The Question of Empowerment for Leaders

Are you "in power" or "empowered" to be a leader?

I have heard an interesting thing this week about women in leadership. Women are often told to be “empowered” to lead.  

Are male leaders told to be “empowered to lead?”

Isn’t the goal for more women to be “in power” to lead? Just like the guys.

Now I have met my fair share of both good and bad leaders, male and female, so that’s not the point of this blog post.

And yes, I have met and worked with some amazing male leaders who did and/or do support me and other women to move into leadership roles and this blog is not directed at them. I celebrate these men and wish for more of them in my life and lives of all women.

However, I have also had firsthand experience many times in my corporate career which started in 1992, with the exact opposite experience and there are too many instances to name in this post.

I have experienced male petulance and hypocrisy over and over from some male leaders I have worked with. Many times, it was disgraceful behaviour and indeed, many were never held to account for their behaviour. You see, I don’t play cute, I say what I think, and I expect to be treated equally. Some men just don’t like that, and it bugs the hell out of them. Who does she think she is? It puts a target on my back sometimes and I have to watch my back.

For instance, in a large bank, I was subjected to harassment by a colleague in public dressing down in the office because I wouldn’t go for a drink with him. He stood at my desk and berated me for being the confident woman I was (even though I was in my late twenties then.)  The management at the time, called me in to an office to check on me. But the perpetrator was not reprimanded and was allowed to remain working with me. If this happened now, the company would have a huge problem to resolve because I wouldn’t have let their process end there. I would have sought legal advice and taken it further, even to receive some kind of compensation for the damages this did to me in my confidence and how I saw male leaders and my wellbeing.

There have even been more recent occasions when solutions were put forward, followed by a male leader, who tried to diminish our proposal with a sexist joke. The proposal had merit and was met positively except for the joke was made. Then person who made to joke was not made to apologise; even though it was highly offensive joke to women, and it was swept under the carpet. They even laughed along with him. We rolled our eyes, as our good ideas were washed away by one crap comment. We wouldn’t want to show up the male managers, would we? For fear of falling out of favour perhaps.

How is that good for anyone? It’s not, and it belongs in the 1950’s FFS. This stuff happens more than you think. And I’m done with it.

 Female Leadership: The Bias in the detail

These are just an example of how from a language and behaviour perspective, the bias is in the detail.

The words we use and the behaviour around us help or hinder us, and this is where the biases against woman as leaders are living.

We can try as we might to improve our positions in companies and business, but I believe we need to uncover more of these biases to help us been seen as equitable leaders to men. It’s unacceptable not to.

And we to do this, not just for me, but for all women who wish to lead and for their daughters and beyond.

Who is sick of the Boys Club?

I get sick of the excess expectation that is added to woman in leadership, when quite frankly that is being driven from a less-than-ideal male leader. Most likely everyone around that leader has lowered their expectations to work with them, knowing full well they won't be treated appropriately or get the recognition they deserve. It protects or even fosters “boys clubs” that stick together and refuse to evolve.

I am over it and I expect big changes in the next few years in corporate behaviour especially in the way our world is headed. There is a strong female entrepreneurship where these amazing leaders find their voice. And it's getting louder. The momentum that is building around leaders like Kamala Harris for instance are truly inspiring.

Female Leadership modelled well

It excites a lot of women because we can see female leadership modelled well in many female entrepreneurs and in politics. A pathway is opening up that has for many years been closed to us. As an Australian woman, I was saddened when our first female Prime Minister met with misogyny which Julia Gillard spoke of in Parliament in her term. She was ripping off the band aid. And paid for it.

But time has passed, and the future is looking brighter for women in leadership even in Australia!

Because we should be on bigger stages.

We should be in more positions of power.

And we should be leaders because we can lead and as a bonus, we have amazing skills too.

A woman’s choice to lead

But the story of leadership is more than that.  Leadership can be in many forms, and it depends on your choice to become a leader. You don’t need my permission or permission from anyone else to become a leader. You don’t need be labelled as empowered, over the unempowered. 

This is a little game that is played to try to set us against each other, woman against woman, like a competition. Because as society would like us to think, “there can only be one” female doing this or that.  It’s a way to separate us rather than bring us together.  I know “girls clubs” aren’t the answer. Because we are more collaborative and inclusive when we are good female leaders with everyone. We don’t need to exclude people especially based on gender.

Great leaders recognise we all bring different combinations of leadership strengths and weaknesses.  I have had to develop my leadership credibility and confidence because my circumstances demanded it. I love helping people feel more certainty because I had to learn that myself. I did not need to be empowered by a motivation quote to do this. Although it doesn’t hurt reading something that.

Ultimately you already know if you’re stepping up your game when you’re doing it.  A motivational quote to me in the right moment, might strengthen my resolve and that I’m 100% okay with.

Please keep going and seeking the leadership positions you deserve and may they be to your heart’s desire.

Model well your leadership for all the people in your life who support you or don’t support you and watch miracles happen.

Be amazing,

Leighanne

If you have enjoyed this blog post and want to learn more about becoming a leader, you can buy my Coaching package here: leighannemichellecoach.com/leadershipcoach