We have amazing female leaders in our network. We work with them every day. Here are a few key attributes we’ve noticed and advice we’ve heard that may also help you in your path to being a great female leader.
Find confidence in your choices and in the chances you’ve taken that make you unique. Your successes and how you achieved them have value. Notice the key moments that made you strong or effective and make sure to implement those in your everyday leadership style.
Allow yourself to change if it feels good to you and you’re inspired to do so. Be yourself. Now, more than ever, we need your unique point of view in the world. Allow yourself to implement change when you see an effective tool or something you could do better. Embrace change, there is little we can guarantee in life and change is one of those.
Know why you’re doing something or why it matters to you. With most any situation in our professional or personal lives, knowing why you feel a certain way or why it’s important can make the difference. It can illuminate a situation in ways you hadn’t imagined. And, sharing your why can also help those you lead to understand and perhaps engage them further in the mission.
Do show vulnerability. Those who can show a little vulnerability and show they care are more effective leaders and often connect better with employees than those who rarely show it. Showing you care is important in the modern workplace.
Be confident in who you are outside of the board room. Be unafraid to show your whole self, or at least a portion of it, in your professional life. Are you an amazing home chef, singer or volunteer? Share those talents with people in your work life so they can see the whole person, not just the leader. This will, you guessed it, actually make you a stronger leader. People can connect to those things that make us all human.