Stepping Up
Female Leadership & the Perfectionism Trap
With Avent Bezuidenhoudt – CEO at Earth Capital
We are truly grateful to everyone who attended our recent Women in Power event. Your participation, enthusiasm, and insights made the event a remarkable experience. The conversation was inspiring, empowering, and full of valuable takeaways that will help shape the future of women in leadership.
Our event featured powerful speakers Avent Bezuidenhoudt and Melissa Bruno, who shared their expertise on navigating leadership challenges, overcoming perfectionism, and the importance of self-advocacy. Their stories and strategies provided us with practical tools to elevate our careers and continue breaking barriers in the workplace.

Key Takeaways
The insights shared during the event have left us with a wealth of knowledge to carry forward. From embracing high standards over perfectionism to the power of documenting our successes, our speakers provided practical, actionable advice that will help us navigate the challenges of leadership with confidence. Below are the key takeaways that will inspire and guide us as we continue on our leadership journeys.
High Standards Over Perfectionism
Unlike perfectionism, high standards encourage adaptability, collaboration, and growth. Striving for high standards allows you to embrace progress and achieve impactful results. Recognizing that you don’t have to be “perfect” enables you to identify competency gaps and build a team that complements your strengths.
Document Your Success
It’s crucial to keep an ongoing record of your achievements, big and small, throughout the year. By tracking your successes and contributions, you’ll have concrete evidence to support your self-advocacy when it matters most—during performance reviews or leadership discussions.
Learn from Your Wins
Perfectionists often focus too much on their mistakes, which can lead to a “failure loop”—a cycle of self-criticism that undermines confidence and stifles progress. Shift your focus to celebrating your wins. Successes provide valuable evidence of your abilities and reinforce self-belief, paving the way for future growth.
Leverage Your Network
Building connections at all levels of your organisation—mentors, peers, and trusted allies—provides the guidance, collaboration, and support needed to thrive as a leader. A strong network is one of your most valuable assets.
Celebrate the Journey
Leadership is a marathon, not a sprint. Success is built over time. Stay consistent, trust the process, and take pride in every step forward. Recognize that every small victory adds up to long-term success
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Get in touch to find out more or to request event content

About Avent Bezuidenhoudt, CEO Earth Capital Ltd
With over 25 years of experience in venture capital, private equity, and corporate finance advisory, Avent has a proven track record in high-growth technology investments. Her career began in 1995 when she moved to the UK and joined BDO UK, transitioning from a research role to corporate finance advisory and then to venture capital investing. Avent’s talent for identifying and nurturing high-potential opportunities not only set her on a path to success but also highlighted her agility and knack for capitalising on evolving market trends.
In 2020, Avent joined Earth Capital, as Investment Director leading the firm’s move towards clean technology solutions. She became CEO in 2022 after quickly rising through the ranks, demonstrating strong leadership and a remarkable ability to adapt, self-advocate, and seize opportunities. Celebrated as one of the UK’s top water tech investors, Avent was named among the Top 10 female early-stage investors in Europe by Business Insider and Tribe Capital.
Avent’s career is a powerful example of how embracing change, championing one’s own potential, and stepping forward at key moments can lead to transformative leadership roles.
Introduction by Melissa Bruno
Melissa Bruno, a lead Partner within BDO’s People Advisory Services team, has over 20 plus years’ experience in People, Talent and HR Strategy. Melissa is passionate about designing effective organisations, developing leaders, people and teams, assessing people risk and transforming functions. Melissa starts from advising on what is impacting businesses today and anticipating what will in the future enabling organisations to focus on what matters and to prepare effectively.
Melissa, championed people data analytics and measurement early making sure that what she delivers with clients is always measurable and truly value add. Melissa has worked in senior leadership positions in both consulting and the private sector; her focus is always on enhancing the people agenda to bolster performance and strategic business delivery. Melissa sees HR as pivotal to driving business success, a custodian of the employee experience and the real engine enabling people to perform.
Why female leadership and perfectionism matters?
Self-advocacy at work is critical to career advancement. Yet, studies reveal a troubling paradox: when women assertively advocate for themselves, they often face backlash. Indeed, a commissioned survey by SheSpeaks.com uncovered that while slightly more than half of women advocate for themselves in the workplace, a sizeable portion hesitate due to fear of retribution (43%), or the dreaded label of “aggressiveness” (31%).
This phenomenon, often referred to as the “double bind dilemma,” forces women into a perpetual balancing act, constantly adapting to gendered expectations to navigate stereotypes.
It’s clear that amplifying your voice in the workplace is not just about individual advancement—it’s about breaking down systemic barriers and reshaping perceptions.





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