By Shaunie Cousins | Founder of Rise & Reign™
There was a time when global pageant leadership looked like a woman in heels, shaking hands across continents and boarding flights as often as she blinked. That model served its moment. It inspired generations.
It also excluded many women, especially those with real-life responsibilities like raising children, managing careers, or caring for others. Not every crown fits inside a carry-on. Not every leader has the flexibility to jet-set for months on end.
Thankfully, pageantry has grown up. So have we.
Today’s titleholders reflect a broader, richer spectrum of womanhood. We are wives, mothers, CEOs, creatives, and change-makers. We are women who lead at 9 a.m. staff meetings and bedtime stories. We are showing the world that leadership does not require constant travel, full availability, or a blank calendar. It requires purpose, creativity, and a bit of audacity.
Why This Shift Matters
This conversation is not just about logistics. It is about access, inclusion, and sustainability. It is about redefining what influence looks like in a digital era and who gets to wield it.
Leadership Should Reflect Real Life
Historically, leadership roles in pageantry favored those with maximum availability and minimal outside obligations. That expectation quietly filtered out many of the women most equipped to lead: those with lived experience, deep resilience, and strong roots in their communities.
Women are not stepping away from their lives to lead, they are bringing their lives into their leadership. That distinction is not just symbolic. It is transformative.
Sustainability Makes Space for Longevity
Some of my most impactful moments came from behind a screen. I have facilitated donation drives, shared resilience stories, coached women across the country, and served with globally-reaching organizations all while still making it to dinner with my family.
These were acts of purpose, folded into the life I already lead.
Exhaustion is not a prerequisite for influence. Boundaries and clarity are far more powerful.
The Digital World is Where People Gather
The audience is already online. They are tuning in during school pickups, streaming content while folding laundry, and saving posts that speak to their reality. If your message is not accessible where people actually spend time, it will not go far, no matter how powerful it is.
Social media gives every titleholder the chance to share her mission, connect with new communities, and lead without limitations.
How to Build Global Presence Without Going Global (Physically)
Here is the good news: you do not need to go everywhere to reach everyone. You just need to show up on purpose.
Show up with clarity, not perfection. Perfection is exhausting. Presence is magnetic.
Your community does not need flawless posts. They need real ones. They need to understand your why. They need to see you living it. I post when I have something to say that matters, or when I need a break from email and want to feel cute for a minute.
Meaningful visibility comes from showing up consistently and speaking with purpose. That is what builds trust.
Collaborate beyond your ZIP code
Some of the most exciting initiatives I’ve been part of started as conversations.
The Sash Sister Collaborative began with the simple idea of uniting women across systems through shared service. It grew because the need was real and the connection was sincere.
Through my 9–5, I have had the privilege of supporting humanitarian efforts with Medical Teams International. These opportunities remind me that service is not confined to the size of your platform. It begins the moment you say yes to showing up.
Virtual panels, social challenges, nonprofit collaborations, global awareness days, these are all avenues for impact. They require intention and follow-through.
Be consistent enough to be credible
Anyone can show up once. Leadership is built in the showing up again.
Your message gains momentum when people see you carry it forward over time. They start to believe in it because they see that you do. You do not need a viral moment. You need a visible mission.
Consistency does not mean you never pause. It means you return with purpose. That is what sustains influence.
My Journey to This Moment
My story did not begin with a polished path or a straight-line success. I spent years navigating survival, rebuilding after personal hardship, and holding my family together through seasons that nearly unraveled us. I do not come from ease. I come from endurance. That background shapes how I lead, how I serve, and how I show up.
When I re-entered pageantry, I didn’t have endless time or unlimited resources. I had a purpose. I had a voice. I had a deep need to turn hard chapters into meaningful impact.
Over the last year, I launched a statewide Hope and Healing drive, reignited my creative life, began building a digital community for service-minded titleholders, and connected with women I never would have met if I had waited for the 'perfect' opportunity.
None of this happened by accident. It happened through alignment, intention, and action.
Your impact is not limited by your crown’s label. You can be a local, state, or regional titleholder and still lead with global purpose. What matters most is how you choose to use your voice—and how willing you are to show up with heart and consistency.
This Is the Future of Pageantry
We are no longer waiting to be discovered. We are creating visibility through our platforms. We are not waiting for a microphone. We are building our own stages. We are not asking for permission. We are leading anyway.
Today’s titleholder does not have to leave home to have global impact. She just has to decide her story is worth sharing and start telling it.
-----
As the founder of Rise & Reign™, Shaunie is passionate about redefining what modern leadership looks like, especially for women balancing real life with big dreams. Her blog, Crownwork, explores the intersections of pageantry, purpose, and personal growth, while her deeply personal writing appears under the pseudonym Phoenix Unchained in Monster Behind the Mask: Surviving Mr. Hyde, a survivor’s blog rooted in truth and healing.
Shaunie’s most important roles remain wife, mother of eight, and proud woman of resilience; living proof that with alignment and intention, we can rise, reign, and write our own legacy.
No comments:
Post a Comment