BY: Evelyn Summerville
Most will agree that leadership effectiveness is directly connected to organizational success. Leaders cast vision, set goals and shape culture —all critical drivers in productivity and employee engagement.
In a world where team members look to their leaders for inspiration and appreciation, supervisors and executives can no longer depend on their position and power to drive results. Instead, they must embrace leadership styles that cultivate positive, healthy environments. Ones that prioritize trust, connection and strong relationships – such as feminine leadership.
WHAT IS FEMININE LEADERSHIP?
At first blush, you might think feminine leadership refers to gender. It does not. Feminine leadership is about energy, approach and intention. It is leadership that employs empathy, intuition, collaboration and emotional intelligence as essential skills for team building and producing results.
Feminine leadership is on the rise. Not as another workplace fad, but as a source of true workplace transformation. It is gaining momentum as an alternative to the traditional masculine leadership style. One characterized by competition and control.
Blazing ahead with feminine leadership means courageously leading with traits once considered too soft or ineffective for leaders. The truth is feminine leadership qualities, such as empathy and emotional intelligence, are connected to high employee engagement. For instance, a study by Catalyst reports that “67% of people with highly empathic managers report often or always being engaged, compared to only 24% of people with less empathic managers.”
“It’s important to be aware of your emotions, how they are affecting you and your relationship with others.”
FEMININE LEADERSHIP APPLIED
Consider these strategies if you’re aspiring to blaze ahead with feminine leadership:
USE EMPATHETIC LISTENING SKILLS
Leaders can explore team member’s ideas and feelings and use this deeper level of awareness to better coach their team to reach their fullest potential and grow from experiences, even mistakes. By asking questions and actively listening, the result is people feel seen, heard, understood and empowered.
TAP INTO YOUR INTUITION
Successful leaders are just as comfortable using intuition (one’s inner wisdom) as they are using factual information to make decisions, generate ideas and solve problems.
Intuition is a hunch, instinct, or gut feeling. It is helpful when quick decisions are needed, especially in a growth – oriented environment.
MAKE COLLABORATION A PRIORITY
Actively invite team members to share ideas and participate in generative conversations. Create space for their ideas to develop and be implemented as powerful solutions to workplace problems. Afterwards, be sure to share how valuable their ideas have been and the resulting outcomes.
BE EMOTIONALLY INTELLIGENT
It’s important to be aware of your emotions, how they are affecting you and your relationship with others. It’s equally important to be attuned to how the emotions of others are impacting you. This mindfulness allows you to process what you’re experiencing and be in choice about the best response.
The time has come to embrace the positive power of feminine leadership. Integrating these qualities into your leadership practice is imperative. It not only promises to elevate your leadership, it will pave the way for creating a more successful organization.
Evelyn Summerville is an executive, leadership and life coach. She harnesses the experiences and lessons learned during her time as a Fortune 500 and Non-Profit executive to support leaders in fast tracking their success. In doing so, Evelyn empowers people to live and lead with purpose, passion and excellence.
