Grit & Grace: Woman, That's How You Do It!
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Throughout my professional life, I have had the chance to collaborate with many exceptional women leaders. I always made a conscious effort to observe how they behave in order to learn how a woman leader should 'ideally' behave. In addition, I experienced a strong drive to conceive every possible permutation and combination to develop into a 'perfect leader'. After a couple of years of practice and diligence, here I am, confidently asserting I do have somehow figured out how to lead like a lady. But before I land on the specifics of the leadership formula, allow me to briefly mention a few other reasons why I believe women are better leaders.
Women Make Better Leaders, But Are They?
Despite significant advancements in gender equality, female entrepreneurs still confront obstacles, and women in leadership roles frequently endure heightened accountability and harsher judgement than their male colleagues. Even though it can seem challenging, I believe that these impediments shouldn’t prevent women from finally being 'the woman' they want to be. If a position resonates with your capabilities and experience, just throw your hats in the ring. Harness your innate leadership style to create positive changes in the company culture.
A few years ago, the Harvard Business Review released an article highlighting the 'baffling figures' that women outperform males in some important leadership competencies.
The statistics may surprise some people, but not me. Not that I have any bias towards my gender. But I do believe that women most often do not acknowledge the effort they put in. Yet again, I’m not saying it; the substantial stats are.
The same research revealed that when women were asked to rate themselves, they were not as kind in their evaluations. In a self-assessment poll, HBR collected data on various categories over the past few years, including confidence. The confidence scores for men and women differed noticeably among those who were 25. These women were almost certainly and significantly more capable than they realized. In contrast, the findings showed that the male leaders were over confident and inaccurately believed they could be more capable than they actually were.
I must mention that even if we performed a flawless stroll across the moon, I think we ladies would be disappointed if we could not walk on earth. That’s how we are wired. Aren’t we?
Women are naturally equipped with empathy, one of the key leadership skills, says research
Female CEOs demonstrated better empathy, flexibility, and diversity more frequently than their male colleagues, showed a survey by S&P Global.
What better name to recall when discussing strong, empathetic women leaders than Jacinda Ardern. I would want to quote one of the lines mentioned in Ardern’s biography: 'Women don't need to pretend they are men to occupy high office'. The story of New Zealand’s Prime Minister showed how a young socialist who was previously thought to be 'too pleasant' to be in leadership has changed the game with her 'empathy and bravery'.
When we consider the most successful female leaders, grit and grace spring to our minds. More precisely, the combination of the two can potentially be the turbocharger that propels women to the top. The blend provides women with their blueprint for success, enabling them to lead with empathy and courage. Every woman, I believe, shares the same set of characteristics. They just need to know how to implement them judiciously.
Remember how Ardern handled the commotion during the lockdown and subsequent crises in New Zealand? By simply being firm, kind, and compassionate towards its people, who could relate to their leader. A leader who is approachable and understands pain better; yet was strong enough to execute tough decisions with ease. We can perceive a match here if we compare Ardern to grace, which is ease, elegance, and style, and grit, which is the firmness of character and an indomitable spirit.
Grit & Grace – How To Add These Perfect Ingredients?
Grit and grace, combined, make a potent mix. Besides, the most attractive aspect of this coalition is that it is exclusively feminine. In an era where gender is at the forefront of many leadership dialogues, it provides women with guidance to success. It acts as a manual that recognizes women can lead and be successful on their terms and that skill, authority, elegance, compassion, and high heels (wink wink) can all coexist.
I have already highlighted the two deadly pairings necessary: grit and grace. Let’s now discuss how to obtain them. Start by having grit. I just saw a TED Talk by Angela Lee Duckworth titled 'Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance,' which left me incredibly inspired. She argues that tenacity is what separates successful people from unsuccessful ones. The qualities of Perseverance', fortitude, commitment, and gumption are critical for building grit.
Before discovering grace, you must first develop grit, which gives you authority and respect. Then, with grace, put your grit to the test. In my experience, developing grit and grace necessitates taking small, deliberate steps. When you challenge the status quo, you develop these two critical leadership skills. You try again and again, making adjustments based on your successes and failures.
After grit, enters grace. A woman’s grace reflects in how she dominates the space by being there. The way she maintains her composure amid duress and can command respect from strong-willed individuals. Also, how assured, self-aware, and at ease she is with herself. Her acts must be motivated by her moral integrity and sincerity. She is a confident lady who can wield authority in the right situations. This sums up grace rightly.
Key takeaway
Let’s agree that governing with grace is not a sign of weakness. In fact, if you lead with grace, you exude power, assurance, and optimism. However, it requires guts to alter our leadership style to one that is more kind. We must lower our protective barriers and reveal a more exposed aspect of ourselves. We must experiment with methods of being in our natural form that we may have long since switched off in our professional careers. We might need to venture into previously uncharted territory that is uncomfortable for us. But my lovely ladies, it’s time for you to come out in all your glory with all the female magnificence you possess.
Throughout my professional life, I have had the chance to collaborate with many exceptional women leaders. I always made a conscious effort to observe how they behave in order to learn how a woman leader should 'ideally' behave. In addition, I experienced a strong drive to conceive every possible permutation and combination to develop into a 'perfect leader'. After a couple of years of practice and diligence, here I am, confidently asserting I do have somehow figured out how to lead like a lady. But before I land on the specifics of the leadership formula, allow me to briefly mention a few other reasons why I believe women are better leaders.
Women Make Better Leaders, But Are They?
Despite significant advancements in gender equality, female entrepreneurs still confront obstacles, and women in leadership roles frequently endure heightened accountability and harsher judgement than their male colleagues. Even though it can seem challenging, I believe that these impediments shouldn’t prevent women from finally being 'the woman' they want to be. If a position resonates with your capabilities and experience, just throw your hats in the ring. Harness your innate leadership style to create positive changes in the company culture.
A few years ago, the Harvard Business Review released an article highlighting the 'baffling figures' that women outperform males in some important leadership competencies.
The statistics may surprise some people, but not me. Not that I have any bias towards my gender. But I do believe that women most often do not acknowledge the effort they put in. Yet again, I’m not saying it; the substantial stats are.
The same research revealed that when women were asked to rate themselves, they were not as kind in their evaluations. In a self-assessment poll, HBR collected data on various categories over the past few years, including confidence. The confidence scores for men and women differed noticeably among those who were 25. These women were almost certainly and significantly more capable than they realized. In contrast, the findings showed that the male leaders were over confident and inaccurately believed they could be more capable than they actually were.
I must mention that even if we performed a flawless stroll across the moon, I think we ladies would be disappointed if we could not walk on earth. That’s how we are wired. Aren’t we?
Women are naturally equipped with empathy, one of the key leadership skills, says research
Female CEOs demonstrated better empathy, flexibility, and diversity more frequently than their male colleagues, showed a survey by S&P Global.
What better name to recall when discussing strong, empathetic women leaders than Jacinda Ardern. I would want to quote one of the lines mentioned in Ardern’s biography: 'Women don't need to pretend they are men to occupy high office'. The story of New Zealand’s Prime Minister showed how a young socialist who was previously thought to be 'too pleasant' to be in leadership has changed the game with her 'empathy and bravery'.
When we consider the most successful female leaders, grit and grace spring to our minds. More precisely, the combination of the two can potentially be the turbocharger that propels women to the top. The blend provides women with their blueprint for success, enabling them to lead with empathy and courage. Every woman, I believe, shares the same set of characteristics. They just need to know how to implement them judiciously.
Remember how Ardern handled the commotion during the lockdown and subsequent crises in New Zealand? By simply being firm, kind, and compassionate towards its people, who could relate to their leader. A leader who is approachable and understands pain better; yet was strong enough to execute tough decisions with ease. We can perceive a match here if we compare Ardern to grace, which is ease, elegance, and style, and grit, which is the firmness of character and an indomitable spirit.
Grit & Grace – How To Add These Perfect Ingredients?
Grit and grace, combined, make a potent mix. Besides, the most attractive aspect of this coalition is that it is exclusively feminine. In an era where gender is at the forefront of many leadership dialogues, it provides women with guidance to success. It acts as a manual that recognizes women can lead and be successful on their terms and that skill, authority, elegance, compassion, and high heels (wink wink) can all coexist.
I have already highlighted the two deadly pairings necessary: grit and grace. Let’s now discuss how to obtain them. Start by having grit. I just saw a TED Talk by Angela Lee Duckworth titled 'Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance,' which left me incredibly inspired. She argues that tenacity is what separates successful people from unsuccessful ones. The qualities of Perseverance', fortitude, commitment, and gumption are critical for building grit.
Before discovering grace, you must first develop grit, which gives you authority and respect. Then, with grace, put your grit to the test. In my experience, developing grit and grace necessitates taking small, deliberate steps. When you challenge the status quo, you develop these two critical leadership skills. You try again and again, making adjustments based on your successes and failures.
After grit, enters grace. A woman’s grace reflects in how she dominates the space by being there. The way she maintains her composure amid duress and can command respect from strong-willed individuals. Also, how assured, self-aware, and at ease she is with herself. Her acts must be motivated by her moral integrity and sincerity. She is a confident lady who can wield authority in the right situations. This sums up grace rightly.
Key takeaway
Let’s agree that governing with grace is not a sign of weakness. In fact, if you lead with grace, you exude power, assurance, and optimism. However, it requires guts to alter our leadership style to one that is more kind. We must lower our protective barriers and reveal a more exposed aspect of ourselves. We must experiment with methods of being in our natural form that we may have long since switched off in our professional careers. We might need to venture into previously uncharted territory that is uncomfortable for us. But my lovely ladies, it’s time for you to come out in all your glory with all the female magnificence you possess.
