Why Women Make Great Leaders

While talking about leadership, it is important to focus on an individual’s abilities, strengths, and personality traits rather than focusing on gender. Contrary to this, in many cases, women are not considered for leadership roles or encouraged to take up leadership roles. This has often resulted in an imbalance of who’s in power. According to the findings of a report published by McKinsey & Company and LeanIn.org, despite being capable in every field, the fate of women hangs in the balance.  

A study undertaken by talent management system Saba Software, found that 60 percent of male employees expect their companies to play an active role in their individual career options, while only 49 percent of female employees expect this. According to Emily He, CMO at DoubleDutch, this supports findings from other studies revealing that women are more hesitant to speak up about their career ambitions. In fact, the report found that women are driven more by intrinsic motivations about work, instead of what their jobs or employers demand from them.  

Women work more holistically

Different from their male colleagues, who are career-centric and always keen to get the maximum financial benefits from work, women consider work more holistically and as a part of their overall life plan. Hence, they are more likely to approach their careers in a self-reflective way and value factors such as meaning, purpose, connection with co-workers, and work-life integration.  

The inclination of women towards a holistic, self-reflective approach perhaps explains why they define leadership differently compared to some of their male counterparts. An overwhelming 65% of women view leaders as people who share their knowledge and connect with their colleagues to help the team as well as the business. However, only 56% of men think the same way. When women bring this attitude into managerial roles, it may actually make them stronger, more-effective leaders. Unfortunately, despite such advantages, only 60% of women said they feel that they are leaders based on their participation in their business.  

It is likely that women may not always realize how self-confident for successful they are in leadership roles, but their potential and abilities are undeniable. Below are a few attributes of women which make them great leaders not only at the workplace but in all spheres of life.  

Women are resilient

While growing up, girls are trained to be cooperative, collaborative, and relationship-driven. Therefore, nurturing and care-taking are inherent in them and they are resilient. On the contrary, boys are usually trained to be competitive and they only live in a dualistic world of winning and losing. When a woman becomes a mother, it teaches her to deal with several complex situations at home with patience and compassion. Women are also known to deal with stress better and, compared to men; they also bounce back faster even in the face of adversity. These attributes are vital when they have to deal with client challenges and unpredictable conditions in the market.  

Women are empathetic

Unlike men, women bring empathy to the workplace. It allows women to share their knowledge and connect with their colleagues better, facilitating effective collaboration. They are able to understand what drives and motivates people, and how to acknowledge the diverse talent pool present in their team. In addition, it makes it easier for team members to approach a female leader with a sensitive or a personal request.  

Women value work-life balance

Notwithstanding all the talk about gender equality, women often wear many hats at the same time. They juggle between managing the household, children, aging parents, as well as their careers. Despite work pressures, women work hard to make quality time for family. This drives them to find a better work-life balance. Women as leaders are better attuned to the wellbeing of their team, including their performance at work, and also their personal lives.   

Women are team-players

As leaders, women take their teams along. Unlike their male colleagues who are usually lone wolves, women are more nurturing and help the team members grow personally and professionally. At the same time, they do their best to facilitate effective collaboration among the team members, finding immense strength and purpose in a collaborative effort. They also have an inherent desire for the organization as a whole to succeed, an attribute that boosts teamwork across the organization and helps implement a new culture within the business.  

Women are more transformational

Many women leaders work to transform people’s lives for the better. Their decisions are planted on the premise of how they would impact or benefit others and how others could be empowered or elevated in life. Women are great leaders who never fail to influence people with their inspiring thoughts and charismatic leadership style.  

Women are great at multi-tasking

With the different roles that a woman plays in her life, multi-tasking comes naturally to her. This ability to switch between tasks and juggle multiple tasks simultaneously helps them to decisively and quickly respond to concurrent and diverse tasks or situations at a time – a critical component to successful leadership.  

Women are good communicators

It is said that communication is among a woman’s strongest skill and they use it to their advantage. Many studies have suggested that women are usually better at getting longer-lasting results because they have an open and more naturally interactive style and this encourages participation. On the other hand, men have a command-and-control approach. In other words, whether communicating with employers, co-workers, clients, or partners, women seem to be more open that allows for clarity in executing roles and responsibilities, as well as power and information sharing at all levels.   

Women are great mentors

Everyone needs someone who will guide them to progress in their careers. Therefore, the power of role models cannot be overlooked. The ability of women to be natural nurturers helps them to act as mentors, not only to lift up future leaders but to also improve their own leadership skills. They don’t neglect to reach back and pull the next generation of talent up along with them as they climb.