And, if she shows a tear in the corner of her eye, others will wonder if she’s an emotional wreck.
A woman in power struggles constantly with finding an agreeable midpoint: her bosses, employees, or colleagues will call her aggressive when she’s asserting herself. Others will find her style robotic when she’s just focusing on the points she needs to address in an objective way. Assertiveness, strategic approaches, and focused actions have been leadership qualities that are more traditionally attributed to males.
Instead, many people feel more comfortable around women with a more traditionally female-style: a woman who smiles and mediates discord, a woman who will back off and never come off too strong in an argument, even if her point remains vague, or a woman who will show her sensitivity and seem to empathise with everyone’s feelings in spite of not getting the job done.
A strong woman in power will maximise her position, asserting herself in the key issues, addressing them at the core and yet, she will be aware and connected with her audience, listening to their stories, empathising with their challenges, and proposing the commitment to help them out in every possible way.
After all, for all of us looking up to them, all we want is someone who will take care of business, focusing their time in resolving issues rather than in trying to destroy their opponent, someone who knows both because of thorough knowledge and experience and someone who cares.
Great leaders, both male and female, will connect in this way to get things done.
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