The World In 2021 And Beyond Needs More Women’s Leadership

Women’s leadership takes center stage as we collectively move forward

Women’s leadership has been front and center over the last tumultuous year. On the global stage, New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and Iceland Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir have been praised by Forbes and other media publications for effectively leading their people through the early stages of the health and economic crisis of Covid-19.
 

This is not surprising. Successful leaders are collaborative leaders and the traits that define collaborative leadership, such as inclusiveness and the ability to build connection and trust, are those stereotypically associated with women. Organizations did not need a pandemic to realize that collaborative leaders – those who put ego aside, involve people with relevant expertise, and display empathy – are more effective. However, the monumental challenges of 2020 may have catalyzed a significant overall shift from traditional command-and-control leadership to a more collaborative approach. The pressure is on for all leaders to shift to a more collaborative style; it can’t be just women.

Through my in-depth research and behavioral analysis of highly successful collaborative leaders over the last 20 years, I have identified key characteristics that those leaders have in common. Initially, my focus was an executive women who lead successfully, finding that they led collaboratively. I then turned my attention to effective collaborative male leaders and found striking similarities and illuminating differences.   

Women and men who lead collaboratively are inclusive, culturally adaptive, empathetic, and nurturing. In order to develop and demonstrate these characteristics, leaders must cultivate one key foundational trait: self-awareness which allows them to recognize their impact on others and adjust to make others comfortable. This differs by gender.

Women balance assertiveness. Gender dynamics can cause smart, confident women to be seen as intimidating. Successful women leaders have a keen awareness of this and adapt how they interact to make others comfortable. They use humor, empathy, and interpersonal agility to complement their drive and professional mastery.

Men temper their egos. During their youth and professional development, men build a resolute certainty in their abilities and build up their egos. That, too, can be intimidating. Collaborative male leaders are able to show vulnerability, not needing to prove themselves or look for affirmation. They listen to others instead of talking incessantly and hogging the spotlight. By side-stepping ego, collaborative male leaders are able to focus on others and beyond self-interest. 

Both women and men who lead collaboratively – by balancing assertiveness and tempering ego – consider what it’s like to “walk in someone else’s shoes.” They can relate to others and treat them as equals, building trusting relationships. They are able to admit they don’t know all the answers, they listen, and they show they care about what others have to say. In doing so they become more approachable and relate-able. This empathy, listening, and respecting are three key behaviors that enable collaborative leaders to share power and information, share problem solving and decision making, and create a culture of trust.

Sharing power and information as a leader has a critical function. It avoids bottlenecks created by hierarchies and the image of one person in total command. Transitioning from a linearly-controlled process to a matrixed-connective process allows for dialogue up, down and across the organization, infusing new information along the way. By empowering others and showing confidence in their capability, collaborative leaders actually make people feel more powerful. Distributing power among team members grows trust and increases team performance.

By sharing power and information, collaborative leaders lay the foundation so that teams can successfully engage in working out problems and making decisions. This builds a collective orientation, cohesion, and trust that enables effective teamwork. Being inclusive allows leaders to coalesce multiple sources of expertise and perspectives throughout the process of assessment, problem-solving, and decision-making. Their inclusiveness cultivates and nurtures diversity.

Collaborative leaders create a culture of trust in which people can speak up and share ideas without being muted by fear. They build connections with people at a personal level by tapping into their shared humanity. They bridge cultural differences, helping people connect with one another. They create a common ground that diminishes hierarchical differences. Their inclusiveness and empathy establish a sense of community and belonging. This culture of trust inspires innovation where people feel comfortable brainstorming, trying new things and learning from failure.

These hallmarks of collaborative leadership have been the hallmarks of women’s leadership. Women led with these powerful qualities, before many recognized them as powerful. They steadfastly remained collaborative even as they were being coached to lead more like men. The world in 2021 and beyond needs more women’s leadership. Women – and the men who think like them – will create better work environments and nurture tomorrow’s collaborative leaders. 

Carol Vallone Mitchell, Ph. D. is the author of Collaboration Code: How Men Lead Culture Change and Nurture Tomorrow’s Leaders and Breaking Through “Bitch”: How Women Can Shatter Stereotypes and Lead Fearlessly. She is Co-Founder of Talent Strategy Partners, a leadership development firm helping organizations accelerate business results by developing their emerging leaders who nurture the right workplace culture. She has developed over 50 competency models, including gender-specific, research-based models, used to assess and develop men and women in all industries. Visit www.tsphr.com Connect Carol Vallone Mitchell