PTR Women Who Rally: Building a Community of Leaders
- Sarah McQuade
- 8 minutes ago
- 4 min read
Twenty-two women from across the globe. Two days. One shared commitment to becoming more intentional leaders.
At Saddlebrook Resort, the inaugural Women Who Rally Leadership Retreat marked an important milestone in a ten-month leadership journey. More importantly, it demonstrated what can happen when leadership development begins with connection, curiosity and conversation.
Representing different countries, organizations, roles and racquet sports, participants arrived as individuals connected by a shared profession. They left as a community—built on trust, openness and a shared commitment to support one another's growth long after the retreat had ended.
Leadership Starts with Connection
The weekend didn't begin with presentations or traditional introductions.
Instead, participants were immersed in Cheer Pong—an energetic coaching activity designed to build meaningful relationships while introducing one of the most practical leadership tools they will use throughout the programme: the GROW coaching framework.
Working with different partners throughout the activity, participants experienced each stage of the coaching conversation—building relationships, exploring goals, understanding current reality, identifying possibilities and committing to action.
In the process, they weren't simply learning a coaching model. They were practising one of leadership's most valuable skills: asking thoughtful questions, listening deeply and helping others think more clearly.
Within a remarkably short period of time, conversations had moved well beyond introductions. Trust was growing, barriers had disappeared and the foundations of a genuine learning community had been established.
The exercise reflected a simple but powerful belief that shaped the entire retreat: leadership doesn't begin with having all the answers—it begins with creating conversations that help others discover their own.
One participant captured the experience perfectly:
"The energy, the insights, the connections and the actionable information that I will use to be different when I return home. It wasn't just a list of to-do items—it was a transformative experience."
Looking In Before Leading Out
Great leadership starts with self-awareness.
Using the Women Who Rally Leadership Framework and individual leadership benchmark reports, participants reflected on how their experiences, values and behaviours have shaped the leaders they are today.
Rather than asking, "What do I need to do?", the programme encouraged a more powerful question:
"Who do I want to become as a leader?"
Leadership became less about position or authority and more about intentional behaviours, authentic leadership and the impact they have on the people around them.
A Framework for Continuous Growth
At the heart of the programme sits the Women Who Rally Leadership Framework—a practical model built around nine interconnected leadership competencies.
More than a leadership model, it provides a common language for growth throughout the nine-month programme.
As one participant described it:
"An amazing leadership tool for empowering women in coaching and in life!"
Every webinar, mentoring conversation, coaching exercise and leadership challenge is anchored to the framework, helping participants benchmark their progress and intentionally develop the capabilities that matter most.
Creating a Community, Not Just a Cohort
While the retreat was carefully designed to develop leadership capability, one of its greatest successes was something less tangible.
It created community.
Time was intentionally built into the programme before, during and after every learning session, allowing conversations to continue naturally. Shared meals became opportunities to exchange ideas. Walks became coaching conversations. Informal moments became lasting friendships.
Women openly discussed leadership challenges, shared experiences they had never previously voiced and discovered that many of the obstacles they had been navigating alone were shared by others around the room.
By the closing session, it was difficult to believe many participants had only met forty-eight hours earlier.
The conversations didn't end when the retreat finished. They continue today through an active WhatsApp community where participants are already sharing ideas, celebrating successes, asking questions and encouraging one another as they put their learning into practice.
Leadership Identity and Wellbeing
Leadership is demanding, and leading others begins with leading yourself.
The retreat encouraged participants to reflect on the pressures they experience, identify the habits that replenish their energy and develop practical strategies to protect their wellbeing while sustaining their leadership impact.
The message was simple: caring for yourself is not separate from leadership—it is fundamental to it.
By connecting leadership identity with wellbeing, participants were reminded that the capacity to support others depends on first looking after themselves.
The Journey Continues
Although the retreat represented a significant milestone, it is only one chapter in a much longer journey.
Over the coming months, the cohort will continue learning together through webinars, mentoring conversations, practical leadership challenges and ongoing reflection. Their next live session, Leading with Greater Intention, will build directly on the foundations established during the retreat, helping participants turn insight into action and continue developing the leadership behaviours that matter most.
Looking back, what made the inaugural Women Who Rally retreat so memorable wasn't simply the programme itself.
It was the women.
Their openness, curiosity, generosity and willingness to challenge themselves—and support one another—created an environment that exceeded every expectation. Together, they demonstrated that leadership is about more than developing individual capability.
It's about creating the confidence, connections and community that inspire women to grow, lead and create lasting impact across the racquet sports industry.
