I strongly believe that women leaders can be a force for good. A testimony to this is how countries run by women have handled the Covid crisis so differently and successfully. Leadership in this century is relationship centric; and one of influence, empathy and collaboration. Women have dispositions that make them suited for leadership eg: the ability to deal with complexity, the natural instinct to nurture, and the mindset of taking a long term view rather than being opportunistic.

 

However, women often hold themselves back by creating self-imposed barriers.  Research shows that there is a significant “confidence gap” between men and women. Women consistently underestimate their abilities and men generally overstate theirs! Women think they need to research ideas thoroughly before presenting them on ‘prime time’ because of fear of rejection. Women also need to unshackle themselves from vocabulary such as ‘controlling’, ‘pushy’, ‘bossy’.

 

Women tend to undermine themselves by not talking up their accomplishments. Self-promotion is effective when done authentically. Share your work on as many social media platforms, look out for speaking engagements, be part of professional networks and build thought leadership in your respective domains. For women aspiring to be leaders, I recommend ‘Through The Labyrinth’ by Alice H. Eagly and Linda L. Carli.