Celebrating Strong Women Leaders - Igor Poza
As we march through International Women’s Month, I would like to specifically honor women’s contributions in leadership.
I am proud to have had the opportunity throughout my career to collaborate in majority-women teams. I am thankful for the women whom I have reported to and mentored me, and those who I have been able to partner with or had the opportunity to empower.
Fortunately for me, I’ve been influenced by great women who have made me appreciate their approach towards leadership. I’ve grown to understand their effective decision-making processes and the dynamics and subtleties of their communication styles.
The best women leaders I know have made differences in their organizations through their natural empathetic ways. They engage in a manner that emphasizes their true value in their team’s relationships. This leadership approach enables them to have strong understandings of what drives and motivates people, and how to acknowledge different people for their performances. Specifically as managers, it allows them to exercise a unique ability to assign people tasks according to their strengths. Rather than delegating work based on time or workload, these women take the time to learn what each team member is naturally good at and enjoys, and assigns work accordingly.
As a leader, it is not only about being a good listener. It is more so about being an excellent connecter who melds the thinking and ideas of others through their appreciation and utilization of a collaborative leadership style.
From my own experience, I know that women have such exponential potential to be even stronger leaders, given the opportunity.
In her article, Peggy Shell outlines the importance for women to embrace a mindset of equality, participate in cross-gender mentorship, and most importantly, believe in themselves as leaders.
There is an unconscious limiting belief installed in women that I have personally witnessed: that unless a woman meets the criteria exactly, she won’t be considered. Changing that belief starts with each woman as an individual.
Every woman must believe she is capable of doing the work and proving it through the interview process, instead of not throwing her hat in the ring for consideration because of self-doubt.
Ignorance is a choice. Here is a list of popular international news websites:
Yahoo! News Google News HuffingtonPost CNN New York Times De Telegraaf NBC News Mail Online Washington Post The Guardian WSJ ABCNews BBC News USA Today LA Times De Volkskrant Le Monde Le Figaro
