In 2022, Harvard Business Review author Christie Hunter Arscott ran a study on the dynamics of women’s risk-taking. Of the 120 women interviewed, 70% cited self-doubt as the driving factor behind their decision to avoid risk.¹
Findings like these hardly come as a surprise. They join a mass of research supporting the fact that in general, women are more vulnerable to the gnawing voice of self-doubt than their male counterparts. The most striking observation isn’t the pervasiveness of self-doubt among women—rather, it’s that the vast majority of the women surveyed had successful and fulfilling careers despite experiencing self-doubt.
Arscott notes that what these women had in common was courage. They took decisive action to move forward in spite of their inner critic planting doubt and fear in their minds.
In honour of International Women’s Day, we’re shining a light on the power of courage—not as a trait embodied by the lucky few, but as a choice available to all people.
The story of our long-time client, Janelle Gerry, illustrates this well. Janelle is the company director of Macadamias Australia and Farmfresh Fine Foods and a second generation custodian of her family’s group of companies. She’s a mother, a grandmother, a force.
Each year, Janelle sets her intentions with a word. Her word for 2025: courage.
“Even after all these years and all these things that I’ve been through, I still feel like I need to make courage my word because I still need to remind myself to choose courage. To find the courage to take on things that I’m not sure I can do and find a way to do them anyway,” says Janelle.
Choosing to say ‘yes’ amid fear—to walk through the door even when she’s not sure what’s waiting on the other side—has been a choice Janelle has made time and time again throughout her life. Janelle credits her parents, the childhood they gave her, and the values they instilled in her, with the explorer spirit that’s guided her journey.
Courage to explore
In 1958, the family business began when Janelle’s parents bought a piece of bush land near Bundaberg. And so began the long and arduous journey of clearing and preparing the land for planting.
“They had a lot of hard work ahead of them, but they managed to clear it all and started growing a number of crops,” says Janelle.
Over the years, Janelle’s family grew various vegetables including pumpkin, tomatoes, and zucchinis. Until 2004 when they began planting their first macadamia trees.
Reflecting on her childhood growing up on the farm alongside her two brothers, the gratitude Janelle feels is palpable.
“We had a real sense of freedom as kids and that has really paved the way for who we are now. We developed a real explorer spirit. We were always encouraged to give things a go,” says Janelle.
“All my earliest memories are of being with my mum on the farm. She’d be running the packing shed or out picking watermelons and pumpkins and I’d just be with her all day long. I remember always wanting to pick up the big watermelons, and mum was always worried about me hurting my back (I was only little then—not even old enough to start school).”
“I was just so happy to be with her and all the workers each day,” she says.
Courage to choose empathy
Janelle’s mother, Marion Steinhardt, is her biggest and first inspiration in life. In those sundry days on the property, Marion gave Janelle her first insight into what genuine leadership looks like.
“My mum led the way in making it natural for everyone to contribute equally. She would wake up at 4am and was so excited to start her day. She’d do her jobs around the house, and then she’d be off working in the packing shed for the rest of the day. What I really loved about Mum was her leadership. She was wonderful with people and treated our employees like family,” says Janelle.
Now a leader herself, Janelle takes her lead from the example set by Marion.
“I often ask myself, what would mum do?”
“She led with so much empathy in the workplace. And that care and emotional intelligence is so important because to run a business, you really need to care for your people,” says Janelle.
Courage to say yes
While the farm and the family business was always a huge part of Janelle’s life, it wasn’t something she saw herself playing a part in leading. Until it was.
After she finished school, Janelle got a job as a law clerk with a local firm. Then, the farm called her back. Prior to her return, having a major hand in running the business wasn’t on her bingo card.
“It’s interesting. At the time, [joining the family business] wasn’t something I saw for myself. Yet, when the opportunity presented itself, I was really excited. I think when you grow up in that environment, it’s in your DNA. You’re naturally drawn to what your parents have created and wanting to continue that legacy,” says Janelle.
Janelle and her husband joined the family business, which was then operating under her parents and her brothers in ‘89. At the time, she joined in an administrative role.
“From that role, I found that over the years, I was able to really contribute to diverse areas of the business,” she says.
Courage to welcome change
Over the last 20 years, the family business grew in a big way. A feat only made possible through the hard work of the entire family.
“It took the best of all of us to grow the business at such a rate,” says Janelle.
The growth of the business also brought with it an opportunity: an opportunity to divest some of the family’s assets.
Janelle explains: “When that opportunity presented itself, the easier option would have been to shut it down and say ‘no, we’re not interested’. But as a family, we have that explorer spirit. We’re open to change—to stepping through the door and seeing where it leads us.”
From the sale of these assets, a world of opportunity has unfolded for the whole family.
“We’ve certainly retained parts of that original family business, but that decision meant that my brothers and I each went in different directions. That choice enabled each family member to invest in growing their own family businesses. And that’s a wonderful thing,” says Janelle.
Janelle is the first to admit that looking down the barrel of such a monumental shift is scary.
“It wasn’t what we’d planned for. It was a big, confronting choice. But at the same time, there’s this sense of excitement. Where is this going to lead? Let’s find out,” she says.
Courage to empower
Janelle believes that women hold a powerful role in shaping the future—a knowing that’s been reinforced from watching the next generation of women in her own family step into their strength. She speaks with pride of her daughter Rachel, a confident leader in her own right, and how the men in the family, including Janelle’s husband and son, fully embrace the presence of strong women.
Yet, Janelle knows this kind of confidence doesn’t grow by chance. It flourishes when parents make a conscious decision to encourage self-belief—especially in their daughters.
“As parents we have the responsibility to raise our women to have confidence in themselves. From confidence comes ability, comes the sense of self to not just make a valuable contribution, but know that you are making a valuable contribution,” she says.
Planting those seeds of confidence can happen with the smallest actions: Encouraging children to explore, test their boundaries, and to trust that they can do more than they realise—just like Janelle’s mother showed her.
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Reflecting on the significance of International Women’s Day, Janelle’s message is this: “Always have courage. At times, we are our own worst enemy. We tend to doubt ourselves and downplay our achievements.”
By choosing gratitude and having faith in ourselves and the journey we’re on, we can create a brighter path for ourselves and every woman who comes next.
Sources:
¹ https://hbr.org/2022/12/choose-courage-over-confidence
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