She at the Helm
For generations, women have created the spaces that were never supposed to be occupied by them, but they make them into what they want by being bold and clear. They come with expectations, shatter silence and open doors to others who stand to silently observe their path.
The women who lead do not focus on doubt but on action, not on comfort but on purpose, in boardrooms, classrooms, and in general in the rest of life. They are go-to people who listen carefully, make decisions decisively and take the initiative even when little notice is paid to them.
Their leadership cannot be discussed as a question of perfection but persistence. Despite it all, women leaders demonstrate that progress is created by those who are not afraid to be the first ones in the fight, visible, keeping the change on track, therefore resilient and visionary.
First, fearless, and watched
A lot of women who lead bear what might look like an unseen burden with their official duties, the burden of being the first. The first woman to become CEO of a company. The inaugural women of colour as a director. The first elected member in a constituency that had not even thought of it.
This is not imaginary weight, and they bear this on purpose. They are aware that their presence is a statement – not only to their peers and competitors, but also to younger women who are courtside spectators, determining what they can and cannot do in life. Female leaders hardly pass as single-minded, even where the trail shows lonely.
What they do differently
The studies continue to indicate that organisations where there is a women who leads are more collaborative, open in communication, and their long-term performance is more sustainable. However, figures seldom describe the reality of how this actually does happen daily.
Women who lead are likely to create a culture in which individuals feel truly heard – and that is all that matters, both in keeping employees on board and in the success of decision-making amid crises.
This does not imply that they are soft leaders. It’s quite the opposite. It is the combination of being direct and being empathetic that the most successful women leaders can strike the right balance, and fewer workplaces still understand that combination to be contradictory. They do not humiliate people. They are calculated risk takers who do not give up on caution. They talk straightforwardly in rooms that require acting.
The private landscape
Ask either of them what they wish people would like to know, and the response will be forthcoming: A women is not superhuman. They cancel plans. They question themselves on long Sunday evenings. They lose sleep making decisions which never feature in newspaper releases.
The cultivated trust of the collective existence rests in the presence of a sincerely individualised interior, one that is made by sacrifice, self-doubt, and even extreme loneliness. And they go back to it, the work, the mission, the table, since a purpose is greater than comfort. Women who are leading have come to peace with what they would have to pay, so that they can make such decisions. It happens that peace does not resemble comfort.
The world is evolving, gradually and almost abruptly, for female leadership. Women who lead are not waiting to get permission or the right conditions. They create, make decisions, lose, evolve, and be the first again, since that is what being a leader requires of anybody serious about being one.