By Nirupama Subramanian
Over the past few months, I have spoken about my book Powerful and its concepts to thousands of women- and men. There are two frequently asked questions and points of discussion.
The first one is – Do women need different leadership skills as compared to men? The second which comes up after the first one is- How can we use the Six Feminine Powers to become better leaders?
The answer is the first question is a resounding No. Women don’t need special skills or different qualities to become leaders. Leadership is gender agnostic. We all have different leadership contexts as well. Men and women need both functional or hard skills and soft skills (which are harder to develop) to become good leaders. However, over thousands of years, we have associated certain qualities with men- tough, strong, smart, decisive, rational and certain other qualities with women- gentle, kind, caring, emotional, compassionate. Thanks to gendered norms and stereotyping, it has been assumed that the ‘male’ qualities are those that are desirable for leaders. We have many more men in positions of power as compared to men, so this must be true. Since we hardly see women leaders, the qualities associated with women must be unnecessary for leaders. This type of thinking is a trap.
The difference is not in the skill set but in mindsets. This is where the shift needs to happen for both men and women. Over the last few years, we have seen the importance of empathy, emotional intelligence, inclusiveness, and compassion while leading organizations, especially through tough times. We have also seen many women take charge of large organizations even in typical “male dominated ‘industries like automobiles and oil. The environment is changing- though slowly. How can women take advantage of the leadership opportunities?
Here is where a tool like the Six Feminine Powers model can help. I developed the model after years of research and interaction with hundreds of women. The principle behind the model is simple- To claim power in the outer world, women need to first access their inner power. We need to shift the mindset that we are not powerful or capable and own all the qualities and strengths we have. I call these feminine powers not because they are unique to women but because of the associations we have with these archetypal energies.
The Kanya, Apsara, Veera, Rani, Ma and Rishika are the different powers that all women have access to. However, there are certain limiting beliefs and mindsets associated with each of the powers which impact our ability to step into leadership. We have to first become the CEO of Myself Inc.
The first step is Awareness.
We can become aware of our powers by reflection, feedback or by taking an assessment. The Powerfulife Assessment (available at www.powerfulife.in) can give a comprehensive profile of your unique powers and its implications. Each of us has powers we know about and use well. The Veera leader is goal oriented and takes risks. The Kanya leader is ethical and has a strong sense of duty. The Rani is a great planner and administrator. We also need to become aware of those beliefs that block our power. The Kanya’s leadership is limited by her need for acceptance and desire to please everyone. The Veera ‘s leadership is limited by her fear of failure and constant drive for achievement. The Rani tends to become a perfectionist and suffers from analysis paralysis.
The next step is Alignment.
We need clarity on our goals, dreams and specific challenges to work on. The Powers always work in a context and for us to embark on a leadership journey, we need to know what we want at the end of it. A leader wants to become better at networking and marketing her work so that she can get to the next level. Another might need to develop coaching and mentoring skills to groom her team so that she can be free of operational tasks and do more strategic thinking. A junior manager may need to enhance her ability to speak up and build a leadership presence. The powers need to be developed and unlocked in alignment with our goals.
The last part is Action.
In many sessions, women have said to me- I know I have to do this..but somehow I can’t. I don’t know how. Once you are aware and aligned about the change to be made, then it is important to move to new actions and behaviors. But old habits are hard to break. Which is why the actions need to work at the mind, body and heart levels. The domain of actions includes body work which uses somatic intelligence to make the shifts we need. This includes, yoga, exercise, dance or even a change in posture. We can work on the mind through strong affirmations along with a new empowering belief. We also need to take intentional actions- actions designed to mindfully evoke a certain power. The Veera can invoke her Ma powers by practicing mindful caregiving. The Rishika can overcome her power block to the Apsara by becoming more active on social media and putting herself out there. The Kanya can evoke the Rishika gravitas by acquiring knowledge and preparing thoroughly before an important presentation.
These simple steps can help us tap into the powers that reside in us and unlock the leadership potential. We lose power by believing that we don’t have any. My wish is for everyone to explore their own personal path to power and become leaders of their lives.
Nirupama is an author and columnist, leadership development facilitator, ICF certified coach- PCC, Co-Founder Growing Leadership of Women- GLOW, Co-Founder- My Daughter is Precious, Founder & CEO Powerfulife Solutions, and DEI champion.
