Highly successful women leaders often cultivate a concept known as agency.
Agency is most commonly referred to as intentional actions taken toward achieving a desired goal. This involves taking control of your career by feeling that you’re shaping your leadership style as well as your job and life in general.
Strategies for having greater agency are varied, but one of the most common strategies is defining boundaries to help you manage competing responsibilities and seeking out the types of support needed for the work-life juggle.
Another agency strategy to help women become leaders is analyzing career steps and living with intention, as well as asking for challenges outside your current functional orientation to broaden your experience and perspective.
Experts in this area contend another key for women who desire leadership roles is to learn how to strategically use your strengths and abilities—your competitive edge—while mastering your emotions in even the most unwelcoming atmosphere.
It’s crucial for women to build a network of support, take smart risks and view competition in a more positive light.
This is sometimes easier said than done, but involves discovering how to conduct yourself in a manner that earns you respect, and pursue your goals with positive energy.
The objective is to return to your job feeling confident, ready to compete fearlessly, and in a better position to be recognized for your true capabilities.
Once in leadership roles, multiple studies point out the same thing: Women make great leaders. They are especially adept at multitasking because women rate highly at handling complex situations without getting overwhelmed by the high demands of leading positions.
There have been a series of studies done to compare how men and women handle stress in difficult situations. Neuroscience and neurobiology prove that women make better decisions under stress.
Their attention to detail also adds to their problem-solving skills, making them perfect for leadership positions.
A study conducted by Dr. Alice Eagly, a scholar on the topic of women’s leadership, found that women make better leaders because women tend to be more transformational leaders — meaning that they seek to develop others and listen more effectively, in addition to generally thinking more outside-the-box than their male counterparts.
Want to learn more? Tonex offers Leadership Training for Women, a 2-day practical training course that is designed to address the issues and challenges new and successful female leaders are facing on a daily basis in society. In our leadership for women training program you will learn and practice 10 essential skills of leadership and change management.
For more information, questions, comments, contact us.