It is that time of the year again- time to celebrate International Women’s Day. There is a sudden buzz around women related themes – brands jostle with each other to talk to women and corporates go overboard to conduct women-centric activities. There is a deluge of “Women’s Day” ads and special offers on spas and clothes.

Maybe it’s good to do all these activities around this one specific day. However can we go one step further and celebrate womanhood on an everyday basis by embracing those qualities that have traditionally been classified as feminine.

There are various studies that show that leadership qualities are categorized as masculine or feminine. Historically, desirable leadership qualities have always been thought to be masculine qualities like authority, power, dominance, aggression and so on. However in today’s dynamic world, many of the so-called feminine qualities are very critical for any leader to possess in order to succeed.

I have picked 4 such qualities that I find particularly relevant in today’s context. I try to practice them in my daily life.

Inclusive leadership:

Women are known to make decisions that benefit the family and community.

Gone are the days when autocratic decision making and hierarchical organizations were the norm. In the past, leaders made unilateral decisions with their limited perspective. However in today’s dynamic world, all information does not reside with one individual, and decision making needs to factor in the larger good. Hence it is very important for leaders to consider multiple perspectives while making decisions. The two questions that I ask myself while making key decisions are- have I taken inputs from all key stake-holders and have I kept in mind the long-term impact of the decision vs just the short-term gains. And I have found this to significantly improve the quality of the decision and the ownership around it is always higher.

Nurturing and Caring:

Women are main caregivers in the family.

It’s the job of HR to provide a nurturing and caring environment with a high level of engagement and empathy. Wrong!! Today’s leader needs to be a nurturer of people, so that he/she earns not just the respect of the employees but also their love. I meet two colleagues across levels every week on a random basis over a cup of coffee so that I get to know them better. I also take their inputs on what’s working in the organization, and what’s not, so that I can address relevant issues which can then further build a positive culture.

Intuition:

Women use their intuition and instinct to guide them.

Most leaders fancy themselves as logical, left-brained and data driven. While these are good qualities to have, what is also equally important is for leaders to have intuition. It is the ability to feel and sense things deeply, and the ability to provide a safe and energized environment which brings the best out of people. Over the years, I have learnt to listen more and speak less- this helps me get a sense of what is really happening in the organization and then address the underlying issues. I also use my intuition to guide me in cases where I have limited information to make decisions.     

Humility:

Women give credit to others and work from behind the scenes.

Humility is indeed a virtue when it comes to leadership. Humility inspires “followership” – it allows the leader’s humanity to shine through and enables others to follow. I connect with many of my colleagues at a personal level. I share with them some of things that I have picked up over the years which have been useful to me, with the hope of inspiring them. I also ensure that I keep aside time for me to learn about those facets of the business that I am not fully familiar with. I find myself more comfortable to say “I don’t know” and to admit “I made a mistake”.

I believe that having the above qualities can make us a well-rounded leader. I have been practicing these over the last few years and they have certainly helped me in my leadership journey. So this Women’s Day, we should imbibe and practice more of the feminine qualities of leadership, which can help us all become better leaders.