There has been so much written about how women advanced to leadership positions through barrier-stricken pathways. Such concepts as career labyrinths, sticky floors, concrete walls, and glass ceiling have also gathered significant popular media and research attention.
Though gender shouldn’t be considered a factor to determine one’s leadership abilities, women’s advancement in crucial leadership roles in government, higher education, and business is seen as a positive change.
One of the many positive consequences of this shift is the popular trend of women business coaches who help in empowering more women.
It may have taken time before women realized how they were poised for business, but the reasons below will highlight the reasons why women make great business leaders.
Women understand the importance of work-life balance.
Women are ideal for the leadership role because they can balance their personal and professional leadership abilities. If you have a sensitive question or a personal request, it’s easier to approach and ask a woman leader.
Women leaders, because of their nurturing nature, care about the well-being and performance of their team members, too.
Women are empathetic.
Most women value relationships and are natural empaths. These traits allow them to forge a deeper understanding of people’s motivations and drives. The same characteristics also enable them to acknowledge and appreciate people’s performance.
Women are great at improvising.
According to Hazel Henderson, author, economist, and pioneering futurist, women have the advantage because they’re great at improvising. Women learn that there are different kinds of niches and that they don’t have to be a well-capitalized, powerful, and big organization to offer excellent service.
Henderson also said that female entrepreneurs could easily understand the global business view. She explained that women could seamlessly connect all the dots and that they often lead forward-looking organizations. These women can spot all the issues and turn them into real opportunities.
This trait, along with other universal feminine features, makes coaching by women business coach easier. The vital faculties are there, and coaching can enhance these qualities and make them even stronger and more empowering.
Women can transcend beyond the “maternal wall.”
Sarah Lacy, a Silicon Valley journalist and author of the book “A Uterus Is a Feature, Not a Bug,” said that women are great leaders because they bring their whole selves to their jobs. They break the longstanding “maternal wall” and prove to everyone that they could be great mothers and great managers at the same time.
Lacy also shared that she started working in male-dominated environments and had managers who managed people by screaming. She realized, after becoming a mother, that managing people by screaming is just a short-term motivator. This method is the wrong way to build an organizational culture.
Lacy further believes that motherhood enhanced universal feminine traits as consensus building, empathy, and collaborative leadership. All these traits are necessary for managing people in the workplace.
If you have doubted your leadership skills because you’re a woman, throw that preconception away. You can consult with Coach Mariana Jaeger from Break2Be and prepare to be the leader you ought to be.
Don’t let myths and unfounded belief systems hinder you from unleashing your leadership potentials. You’re a woman, and this fact makes you strong, independent, capable, resilient and empowered.