7 QUALITIES OF A STRONG FEMALE LEADER.

7 QUALITIES OF A STRONG FEMALE LEADER. What is the difference between being a leader and a female leader? The reaction and acceptance of society. There is a huge gap between being a female leader and a man leader. Though the qualities of a leader, in general, are supposed to be the same. But it is the differentiation by the society that makes a female have some additional qualities than her male counterpart.

The norms are set by society in such a manner that a female in a job should take care of both kids and home along and perform at par with male counterparts at work. Sounds simple just manage kids, home, work and compete with a player just managing work. A male contributing any help in the household work is praised and cherished by all and a lady going to the office suffers the burns both from home as well as work. 

“Women in leadership roles can help restore balance and wholeness to our communities.”

Wilma Mankiller

Hindering factors

So what exactly prevents most women from holding influential positions? Here are a few barriers:

• Personal commitments
• Disruption in work-life balance
• Bias among managers (not necessarily purposeful)
• Lack of female role models
• Self-doubt

When working our way up the corporate ladder, women after often outnumbered by men in leadership roles. Having spoken to an extensive number of women in corporate industries, one collective factor they all deemed essential to their success in male-dominated industries was emotional intelligence; being able to decipher what type of personality traits are required for work, when to employ them and how to keep developing them throughout their career progression. 

Modern education has liberated women to become independent thinkers empowered to grab life by the horns. However, a prestigious college degree and high profile career don’t constitute effective leadership.

For a woman to rise from a follower to receive recognition as an effective leader, she must possess the following seven qualities.

7 QUALITIES OF A STRONG FEMALE LEADER.

Power of Multitasking:

In any dictionary, multitasking is the toughest word ever. Oh, but I’m not talking about the ability to walk and talk at the same time. It’s much more than that. It includes the possession to focus on many objectives, to observe things in a fine distinguish way, and to have a nose to sense things that someone else might have missed. Listening to your team is one of the vital things that most leaders miss during a meeting. So, enlist this one point too.

Calm & collaborative:

The idea of being a boss in a company doesn’t mean you have to criticize everyone every minute. You have the power of course, but that genetic string will lead your company into losses. Just place yourself in an employee position. Would you be able to welcome such behavior from your boss? No one cares. It’s your company; you have to take care of it like your child. CEOs still get unlimited responsibilities and them being lazy sometimes is accepted. But, a chair like yours needs a calm mind, collaboration, and flexibility under tough circumstances.

Feminine Thinking:

One of the greatest power women have is that we think from our hearts. Women are known to look at the glass as half-full and seek to see the upcoming opportunities, even in a bad situation. It’s proven to be true that women tend to be more optimistic than men. With this power, we can make our company germinate and develop the same as we do for our kids. From their first walk to their marriage and till the end, we do a bang-up job. Then, what’s the fear? Spread it up.

BUILD NETWORKS

Success is never achieved in isolation; successful women are constantly building their network and are never afraid to build alliances with like-minded individuals. Successful women will continuously remove themselves from their comfort zone to progress forward, interacting and gaining exposure to a variety of individuals both in the corporate and non-corporate world.

Emotional Intelligence

Many of us are aware of IQ (Intelligence Quotient). But have you heard about Emotional Intelligence? Designed to measure intellectual intelligence, it gives a score from a series of tests. Higher IQs indicate better cognitive abilities, or the ability to learn and understand. People with higher IQs are more likely to do well academically without exerting the same amount of mental effort as those with lower IQ scores.

A logical assumption, therefore, is that people with higher IQs will be more successful at work and throughout life. This assumption has been proven incorrect – there is more to success than simply being ‘clever.

Women are proved to have higher EQ than men.

 Optimism

Productivity can drop just as quickly if your morale is low. Although it’s unrealistic to aim for unwavering optimism, the effects of simply ‘faking it’ can often be converted into genuine emotions and produce a far more positive and productive output. A recent Berkley study showed that daily gratitude practice enhances alertness, enthusiasm, determination, and attentiveness – an appealing set of attributes for any candidate asking for a promotion. Fixating on the positive attributes of your day or life can improve your emotional state and develop into a long-term habit, which is an investment in your emotional wellbeing. Plus, it’s also been reported that those who are optimistic and consequently, more pleasant people to be around, add more value to their working environment and thus, earn more.

 CONSTANTLY LEARNING AND RELEARNING

To experience success, you must be comfortable with not knowing everything about everything. Women who succeed in life habitually educate themselves to progress forward. No matter what industry you choose, change is inevitable. Successful women recognize the need to stay educated and grow as they progress forward in their field. 

These were 7 QUALITIES OF A STRONG FEMALE LEADER. There are other qualities like communication, strength, decision making which are relevant to any leader in any industry to sustain and succeed.

Give your inputs on which qualities you feel I missed from the list and which you found most relevant. 

Knowledge will give you wealth and power, but character earns you respect. Effective female leaders motivate their followers towards achieving group goals. They also enable them to realize and unlock their hidden individual leadership potential. Aspiring leaders should therefore apply the seven characteristics discussed on a daily basis. No quality is more important than the other. Lead to inspire and your legacy will be unforgettable.

“The only safe ship in a storm is leadership.”

Faye Wattleton.