone else. It’s about fully becoming who you are at your core. By the way, we are both on this journey with you too.

Join us as we continue this exploration and conversation through future webinars, leadership programs, and research-driven tools designed to help women lead boldly.

1. Sign up to be notified of our program series by clicking here.

2. Download the full white paper and 4-Step BOLD Leadership Reset for 2026 by clicking here.

In 2026, fear doesn’t get the final word—BOLDNESS does!

Unapologetically and humbly yours...

Tonya

Tonya Tiggett is a leadership curriculum author, keynote speaker, and high-energy workshop facilitator who helps corporate women lead boldly and advance faster.  Through her signature topics—unapologetic boldness and leading with confidence—Tonya equips professionals with practical strategies to elevate their visibility, influence, pay, and fulfillment. Tonya is on a mission to equip 100,000 corporate women by 2030 with the tools and strategy to elevate their careers, sense of fulfillment, and to even the corporate playing field by leading boldly. Learn more at TonyaTiggett.com.

Amy Lahmers believes organizations do best when people understand and leverage their unique gifts and skills, living fully into their calling. She is Founder & President of FlourishesConsulting, a boutique consulting company providing HR guidance and people strategy to help you build an equipped and aligned team. Amy is on a mission to partner with clients, especially during seasons of growth and change, to move your mission forward with confidence. Learn more at FlourishesConsulting.com.