Why We Need More Feminine Energy in Leadership

A 2020 study conducted Down Under by an Australian economist (Conrad Liveris) stated there are more CEOs named Andrew than the total number of women CEOs. In other words, there were more men with the same first name at the top of Australia’s top 200 significant corporations than women.

Laughing because that’s Australia?

Here’s something a little closer to home for most of us: another survey by aauw.org showed that, across the United States, among the fortune 500 CEOs, there are only 7.2% women, and only 25% have C-suite jobs in top 1000 companies.

In recent decades, there have been calls for greater gender equality and a greater emphasis on the need to bridge the salary gap between men and women. While significant progress has been made in this area, we can still see an acute shortage of women in positions of power.

But, hey, we all know this stuff, right?  We know women are underrepresented and underpaid in the workforce – especially when it comes to the highest level of corporate management.

The issue here isn’t the WHAT (all of the stats and the well-known, often-recited info about women in leadership positions).  It’s not even the WHY of the imbalance.

What if the real issue we should be discussing is less about gender and more about energy?

Here’s the real issue I want to address: it’s time to move away from the gender conversation and start addressing masculine and feminine energy.  Feminine and masculine energies are equally important BUT in the world we’re living in today, more feminine qualities – like empathy, receptiveness, openness, intuition, etc – are desperately needed. 

So, how about starting with a different why: WHY we need more feminine energy in leadership and WHY those qualifications matter more than simply evening out the numbers, gender-wise.

Here are 8 reasons why we need more female energy in leadership:

1. Women lead more effectively.  Recent research by Business Insider showed that women are perceived as better and more capable leaders in comparison to their male counterparts. Until the age of 36 to 40, men are thought to be more effective leaders. Women become considerably more effective than men after the age of 40 and continue to do so until they reach the age of 60.
   
   Women executives bring talents, new perspectives, and unique ideas to the table. Still, when these three factors are combined, they help develop new viewpoints that lead to better corporate decision-making.

2. Women are more empathetic. In terms of the roles they play throughout their life, empathy is often considered the greatest superpower a female possesses.
   
   An empathic leader can accept that everyone perceives the world differently without passing judgment. They can relate to their team and openly interact with them, and comprehend when they are having difficulties. In brief, an empathic leader can listen to their team rather than fix, solve, or dictate, thus preparing them for success.
   
   Women are more likely to use this form of leadership than more authoritative leadership, making them more effective at influencing others. Empathy also requires being open-minded and understanding diverse points of view. This facilitates the exchange of ideas and gives a fresh perspective about things. As a result, the identification of an effective solution to problems.

3. Women are more resilient.  Resilience involves one’s ability to withstand or recover quickly from challenging situations. In an organizational setting, female leaders are typically more relational, inclusive, and communal. During the pandemic, reports show that a relational leadership style was preferable over an autocratic command-and-control style when responding to crises. Female-led countries like New Zealand, Germany, Finland, Iceland, Denmark, Norway, and Taiwan demonstrated incredible resilience and responsiveness during the pandemic’s public health efforts.

4. Women prioritize self-improvement more than men. Self-development is a lifelong process that includes physical, emotional, educational, intellectual, and vocational growth. A study by Harvard Business Review reports that women scored in the 54.8 percentile for self-development efforts compared to 49.6% of men. Renowned author and Stanford University psychologist Carol Dweck, PhD, coined the term “growth mindset” to explain the importance of self-development for individual success. Dweck’s research has shown that students who believe they can improve their intellectual abilities (growth mindset) work harder and perform better than those who think their abilities are a fixed trait (fixed mindset). Women in leadership roles employ a growth mindset to learn more, stay curious, acquire new skills, and constantly engage in self-development.

5. Women handle crises better.  Women have the qualities of leadership that are most appealing especially in case of contingency or an emergency of any sort. People-development, the capacity to set clear standards and rewards, the ability to serve as a role model, the ability to inspire, and participatory decision-making are all examples.
   
   Many women, particularly mothers, are trained caregivers who handle domestic crises with compassion and patience. When a woman leader is coping with an emergency, these qualities become extremely important.

6. Women make incredible mentors.  The significance of mentors, particularly for the younger generation, cannot be overstated. Everyone, regardless of gender, requires someone to mentor them as they advance in their jobs. Women leaders, in particular, are more vital mentors and coaches of emerging potential than men.
   
   Women are more understanding, strong-willed, tactical, and cognizant in comparison to men and this is precisely what makes them terrific mentors. We need more and more women in mentorship programs and we must also focus on women mentoring women for a bright future.

7. Women drive results.  Women executives not only prove to be driven, resilient, and self-motivated, they also drive impressive business results. Research shows that companies with more female executives are correlated with bigger share price gains, stronger revenue growth, and higher profits. For example, Susan Wojcicki, the CEO of Youtube, is one of the world’s highest-performing female CEOs. Wojcicki was Google’s 16th employee and marketing manager before she proposed Google’s purchase of YouTube and spearheaded its acquisition for $1.65 billion in 2006. Wojcicki’s insight and strategic direction was integral in Youtube’s beginnings and continues to support the success of one of the largest search platforms in existence.

8. Women take initiative.  HBR’s research initiative found that women are more likely than men to take initiative in leadership positions. Taking initiative is the ability to decide and act independently without waiting for outside direction. The female initiative is evident in current enrollment rates for higher education. In 2020, more women (56.6%) than men (44.1%) participated in higher education in both the US and the UK. Women who invest in their education demonstrate a hunger for growth and develop skills to become better leaders.

Again: none of this has to do with gender.  Men can tap into their more (traditionally) feminine energy to embody these same qualifications.

We all have masculine and feminine energy in our energy bodies. The masculine and feminine energy has nothing to do with gender, and both male and female can tap into both essences.

Typically, one of these energies is dominant. You may recall a friend who is male, but he doesn't struggle to express his feelings. Or contrary, a female friend who has the go-and-get mindset which is based on masculine energy. Hence a man and woman can be predominantly feminine or masculine.

Both energies are beyond gender.

Image Credit: Quora

Of course, I’m passionate about women in leadership – those with both dominant masculine or dominant feminine energies – and that passion has very little to do with gender.  In fact, my Women in Leadership Training is just as effective for men as it is for women!

I keep meeting brilliant men and women, with powerful ideas to contribute, important businesses and organizations to build, and provocative questions to share. But if you are one of these professionals who struggles to FIND YOUR OWN VOICE, the way you communicate fails to command power.

If this is YOU – and you know you have more to contribute – consider exploring my Women in Leadership Training. This full-day training is designed to empower professionals with the skills and confidence needed to stand out and lead inside and outside their organizations. This is where you will learn to find your voice to communicate with impact, influence, passion and purpose without sacrificing your authentic self.  Learn how to balance authority and warmth, lead with authentic power and charisma and strategically communicate up and down the corporate organizational ladder with eloquence and poise – regardless of gender.

This is a training about communicating from the feminine perspective but it’s not just a training for women!  Remember: in this new age,the goal should be to have a balanced energetic approach between both the masculine and feminine.

EXPLORE THE TRAINING HERE.