Women rarely rise alone, they
rise when someone champions them before they feel fully ready. In this
reflective leadership essay, Heidi Richards Mooney explores the often-unseen
act of championing and how it shaped her own leadership journey. Through a personal
story of being called forward by Chamber Executive Director Dolores Canizales,
she illustrates the profound difference between mentorship and championing, and
how being publicly advocated for can alter life trajectories. As a publisher
and community leader, Heidi now champions other women through visibility,
opportunity, and access … a legacy she views as essential to 21st-century
leadership.

My story:

From Being Championed to
Championing Others: The Leadership Legacy I’m Committed To

There’s a quiet truth about
leadership that rarely makes it into business books or keynote slides: most of
us didn’t arrive where we are because we were the loudest, the smartest, or the
most prepared…we arrived because someone championed us before we felt fully ready.

I know that truth intimately.
I’ve spent my life surrounded by people who saw something in me, named it out
loud, and made space for me to grow into it. They didn’t just cheer me on from
the sidelines, they opened doors, recommended me, invited me into rooms,
trusted me with responsibility, and believed I would rise to the occasion. And
I did, not because I moved alone, but because I was moved forward.

That experience didn’t just shape
my career. It shaped my leadership philosophy. It taught me that leadership
isn’t solely about what we achieve, it’s about who we elevate and champion
along the way. And that understanding has guided every chapter of my life
since.

The
Difference Between Mentoring and Championing

We often talk about mentorship as
a cornerstone of women’s leadership, and it is. Mentorship offers guidance,
wisdom, and advice. But championing is something different. Championing uses reputation,
access, and visibility to create opportunities that may not
otherwise exist.

Where mentoring says, “I’ll help
you grow,” championing says, “I’ll help others see you.”

And once you’ve experienced that,
you never forget it.

When
Someone Championing You Changes Everything

In my case, that person was Dolores
Canizales, then the Executive Director of our local Chamber. At the time, I
was attending Chamber meetings but staying safely in the background… observing,
listening, contributing when asked, but certainly not seeking the spotlight. I
was comfortable being invisible.

Dolores was not comfortable
letting me stay that way.

She wouldn’t let me hide behind
my seat or quietly slip out after events. She called me out, kindly, warmly, by
asking what I thought, by introducing me to people she believed I should know,
and by nudging me to take up more space than I naturally would have. She saw
capability and potential long before I was ready to claim it.

And then she did something that
changed the direction of my leadership journey: she invited me to serve on the
Chamber’s Board of Directors.

That was not mentorship, that was
championing. She didn’t just advise me privately; she publicly
vouched for me. She used her voice, her influence, and her reputation to
open a door I would not have opened on my own.

Sitting on that board led to
opportunities I never would have anticipated, including ultimately serving as
Chamber President. But more importantly, it taught me what happens when someone
refuses to let you shrink, and instead creates room for you to expand.

That experience planted the seed
for the kind of leader I wanted to become, one who does for others what Dolores
did for me.

A
Life Defined by Being Championed and Then Championing Others

Looking back across my career…
from community leadership roles, to magazine publishing, to entrepreneurial
ventures, to serving on boards, to building platforms for women — a clear
pattern emerges: whenever I took a leap, someone had quietly (or not so
quietly) championed me first.

That lineage of support, from
women and men who spoke my name in rooms I wasn’t yet in, created a
responsibility I don’t take lightly. So much so that championing others has, in
many ways, become my life’s work.

It’s why I built platforms
designed to increase visibility for women. It’s why I create space for women’s
stories, achievements, expertise, and leadership. It’s why I say yes to
nominating women for awards, featuring them, publishing them, highlighting
them, and recommending them. It’s why I look for women who are ready for
opportunities they don’t yet see in themselves.

Because championing is how we
continue the lineage. It’s how we disrupt gatekeeping. It’s how we change the
face of leadership.

Why
Championing Matters in the 21st Century



We are living in a time when women have greater access to information than
ever before and yet, access to opportunity remains uneven.

Talent is abundant. Potential is
abundant. But visibility, advocacy, and invitation are still scarce.

Championing fills that gap.

Championing says:

? “I know your work.”

? “I believe in you.”

? “You belong in that room.”

? “Let me tell others why.”        

And for many women, being
championed is the difference between staying hidden and becoming seen.

In a century defined by
innovation, collaboration, and shared leadership, championing is not optional —
it is the currency of progress.

Legacy
as a Leadership Choice

As I consider the legacy I want
to leave, I’m not interested in building monuments — I’m interested in building
momentum.

Monuments celebrate the leader.
Momentum elevates the community.

My legacy, the one I’m
consciously crafting and living, is to champion others the way I was
championed. To use whatever platforms, relationships, and influence I have to
make sure more women are seen, heard, trusted, and invited.

Because leadership is not only
measured by what we build for ourselves, but by what we make possible for
others.

A
Leader’s Call to Action: Champion Someone

If you’re reading this, you
likely already mentor, support, or encourage others. But here’s my invitation:

Champion someone.

Not just by offering advice, but
by:

? recommending them,

? nominating them,

? introducing them,

? publishing them,

? collaborating with them,

? amplifying them,

? and trusting them with opportunity.

Ask yourself:

? Who has championed me?

? Who could I champion today?

? Whose talent deserves a wider audience?

? Whose name can I speak in a room they aren’t in yet?              

Because being championed is a
gift, but championing others is a choice. It’s how we build a world where women
don’t just succeed, we rise together.