Women are formally stepping into leadership roles more than ever before. But the truth is, women have been leaders in their families, communities, and businesses all along.
According to Martha Beck, life coach and Oprah columnist, certain women are born with the natural tendencies of shamans. These “shaman-types” have historically emerged as the natural leaders of societies around the globe. They are the healers, the communicators, the creative ones, and the caretakers of the earth. For the shamans among us, leadership is an intuitive and natural way of being.
Traits commonly seen in successful women leaders
- Higher sense of empathy and ability to persuade and motivate
- Better capacity for listening and understanding the concern of others, which helps resolve issues faster and more effectively
- Greater ability to be assertive while being inclusive and working together as a team
- Able to demonstrate resilience in the face of rejection, so that women do not get deterred from their goals when something fails
- Inclusive leadership style, meaning that women incorporate the best aspects of team members and arrive at decision points accordingly
- Greater capacity to leverage social strengths and relationships
- Not afraid to take risks and are willing to experiment with new ways of handling problems and changing paradigms
When leading we need to make sure that our internal selves are in alignment with our outer selves and that we are fulfilling our deepest calling. That is when women truly feel on top of their game.
We need to identify and find our tribes, the people we want to surround ourselves with. When making important leadership decisions these two questions guide us to the epicenter of what is most important. Who are my people? How can I best serve them? The answers to these questions keep us on track for guiding our personal, professional and social choices.
Who are your people and how can you best serve them?
Dear Randy – thank you for your timely article around women and leadership. I am doing a lot of work around this topic and see it as so important for the world. This is the time for women to really step into authentic feminine power — not some outmoded feminist paradigm that actually is very masculine. anyway, I love what you wrote above. Thank you. Please let me know if you are every in NYC. I would love to connect with you (we met a few moons ago at a group vision day on Martha’s Vineyard). Warmly, Kelley
I love the simplicity of your two questions.
Would be great to see you next time I’m in NYC, especially since both of kids live there now. This is an amazing time for women. Each of us has the opportunity to embrace our leadership abilities and “authentic feminine power” as you described. More than any other period in history we are obliged to make a difference in our personal lives, our communities, and the world at large. It is beginning to happen and this is indeed the hope of the future.