
What Is Leadership?
Leadership is the art of influencing others towards achieving a goal. I have spent several years coaching, teaching, and consulting practicing and aspirational leaders. It never fails to surprise me how many women I meet don’t think they have what it takes to be a great leader.
Upon inquiring why they have these beliefs, it often comes down to their perception of what they believe a leader is. At the root of this problem is that the ideals of successful leadership are associated with masculine qualities such as dominance, competitiveness, authority, task focus, aggression, and punishment. Yet this leadership style is fast becoming outdated, and the feminine leadership style is better suited to today’s innovative organization.