Intimacy is in the details when it comes to women’s groups
Introducing Liz Hatcher and the Women to Women Network
By Jennifer Cloer
Intimacy among women is a gift. It’s perhaps one of the most beautiful gifts that women exclusively enjoy.
It can result in lifelong friendships that help us celebrate the joys and weather the sorrows in our personal and professional lives. It also gives us perspective, teaching us more about ourselves and others, and the inspiration and support to move beyond our comfort zones.
But this intimacy can also be hard to find.
Vulnerability isn’t easy. Life is busy. Taking risks can be terrifying (and also - - exhilarating). Walking into a living room, conference center or private dining area full of strangers takes a ton of energy.
Still, I’ve found intimacy among women in a variety of places and moments. It’s not always about a regular group of friends, a weekly work meetup or an annual industry event; sometimes, it’s the coffee meetup where someone shares that they’re suffering from grief and are concerned they won’t be able to keep their business afloat, or someone tells a story about being sexually harassed at work and having to leave that job. Sometimes it’s a moment, an opening, where you see someone and they see you.
Liz Hatcher
That’s how I met Liz Hatcher, the founder of Women to Women Network (WtoWN). I attended one of the group’s events at a local coffee shop. I didn’t know what to expect; I was just hoping to connect with women in my own community. As the six of us assembled around a picnic table outside under the cool morning sun, we began to introduce ourselves. Liz had brought her new rescue pup, who sat curled up next to my feet.
What struck me about the group was the comfort we immediately felt with each other. While she hosts larger events (like the annual INSPIRE), these smaller, local, intimate gatherings are the heartbeat of her organization and are a refreshing change from large networking events where everything feels awkward and you’re just looking for a table where maybe you can fit in. In these local meetups, you are engaged because your table is the only one.
When you bring women together in this fashion, something incredible happens. We share. We laugh. Sometimes we cry. We build real connections, ones that serve us both personally and professionally.
Liz’s work is to create spaces for this level of intimacy so it can result in collaboration, growth and opportunity for women in business and in life.
“We’re at a time when women are really coming into leadership positions, real CEO positions, launching and growing startups and large organizations with lasting impact. Women approach leadership differently; it’s about collaboration, not competition,” Liz told me. “Imagine what we can do when women are leading more companies, more teams. We’ll see the results of this philosophy, and business and people will thrive.”
The group recently expanded to Idaho and Washington and has plans to take this unique approach to women’s networking across the country. If you’d like to learn more or join an event, you can do so here.