Gemma Do you struggle to identify as a leader even though you know you show up as a leader in your life? It is easy to overlook our natural leadership qualities as women – especially when it is not attached to job status. But we can’t celebrate our leadership if we aren’t talking about it and our daughters will inherit whatever we leave behind. Now is the time to talk about your leadership from a place of courage. Own it, you are already a leader.
The notion that someone is a leader because their job title says so is perhaps the biggest issue with leadership full stop. How many leaders have you worked with who failed to lead because they were too busy trying to look the part? We have likely all experienced leaders who think they are the most important person in the room, and yet poor as their leadership qualities are, they are more likely to identify as a leader because their LinkedIn profile says so. Well, a new dawn is coming and it is time for women to shine as they are.
I see women leading all around me, all the time
Real feminine leadership is leadership at its best. It is the ability to see the best in others because that’s who you are. It is the fearlessness to show your vulnerabilities in order to empower those around you. It is the courage to ask questions and challenge thinking while holding grace and ground. It is the desire to help your community, to pass on your wisdom and experience. It is your instinct, your words and your actions combined. It is the ability to see the whole person, to connect and nurture.
Compassion and empathy are the bedrock of good leadership. Congruent leaders show up in the world as they are and because of that they can set boundaries, say no, negotiate and create. Leadership is the ability to listen behind the words. It is knowing when to step up and speak up and when to hold grace for the other side. Leadership is about having the courage to be yourself and show up in the world as you.
Great leadership is intuitive. But intuition is so often overlooked as a leadership tool – mostly because in the corporate world we are too afraid to lead as we are and instead we fall into the trap of taking up less space and fitting in.
You are already a leader
Anyone can be a leader and you don’t have to wait to be given permission. Jamie Smart writes about leadership in his book, Results: “Whether you are the CEO of a Fortune 500 company… or you’re currently on welfare… or (like most people reading this book) you’re somewhere else along that spectrum… You have the innate capacities of leadership within you… You are already a leader.”
Smart talks about the leadership bug. He likens learning leadership behaviours and skills from books and programmes to faking a cold, “Acting like you have the symptoms of a cold is difficult and unconvincing. But when you have a cold, the bug causes the symptoms to emerge effortlessly and authentically.” Smart encourages us to connect with our innate leadership, to realise that we are already leaders and to remove the contaminated thinking that creates fear, shame, doubt…
It is time for a new dawn of leadership. One where women celebrate the sisterhood. One where we create conversation and share stories so that all women can feel connected and thrive as leaders.
