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Underestimated skills of a female leader
If you haven't worked out by now, Mary and I are female owner operators of our businesses. We were talking to one of our female family members who has been very successful in the world of leadership within a male dominated industry and she bought up that what are seen as "female" skills are often underestimated by those around her. So what are the skills that we can capitalise on as "Bitches in Business" as we like to call it?
Its 2020
More women are getting graduate degrees and working on the same salaries as men, but still, we see fewer women as female leaders. As of May 2019 the Fortune List stated that on 6.6% of the CEOs of Fortune 500 companies were female. Women also account for less than a third of senior roles globally. As female entrepreneurs we are constantly underestimated in our intelligence and ability. So far we have kept these under our hats but why not share it with those women around us who have the opportunity to succeed?
"Soft skills"
Ah, the inaccurately named skills that have the most power and influence over a business. Emotional Intelligence has always been seen as a female skill, in-fact, in a recent study by global consulting firm Hay Group, it was found that women outperform men in 11 of 12 key emotional intelligence competencies.
“Your EQ is the level of your ability to understand other people, what motivates them and how to work cooperatively with them,” Howard Gardner, Harvard theorist.
Critical Thinking and decision making skills
Those with higher levels of emotional intelligence can remove themselves from their emotional influence when decision making
Collaboration
Work Ethic, Resilience and Self Motivation
Communication
Problem Solving
In a survey conducted in 2016 it showed that companies will make more profits with women in their top leadership positions as opposed to those who have none. By closing the gender gap GPD can grow on average by 365%. That's sounds pretty good to us.