Leading from the Feminine ♀ in an AI World

Dear?Reader,

It’s an interesting time in the world, politically and energetically. I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to lead at this moment - how we shift from an extractive to a more regenerative approach. My own journey has been about rediscovering my feminine after growing up as the only girl in a set of quadruplets and living in my masculine through investment banking, my MBA, and a tech career.

For the first four decades of my life, I lived from the head up, trained to use data to make all of my decisions. Only with Odetta - and the spiritual path it set in motion - did I learn to trust my intuition. I started listening to my nervous system, my values, and my own desires. I resisted following the Silicon Valley playbook, choosing not to take capital, not to bring on a co-founder, not to hire U.S. staff. Slowly, I learned to rely on an internal compass guiding me to build the kind of company the world needs most.

Why Feminine Leadership Matters Now

A more holistic approach to leadership isn’t about rejecting the masculine; it’s about restoring balance. We each hold both masculine and feminine principles within us, regardless of gender. But for too long, decision-making has leaned heavily on masculine traits - logic, control, competition, action - while devaluing the feminine - intuition, inclusivity, collaboration, and rest.

I’ve come to believe that true leadership isn’t about choosing one or the other. It’s about knowing when to stand firm and when to flow, when to challenge and when to nurture, when to push forward and when to pause.

How We’re Applying Feminine Leadership at Odetta

One way we’ve embraced this shift is by rethinking how freelancers get work on our platform. At first, our system rewarded speed - whoever clicked fastest got the job. It worked, but it wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t sustainable. So we redesigned it. Instead of a system where people compete to claim as much as possible, we asked: How might we build a regenerative model that prioritizes opportunity and sustainability?

The impact so far? Less burnout and a team that thinks more collectively.

As I Continue This Exploration, I’m Heading to Greece

Later this month, I’m traveling to Greece, where the feminine played an essential role in shaping Western civilization. From the priestess rites of Eleusis to the oracles of Delphi, there’s an ancient imprint of leadership that existed before oppressive systems took over - a leadership encoded in the land itself. This journey is about reconnecting to that lineage, learning from it, and seeing how it applies today.

AI is Reshaping Our World in Ways We Don’t Yet Fully Understand

No one has the answers, but the way we navigate this shift will determine whether AI serves our collective good or deepens existing divides. For too long, AI development has been driven by a hyper-masculine lens, and we can’t approach it with logic alone.

As a human-in-the-loop company at risk of AI disruption, we’ve chosen to meet this moment by becoming AI-first. But AI-first doesn’t mean people-last. I’ve learned that it is possible to scale with both heart and efficiency - to use AI not to replace people, but to elevate them.

Happy International Women’s Day!

Katharine

Client Testimonial

"Odetta’s AI initiatives have been a game-changer for our business, saving associates five hours per week by eliminating manual invoice and email parsing. What was once a tedious, repetitive process now happens 1,000x faster, delivering clean, structured data instantly. While some tasks still require human oversight, this solution has dramatically improved efficiency—freeing our team to focus on higher-value initiatives." — Senior Finance Project Manager, 100-Year-Old Electronics Manufacturing Business

Use Case: Automating Campaigns Performance Reporting

We’ve built an automated system to track and update fundraising performance metrics with minimal manual effort. By pulling daily and monthly data from platforms like Facebook Ads and GivePanel, the system ensures accurate tracking of registrations, ad spend, donations, and fundraisers. This streamlines reporting, reduces errors, and provides real-time visibility into campaign performance.

Odettian Quote

"Odetta has been a profound learning journey for me. With access to work, I stood against what was not right and fought for my rights. Odetta’s purpose to empower women was fulfilled for me, and I hope one day I can enable others as Odetta has enabled me. Odetta is more than a workplace - it is a uniquely loving organism, thriving when we serve a higher purpose beyond just money. It represents women, and that makes its success even more meaningful in a world that often underestimates us. Every successful deliverable is a promise to the Odettian community, a commitment that ensures more opportunities for women. Leadership here is about more than just work - it’s about outdoing biases, prioritizing the project above all, and building relationships through credibility and trust. It is an honor to be part of this, and none of us should lose sight of that. No matter how tough it gets, if we all walk an extra mile, Odetta will continue to help even more women find their place and power. With a pinch of love and a higher purpose, all can be cured. To everyone who shared their stories, questions, and moments with me: thank you. I am privileged to have served, and you all live in me." — Sajjal, former Odettian

Quote of the Month

Novelist Toni Morrison on invention:

"If there's a book that you want to read, but it hasn't been written yet, then you must write it. The same is true of any endeavor: if the solution you seek doesn't exist, create it."

Source: 1981 Ohio Arts Council Speech