Lateesha X Liandra
Author: Lateesha Jeffrey
I had the privilege of having an insightful yarn with fellow QueenMode Ambassador Liandra Gaykamangu on the 27th March. Liandra is a truly inspiring Mother, professional, Woman, person and leader. She, from my perspective, walks in two worlds, being First Nations and Non-First Nations, effortlessly and with so much intent in what she does and wishes to achieve for herself, her family and community.
From what started as a conversation about each of our Journey’s in to what inspired us to establish our own businesses, describing the pivotal moments in which brought us to where we are today, evolved in to how we each balance the multiple hats (some at the same time) and most importantly the extra management and forward thinking as Mother’s wishing to elevate on each of our paths.
We explored and expressed our thoughts and feelings around the statement “People think that Mothers should be selfless and put everybody first.”. My immediate feeling on the statement was a quote I heard (second hand) from Brene Brown stating ‘the greatest burden a child must bear, is the unlived life of a parent’ (Dr Carl Jung). Personally, I have continued to aspire for my own greatness, with hopes to inspire and provide a legacy my Daughter will be proud AND a part of. This meant leaving my Daughter in the care of my Family whilst I completed one week intensive blocks for my University Degree and also overnight trips interstate to play in the VFLW. Some of those trips I got to take my Daughter on and immerse her in being a part of those goals I was achieving for myself, as well as the enriching environments each provided me as an individual. Liandra, with her first born, also had University and sporting commitments, describing how she too would take her Daughter to sporting events/ games and have an enormous amount of support from team mates and those around to enable her to
Continuing on the notion around “putting others first”, Liandra (now a Mother to 3), has emerged in to the Fashion World. She spoke on how, in the World of Fashion, she has to prioritise which events she can go to. Now managing a household with her Husband and three children (as well as being a Co-CEO) it’s not as easy to jump on a plane to an event, as would be expected in the Industry. One single trip away takes a lot of forward planning, bringing in supports (which sometimes means paying a flight for a friend/ family to come) and more recently for Liandra: Red Eye and connecting flights to cross the Country, work an event and return in the shortest amount of time possible, to get back to her family. WOW- riiiight? The things we do as Mothers to elevate our Career/ Business whilst nurturing our beautiful families. We agreed, that we are very grateful for the people around us, who’ve helped us along the way.
A take away for me during this chat was our conversation around competitiveness, and how Liandra came to describe it as healthy, when channelled in the right way. This part of our conversation really resonated with me, as I am so passionate about Women empowering other Women, and ultimately, every one empowering each other. In Liandra’s words, and whole heartedly agreed with my me: “there is enough space at the table.” Of which, there is! We do not need to know everything, nor pretend we do. Knowledge is power, yes, but also knowing and owning your weaknesses is important, or as I like to call them- “room for improvement”. We understand, as business Women our strengths and capitalise on those, and forge relationships and allies in the area’s where we do need the support and guidance.
In closing, I’m very strong in my thoughts and beliefs, but it’s always refreshing to hear and learn from Women like Liandra and gain more perspective and insight.