Embrace The Feminine: Lead From Purpose And You Will Transform The Future of Business.
January 9th, 2015 was the day I had the courage, the confidence and stars aligning to set my life finally into proper motion.
I was a high-paid executive, living in NYC, London and later in Berlin, leading a 70+ person team, running the German business for an internationally renowned digital agency and being one of few female leaders in Germany’s digital business arena. The very fact that I was a woman leader in a very male dominated marketing & technology world made me stand out, providing me with immense opportunity, unfortunately and unnecessarily though also with a lot of anxiety.
I’ve always been disciplined, ambitious, caring, inclusive, hard-working and well prepared. Yet, I’d often get the feedback and advice from my male counterparts to be more decisive. Be more radical in my thinking. Take on more risk. Assert myself more. One could interpret, characteristics that would have me act more like a man.
After 5 years of playing ‘hard’ in leadership roles, I was simply exhausted. Exhausted from acting like a different person — unable to be too feminine, and equally unwilling to be too masculine, even if it would more readily find acceptance and success in the corporate world.
Hence in 2015, I stepped out of the corporate world and followed my inner calling:
‘to be the all-embracing force that emboldens today’s leaders to be who they truly are’
and enable leaders to evolve the world of work to work better for themselves, their people and for their organizations as a whole.
Because, I just don’t want other leaders (male or female) to suffer, like I did. And I know a number of leaders are suffering. In fact, I hear it daily from leaders. Leading is definitely not a piece of cake, but particularly in today’s dynamics let’s not lead from a place of fear, or with limiting beliefs, and / or lack of self-worth. Instead, I want leaders to live and lead from that deep authentic self. Capitalize on their unique gift and intrinsic human characteristics. So as to truly make a difference and change the world, by BEING all in and not just simply making the numbers look great.
Three years in, SOULWORX today advises and accompanies leaders of large corporations such as Axel Springer SE and ZEISS Group, smaller (international) organizations such as Jivamukti Yoga and Strichpunkt-Design as well as Tech Start-Ups on their quest to becoming more people-driven and purpose-led. Our 1–12 week ‘PurposeQuests’ allow leaders to explore how they can transform into being a more human organisation, and successfully integrate new cultures, structures, processes and drivers for revenue that will enable them to succeed in times of exponential change. Yes, it involves self-reflection and it asks for inner work. Because as the late Kofi Annan rightly said:
‘To live is to choose. But to choose well, you must know who you are and what you stand for, where you want to go and why you want to go there.’
In working with over two-dozen companies, I’ve come to prove that transformation is based on two key success factors: the buy-in of the people on the team and a shared commitment to purpose.
It is precisely these two aspects: people-driven and purpose-led that I like to call Feminine Leadership.
When I’ve asked friends, colleagues, clients and peers how they characterize feminine leadership, the most common responses I hear include humility, intuition, deep-listening, vulnerability, empathy, compassion, wisdom, genuinity, balance, inclusiveness, confidence and equity.
Beautiful characteristics, I absolutely and wholeheartedly align with. Only, I like to simplify the list and reduce these feminine characteristics into three core qualities:
Leading with Presence:
generating greater mental and intuitive awareness, connecting with our self and with our innate sociality and empathetic connection with our environment. (#balance, #deep-listening, #intuition, #wisdom)
Leading with Courage:
acting in accordance with our own beliefs, combining strong self-confidence with humble intention to be of service. (#humility, #confidence, #equity, #genuinity)
Leading with Kindness:
strengthening our ability to understand others perspectives and using that as a catalyst for supportive action. (#compassion, #empathy, #vulnerability, #inclusiveness)
While I agree that each of these core qualities are critical to the success of any 21st-century leader, I believe there is an underlying factor about truly remarkable leaders that makes these human behaviors possible, one quality that makes an even greater difference for people at work.
For me, that quality is Leading from Purpose.
When we lead from purpose, we engage team members on a much deeper level needed for long-term commitment and productivity. We become real and are able to form personal and meaningful bonds with the people whom we lead. Employees are able to derive meaning from their work and are far more engaged at work. Because, we ourselves as leaders are more self-aware, we listen more deeply, become more humble and apply greater empathy. We know more soulfully who we are, our reason for why we exist and the unique gift we as a leader and we collectively as an organization bring to the world.
Many leaders I interact with at first hesitate to believe in the power of Purpose and definitely shy away from truly embracing qualities of presence, courage and kindness. Because many still believe it will sacrifice profitability, growth, and good business decisions. But, it does not! On the contrary, plenty of research underlines that companies prioritizing people and purpose are much more likely to succeed, not to mention attract and retain top talent. And today, workers of all generations have discovered the same truth: Without purpose, profits mean less.
All the more, let us embrace the Feminine and move forward with Feminine Leadership. Let us all lead with Presence, Courage and Kindness, as well as with the critical underlying factor of Leading from Purpose.
I am confident that when we (gender-neutral) truly embrace these two intrinsic aspects of Feminine Leadership, we can and will transform the future of business and create a new world of work to work better for people. ON PURPOSE.
Julia is a human leadership advocate and purpose consultant and coach, who with her uplifting presence and all-embracing force evokes every leader and every organisation to be who they truly are. For her nothing is more important than placing humaneness and purpose at the heart of all doing.
Connect with SOULWORX or with Julia on LinkedIn and Twitter.
