Leading the Solutions: What Happens When Young Women Take Charge

Mentee
Feb 26
3 min read

Group of hands in the middle of the group circle

Leadership is normally introduced as a destination. A part of your character earned. A title you grow into. The SistersIN Leadership Programme alongside Methodist College Belfast quietly took that idea and ripped it to pieces. Leadership turned into something we were expected to practice now through projects that had real audiences, real risks and real impact. It no longer was a concept waiting for us in the future. This isn’t about leadership in theory. It’s about leadership in motion.

Piece of paper from book. At the top right side it says 'Act One' and at the bottom 'Scene One.'

The problem with “leadership” (as we’re taught it)

Spend a few moments imagining yourself taking a leadership course. While it’s definitely motivational, you can’t figure out what more there is to leadership beyond ‘confidence’, ‘authority’ or ‘visibility.’

At the end of the course, you realise that you were never taught how to start being a leader.

Leadership projects change this. Immediately, you’re forced to ask yourself:

What problem are you responding to?
Who does it affect?
How will you know if it worked?

That shift from image to impact is why we, especially young women, need programmes like SistersIN.

As Michelle Obama once said,

"There is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish."

But projects like these show that accomplishment never begins with permission – it succeeds with action.

Computer screen with multiple tiny square tabs on a white background

Why I looked at data before opening Figma

I couldn’t start designing Risea Wellbeing before looking at the bigger picture.

Globally, there are now more than 20,000 mental health and wellbeing apps across app stores.
The global mental health app market was valued at around $7.5 billion (about £5.5 billion) in 2024, and is growing rapidly, especially among younger users.
In the UK, nearly half of adults (47%) have used a wellbeing app, with usage highest among young adults aged 18-24.
Across Northern Ireland, young people are more likely than adults to try digital mental health tools, but many stop using apps within weeks if they find them hard to use or not engaging.

The takeaway?

Young people want digital wellbeing tools. They just don’t stay if the experience doesn’t work for them.

That insight shaped my leadership project.

Leadership through design: what Risea Wellbeing actually is

Risea Wellbeing is a prototype wellbeing app which I’ve designed with Figma. It turns daily habits like journaling, meditation and movement into small, gamified challenges.

My goal wasn’t to “fix” wellbeing.

I wanted to make wellbeing feel like a friend.

I approached the project focusing on UX and media:

Researching existing wellbeing apps and engagement strategies.
Analysing how design influences behavior.
Prioritising accessibility, clarity and motivation over complexity.

Great and White Rabbit — (because wellbeing can look like dancing next to cute animals for one minute)

Leading this project meant managing the full process – from research and planning to design, refinement, and digital outreach via social media.

Rather than seeing wellbeing as a static checklist, Risea Wellbeing was built to meet people where they already are with the help of tools that feel familiar and inviting, rather than overwhelming.

When leadership introduced herself through responsibility for the execution and impact of the app, I knew this was it.

A large group of woman stood side by side (in four rows) in front of building on the staircase

What happens when you trust young women to lead

While Risea Wellbeing was my main focus, Methody’s SistersIN cohort worked across diverse areas, including:

introducing cricket into primary schools for girls, challenging gender norms in sport.
supporting P7 students transitioning into Form 1, easing anxiety through peer leadership.
organising charity coffee mornings supporting School Aid Romania.
leading public speaking workshops, music-based wellbeing sessions, and a school-wide Ormeau Parkrun takeover.

Different formats. Same mindset.

Leadership as response; nothing performative.

“You are never too small to make a difference”

– brilliantly put by Greta Thunberg. Her idea ran through every one of our projects, regardless of scale.

Neon sign on a brick wall that reads 'This is the sign you've been looking for.'

How this changed what leadership means to me

I think the biggest shift for me was realising that there’s less certainty in leadership than I thought.

Being part of this Programme helped me define leadership:

Decision-making under uncertainty.

Leadership is:

choosing a direction before you’re entirely confident.
being accountable when things don’t work out perfectly.
adapting based on feedback, not ego.

Through SistersIN, it became clear that leadership meant you didn’t need to have the loudest voice. Though, with intention and awareness, you did need to have a passion to build something that didn’t exist before.