Why We Need More Women in Leadership
This morning I woke up excited. I told my wife, "OMG, it's women's history month, and I want to write something." I began to speak with her about the fact that I have worked under more women than men at different jobs throughout my career. Nearly 70% (66.67%) of all of my previous supervisors are women, and my very first boss is a woman. I took a moment to reflect on what that meant for me as a young professional and now as a more experienced leader with my own team to manage. Needless to say, I have learned a lot!
Clarify the Direction
I have learned that thoughtful and effective management starts with providing clear goals and objectives. I learned early on that writing out the goals along with each step of the process went a long way in sticking to a plan that was manageable for any work stream. We mitigated uncertainties and addressed risks in project execution by referring back to the plan that we took the time to build together before the project even launched. I learned that you can never take too much time to clarify the goals and objectives and that proper planning includes a timeline and a written plan.
Lead the (Whole) Person
It's interesting to see how current leadership discourse centers largely on "soft skills" such as empathy, compassion and adaptability - it's like a new movement - but old news to me because I thought that was the only way to be a great leader! My early experiences shaped my thoughts about good, holistic leadership that started with meeting agendas that actually had a check-in about how each person on the team was feeling and doing. An icebreaker of sorts at the time but really a direct way of saying, "I care about you," which means a lot. I felt like I could talk with my supervisors about what I was feeling while preparing for a client meeting or presenting my research or doing something that would make anyone nervous. It felt okay to be honest in those moments because I got advice and guidance that built me for the long run not just to get me through the day.
Organize Everything
An image of post its, different color pens, highlighters, folders, and filled notebooks just came to mind. I can count on one hand (and it might be less than 5) the number of times that I entered into any meeting (yes, even impromptu) without a notebook. I feel better with a notebook and I feel better when I have the time to organize my thoughts and my projects and my to-dos and my action items in real-time. Being organized is also a state of mind that allows your brain to maximize its processing, memory and speed because it allows certain projects to rest providing you with more capacity to take on other projects. I am certain that organization skills have served me well in guiding big teams, managing partners, and leading all forms of collaboration. I always know what has happened to date and where we are going because I know that if nothing else I wrote it down.
These are just a few of the lessons that I have learned from women in leadership. And this month, I hope you all join me in celebrating women as supervisors, managers, coaches, executives, and leaders. My hope is that society fully embraces diversity and provides more opportunities for women to lead so that others can learn as much as I did (and still do).