Why Women are Natural Born Leaders

“Some leaders are born women” - Geraldine Ferraro 

The Gender - Leadership Gap

Why is it that there are fewer female leaders than a male? While it can’t be ignored that gender equality has improved over time, we’re still a ways from true equality in the workplace. “Patriarchy is the psychopath of society”. Incorporating femininity into businesses can help open the doors to balance speed, efficiency, and flow.

Balance in the C-Suite

The majority of women who hold leadership positions do so exceedingly more efficiently than men because of the unique skills they naturally embody. Yet, as of 2019, only 21% of women hold C-suite positions. Women are more likely to embody traits including empathy and compassion in addition to being better active listeners.

These traits are known as soft skills and are prime factors in helping develop a person into a strong, well-rounded leader. In many cases, these skills are considered somewhat controversial for those in leadership roles. It’s quite ironic however that these soft skills have begun to be prized in leadership, as they were once the source for criticism and critique against women in the workplace.

Competition vs Nurture

Women are often socialized from childhood to be nurturing, collaborative, and relationship-driven, unlike their male counterparts. While little girls are often primed to grow up playing house and dress up, boys typically grow up in a more competitive atmosphere. While gender-neutral roles have been on the rise and dolls and trucks aren’t necessarily gender-specific, not all parents have truly switched to this modern method. Collaboration in the workplace is extremely vital to success in leadership roles. When leaders effectively collaborate, their teams feel more valued overall. Having empathy and nurturing nature, women are more adept at problem-solving and can foster a workplace culture of equality and value. As a result, employee retention is often higher under female leadership. 

Collaboration Taken Too Far Can Be Detrimental 

While collaboration and empathy are great leadership traits, they can cause issues if taken too far. Collaboration requires leaders to invest time in building trust with their team members and partners. Team collaboration can take a negative route if a leader devotes too much time to attempting to find the perfect balance between their views and those of their team.Leaders are the trusted figures to spearhead team efforts for a reason. If they put too much focus on collaborating and incorporating team opinions, they may lose sight of the very reason they ended up a leader to begin with. Women have the tendency to focus too strongly on the team aspect and in turn, maybe more likely than men to lose sight of their own needs. 

Where is Your Comfort Zone?

One of the most important factors for all leaders to consider is their comfort zone. Leaders must determine the level at which they are comfortable collaborating on topics and issues versus when they should be making independent decisions in the best interest of the business. Proper flow is necessary to strike the perfect balance between collaboration and leader decision making. A lack of balance could ultimately lead to team burnout or decisions that aren’t in favor of the business overall.

In order to maintain balance and avoid burnout, incorporating flow will provide the leadership support needed to achieve goals at expedited rates. Although women are powerful natural-born leaders with an upper hand on soft skills, they may burn out quicker than men if they don’t find a good balance. Avoid burnout in your business and contact us for the ultimate flow mentorship.

Go from status quo to Status Flow.