> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.foundedbywomen.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Eleanor Hecks of Designerly Magazine on Leading Confidently Without Becoming Someone Else - URL: https://www.foundedbywomen.org/women-who-lead/eleanor-hecks-of-designerly-magazine-on-leading-confidently-without-becoming-someone-else/ - Published: 2026-10-29T03:03:33.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-29T03:03:33.000Z - Author: Editorial team - Tags: Women Who Lead Eleanor Hecks is a women’s leadership writer and the Editor-in-Chief of [Designerly Magazine](https://www.designerly.com/?ref=foundedbywomen.org), where she leads a creative team. She has spent close to a decade writing about business and leadership, with contributions to publications including Fast Company, eLearning Industry and Due. In this Q&A, Eleanor shares what first pulled her into writing about women’s leadership, what standard leadership advice most often misses for women who lead differently, and what is next for her as a writer and at Designerly. Her perspective offers an honest, practical look at how heavily leadership moments can land, and why the way you already lead can work without becoming someone else. > Know a woman leader doing incredible work? The Founded by Women Awards are open for entries - founders, executives, professionals and changemakers alike. Showcase your story, gain visibility and connect with a community of leaders. 👉 [foundedbywomen.org/awards](https://www.foundedbywomen.org/awards/) --- ### Q: What first pulled you into writing about women’s leadership, and what do you hope readers take from your work? I’ve been writing about business and leadership for close to 10 years, and somewhere along the way I noticed that a lot of what I was reading (both for research and for my own growth as a leader) didn’t feel written for someone like me. Some of this, I later discovered, was due to my late-diagnosed neurodivergence. Most of the leadership advice I read just felt like a set of instructions for things like giving hard feedback or onboarding your first employee, when I was longing for something that acknowledged just how much those moments cost some of us. I was the person lying awake at 2 a.m. replaying a meeting or carrying one piece of feedback around for days, and I felt like the only one who carried things that heavily. I didn’t realize that I simply led differently because my brain works differently. And I didn’t realize I wasn’t alone in this. What made it a women’s leadership issue for me is that the pressure didn’t stop there. Plenty of women in leadership - neurodivergent or not - feel like they have to prove themselves in multiple ways every day, like toning themselves down to seem friendlier or less emotional, or choosing between showing up at work and showing up at home. When you add the expectation that you already have it all figured out, asking for help gets even harder. Once I could put words to that, I started writing about it - in part because I needed answers myself, and partly because I kept meeting other women like me who needed them too. What I hope readers take away is that the way they already lead - no matter how different their leadership style - can work. Nobody has to become a different kind of leader, or person, first. I want them to finish an article with something practical to try the next morning, and to feel heard. Of course, I know not every reader will share my exact challenges. But if even part of it sounds familiar, I want them to have somewhere to turn that gets it. ### Q: What does standard leadership advice most often miss for women who lead differently? I feel that standard advice often assumes a leader who doesn’t feel things very deeply. “Don’t take it personally,” “just be decisive,” and “build a thicker skin” only work if feedback doesn’t linger and decisions don’t cost you much energy. But for a lot of women, especially those who are neurodivergent, they do. Rejection sensitivity can make one offhand comment feel like an enormous weight, and decision fatigue hits harder than many people admit. By the end of the day, I barely had the energy for a microwave dinner before bed, and nothing I read sounded like it came from someone in the same spot. The other thing it often misses is that women who lead differently don’t get the same margin for error. I’ve written about the ambition penalty, where the same ambition that gets praised in a man gets read as pushy in a woman. When the stakes of looking uncertain are higher, “just be more confident” isn’t useful. It puts the fix on the woman instead of asking why it’s so costly for her to get a call wrong. With that in mind, I try to write about strategies that fit how these leaders actually work. Some topics I’ve covered recently that were geared towards women who lead differently include handling hard feedback, protecting your decision-making energy, and asking for help early without feeling like you’ve failed. ### Q: What’s next for you, both as a writer and at Designerly Magazine? On the writing side, I’m always looking for new topics to take on and new places to publish my work. Overall, I love writing. My love for writing started with an interest in design and marketing for small businesses (an extension of my design degree), and it has since grown to cover a range of related topics like design, business, leadership, and technology. I want to continue writing about women’s leadership, as well as to add more bylines in major business and technology publications, where I can answer the questions other curious people like me have about the rapidly changing world of business and leadership. At Designerly, I’m still leading our creative team as Editor-in-Chief. I feel as though managing people every day keeps my writing grounded, because I get to test these ideas on myself before I recommend them to anyone else. On the back end of things, we recently finished a major site redesign and are still working through some follow-up improvements, so I’m looking forward to seeing how the site continues to evolve. I’d also love to get our newsletter back up and running early in the new year as a regular read on design, marketing, and business topics. > Are you a woman leader with an inspiring story? Founded by Women elevates the voices of women making an impact. > Breaking barriers or paving the way for others? We'd love to feature you. Get in touch! 👉 [hi@foundedbywomen.org](mailto:hi@foundedbywomen.org)