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7 Unique Leadership abilities of Women Leaders

As a Leadership Coach, I observe certain qualities and characteristics that make women executives natural leaders. In my view these are the very traits which would serve the leaders of tomorrow to drive business results. With the challenges of the increasingly competitive economies where

working with diverse teams and geographic locations would be the norm, such people-focused skills would serve them to keep their lead intact.

A recent study was conducted to examine the effect of women on boards and as team leaders. The report, titled “When is Female Leadership an Advantage?” was published in November 2015, in the Journal of Organizational Behaviour. Corinne Post, an associate professor of management at Lehigh University’s College of Business and Economics who led the study, stated that women leaders bring a number of very special qualities to their teams, from more co-operative learning to more inclusive communication. This resulted in stronger, closer, more connected teams that perform better.

Women have unique leadership abilities that stem from a range of natural qualities that bring out the best in their teams.

7 Reasons which gives female leadership cooperation and significant advantages in managing and leading teams are:

  • Women naturally excel at multi-tasking. As an inbuilt ability to handle multiple tasks simultaneously, women get more done.  They are able to ensure all boxes get checked.
  •  Women are extremely organized. When it comes to planning and coordinating, they invest a lot of creative energy when it comes to executing their plans. 
  •  Women make nurturing managers. Women excel at managing others because they tend to be more nurturing, understanding, respectful, and empathetic. The best leaders today are not dictatorial, but rather, the ones who are encouraging, approachable, and sensitive to the needs of their employees.
  •  Women use their intuitive abilities. If there is trouble up ahead, women are likely to see it coming. Knowing that a plan could go awry, they would have alternative strategies and solutions up their sleeve. If something does not go according to the brief, they can be trusted to take a new or different direction that will achieve results. In short, they are resourceful, are typically well prepared for anything, and seldom leave a plan to chance.
  •  Women are generally good communicators. From a young age, they were taught to express themselves more openly and speak their mind. At the same time, they also make great listeners. This equates to leaders who are inclusive of others’ ideas, resulting in more collaborative relationships.
  •  Women are passionate and inspirational. When women set about on a task, they do it with enthusiasm and excellence and commit themselves to see it through. When employees observe such a positive attitude in their leaders, they are inspired to approach their work in the same way.
  •  Women invest in relationships. Women are good at bringing people together. In a group setting, they take the time to know their team members. They are able to motivate others to get along and have the ability to make each person feel important. This is an especially crucial skill to have when trying to encourage teamwork.  

To conclude, certainly, male leadership has their positive attributes – and in traditional organizations such as the government and the military, male leadership has shown to be more advantageous – such as giving orders and employing reward/punishment model, however, majority of employees of today, respond better to a collaborative style of leadership. 

Do share your comments, and views!

Jasveer Malaney, PCC, is an award-winning Executive Leadership Coach & Trainer, who helps managers become more effective and influential in their roles by elevating their leadership abilities.  

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