CASE STUDY: From Australia’s hero to her own Inner Heroine
From Australia’s hero to her own Inner Heroine: the Jennifer Wittwer story*
Imagine being a woman at the senior level of the Australian Defence Force.
You’ve spent your life climbing the ladder, fighting for the support and approval of your colleagues, and EARNING the recognition you so desperately desire.
And in one fell swoop, your body betrays you, you’re left on life support, and suddenly it’s as though you never even existed.
Thirty-five years of dedication and service. Thirty-five years of being part of a system that trains you to operate for recognition and reward. And after 35 years, not even one phone call from your boss after you almost died. Not one ounce of acknowledgement about all that you HAD achieved; only the realisation that when you can no longer operate, that IS the only recognition. There is no reward.
These women. These are the people who come to Amanda Cromer.
THIS is the extraordinary Jennifer Wittwer.
Captain Wittwer came to Amanda Cromer in June of 2016 completely disillusioned with her life. Having dedicated all of herself to a career that discarded her at the first sign of weakness, she didn’t know what it had all been for. The one thing that kept her going during her darkest times was the difference her mentorship had made to women coming up behind her in her field, and she knew she had to follow that passion. The military had made her feel like a phantom – unseen, unheard – and she knew it was time to formulate her exit and unleash the speaker, author, and humanitarian inside.
When I questioned her, Captain Wittwer said: “I felt like I was in a bubble. I needed motivation and inspiration to pull myself out and focus on the things I ultimately wanted to do… and Amanda Cromer was very timely.”
This is what I watch Amanda Cromer do. She’s the ruthless detective and creative director of highly influential women’s lives – digging to find the suppressed highest vision of these women; unveiling the truest version within them that they’ve been hiding for far too long. She facilitates life-changing – often terrifying and unbelievable – transitions that simply don’t even seem possible to do alone.
And Captain Wittwer knew this is what she needed; so much so that she referred to it as her “Intervention.”
I love that term: intervention. It’s not a typical word used to describe a mentoring relationship, but it so perfectly sums up the experience of working with Amanda Cromer. She’s not a standard coach, because she doesn’t work with standard women. As far as I’ve seen, she only works with extraordinary and fascinating women who have been forced to become the women that society requires them to be.
As Jennifer Wittwer put it:
“I’ve always felt like a square peg in a round hole – so what Amanda Cromer did has allowed me to think more freely and outside that circle. She showed me how I can celebrate that squareness as opposed to trying to fit the square into the round hole.
What stands out for me is Amanda helping me identify my inner heroine – who I actually am. I don’t think I’d really given it any thought before.
But now, knowing how to leverage and harness it. Nailing it down to words – she described in words and images who I actually am. That gave me the platform to work from. And it’s what I’ve been building everything on since.”
This is Amanda Cromer’s job as Identity Detective and Director. To burn down the flimsy foundation these women have built themselves on, and establish a solid platform of TRUTH that they can build on and grow in whatever direction it takes them... because it’s not based on what they do, but who and what they are.
Before Jennifer Wittwer worked with Amanda Cromer, she said that she was – on a scale of 1-10 in all realms of her life – sitting at a 2-3. In the time she worked with Amanda that rose to a 7, and is now closer to an 8-9. It appears that, when the proper foundation has been laid, there is no ceiling to the level of success and inner peace one can feel.
“What I now feel like in terms of my creativity and how I can express myself – my capacity to express me, who I am, has hugely changed. It has enabled me to express myself publicly around what’s important to me … previously, before I worked with Amanda, my messages and comments weren’t well thought out. Now I’m very confident about sharing and expressing my views, the ones that will make people think about things a bit differently, and change their behaviour.
I love what I’m doing now; my new personal brand and website and writing. It’s been about enabling me to express myself. Positioning myself for the future.”
Amanda Cromer's transformations intrigue me.
If you feel like you’re only laying the next brick of the wall to your prison cell and you’re ready to break free – into your next level of leadership within your company, or pivoting 180 to a purpose and lifestyle that’s been calling you but feels unattainable – pursuing your future with Amanda Cromer would be a clever move.
*Article reproduced with permission