A new article from Maria Shriver’s website is outlining the three most important lessons we can learn from female CEOs—from balancing self-confidence and nerves to lending a hand to other women. These lessons are useful for women and men both inside and outside the corporate world to hear.
Three Lessons We Can Learn From Female Leaders
The piece was written by Julia Boorstin, CNBC’s Senior Media & Tech Correspondent, who describes her own thoughts on gender equity today. “From what I’ve learned over my past twenty odd years of business reporting is how women have had to be far more scrappy, flexible, thick skinned, and innovative—and how the companies they have built have also taken on those characteristics,” she wrote.
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“I’ve found that women’s strengths have often been overlooked or simply not associated with great leadership,” Boorstin continued. She then listed the three most important lessons she’s learned about what happens when women lead.
Her number one lesson? “Superpowers don’t always look like powers,” Boorstin explained that this means women in leadership roles often have very different approaches to achieving their goals. These approaches might not always seem traditional, but “research shows that there is a more varied and counterintuitive set of leadership qualities that yield better results—for both women and men.”
Boorstin also wrote about the importance of knowing when to dial down your self-confidence. “Being honest about your lack of certainty—signaling vulnerability—can invite trust and encourage people to share honest feedback,” the reporter explained. “Then what’s important is finding the right moment to dial self-confidence back up again, to execute. It’s actually the balance of self-confidence and humility that enables a growth mindset, which seems valuable for anyone.”
Her last lesson might be the most important one: “Nothing is more powerful than women helping one another.” Boorstin wrote about the strength that groups of women find in each other, and cited a study that found women are stronger negotiators when negotiating on behalf of someone else.
Boorstin Encourages Women To Ask ‘Other Women For Professional Help’
“That fierceness can be unleashed and adapted so women can apply it on their own behalf,” she concluded. “I’m hopeful that women will begin to feel liberated from the socially imposed discomfort about asking other women for professional help.”
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Boorstin’s observations about the benefits that come from having women in leadership roles seem obvious, but they are lessons that many have overlooked. Her article is an excellent reminder of those lessons, as well as encouragement for women who want to move up in the corporate world.