Why Women Make Great Leaders ~ BABIES AND BRIEFCASES

By: Cheryl Hajjar – Jan. 2016

hajjar3Today nearly 46% of privately owned companies in the US are at least half owned by women. Women are starting businesses at 4 times the rate of men. However, the path to the C-Suite for women is both exciting and daunting at the same time. Yes, women do have the same opportunities as men to get there but the female road is sometimes challenged by a series of potholes and detours. If women can survive the obstacle course, they make for amazing leaders. Lets take a look at some of the qualities that put women at the top of the leader list:

1. Empathy – The ability to feel what others are feeling comes easy to the female. Our women’s intuition can detect the slightest notion that an employee may be overworked or struggling. Knowing how to identify with others is a great way to solve problems and correct situations.

2. Women Know How To Succeed Against The Odds – Ask any female executive out there what their key to success is and they will tell you learning how to work harder than their male counterpart and be the unquestionably best at their job. Women who have climbed the corporate ladder have faced some kind of discrimination at one time or another. Learning how to overcome and move on flawlessly is what it takes to be an effective leader.

3. Effective Communication Skills – Leaders spend the bulk of their time communicating and women are great communicators. We love to talk things through, that’s no secret. Traditionally women are better than men at verbalizing what they think.

4. Better at Nurturing – The majority of people will tell you that women are better at nurturing others than men are. This skill makes it easier for a female leader to empower and inspire their co-workers. A company is only as strong as its team and women score high on this list when it comes to relationship building and collaboration.

5. Teamwork – Women work great being part of a team. We tend to be more mutually supportive and commutative working together than do men. This leads to effective production. Employees work much better when they feel they are a part of something. It is good to know that your work as an individual contributes to the team.

6. Relationships – There is a lot of evidence that women pay a lot of attention to the quality of relationships. The special thing that some leaders bring to the table is knowing how to bond people together to produce connectivity among members. When conflicts arise, women know how to address the issues and resolve them.

7. Women Motivate – Women are cheerleaders and love to offer words of encouragement and pats on the back for jobs well done. We like to find out what motivates people into action.

8. Great Listening Skills – Women are great listeners and great friends. When someone talks to us, we will give them our undivided attention. We are genuinely interested in what their issue is and love to give suggestions to help solve their problem. As a leader, this can be an amazing quality that will not only help work through issues, but also let the employee know that we care.
It’s not entirely fair to label all of these qualities as strictly female. Sure men can possess some of these qualities, and they do. There are also bad female bosses out there who are ruthless and just down right mean but overall, if you choose to have a female leader in your company, you will be glad you made that decision.