Leadership: We All Shine Together

At the Modern Day Woman, we know that a woman alone has power, but collectively, we have impact.

Raising each other up and collaborating not only creates a stronger ripple but, makes any journey far more enjoyable. 

In modern business settings, women are still pinned against each other, and stereotyped to be overly competitive and even “bitchy” when successful in their field.

The cultural hurdles and gender assumptions women must overcome to rise up into leadership positions is made harder by these unconscious biases. With leadership roles dominated largely by males, we as a female empowerment movement, need to explore this issue and collectively act to make a difference. 

As members of this movement, we all believe that female leadership is powerful, unique and essential to the success of businesses in modern times. Finding our voices in leadership can be daunting, and many believe that you need to be a confident extravert to take on such a position. This I strongly disagree with.

We need a range of personalities and perspectives in leadership, because if every role is filled with dominating social butterflies, cognitive diversity is suppressed, and new and exciting ideas and ways of thinking are lost. However, these more shy and observant personalities require the support of other women. Together, as part of the Modern Day Woman Movement, we create circles of trust, lend support, guidance and shared experiences.  

Let’s embrace other more positive female stereotypes and use them to our advantage. Our social skills, our empathy and caring qualities, our openness and emotional vulnerability, and our ability to make meaningful connections. These stereotypes are true for many women, and are immensely powerful and influential qualities as a leader. 

Have you heard of ‘The Shine Theory’?

Originally coined by journalist Ann Friedman and media strategist Aminatou Sow, the theory is all about positivity breeding more positivity- I don’t shine if you don’t shine. Surrounding yourself with powerful, successful, positive women will only make you a better person yourself. This speaks to our Modern Day Woman Manifesto – “we rise by lifting others”

Practice something this week…

As you take group zoom meetings this week, mostly likely with both genders present in a variety of different roles, practice the method of ‘amplification’. It’s simple. When you hear a female staffer make a great point, don’t just agree with it, instead, repeat it back to the group as they originally said it, while also giving them credit. 

This method was adopted by President Obamas female office staff to better support each other in a largely male dominated team. By the time Obama reached his second term, women finally gained parity with men in Obama’s inner circle. Simple but highly effective.