Empowering Leadership: 8 Essential Tips for Women in Business and Careers
Women Rising: Essential Leadership Lessons for Business and Beyond in 2024
Women may still not hold as many leadership positions as men, but our numbers are climbing. More women join the ranks of CEOs, members of Congress, and supervisors every year. Opportunities abound for women to learn valuable leadership lessons from others similar to them.
Women are equally capable of excelling in leadership positions. They often demonstrate as much or more ability in key leadership traits such as intelligence, innovation, and resilience than their male counterparts.
But as all true leaders know, leadership is a continuous journey of self-improvement. Learning from others can significantly enhance a female leader’s ability to better her team and the organization she leads. Let’s explore some actionable lessons to empower women leaders to reach new heights in their business and professional careers.
Understanding the Significance of Leadership Lessons
Leadership lessons can provide crucial insights into how successful leaders navigate challenges and foster innovation. By examining the traits and skills of great leaders who came before us, aspiring female leaders can gain valuable strategies to solve problems creatively and think outside the box.
There’s no need to reinvent the wheel as a leader. The unique challenges you face today may be different from what other leaders have encountered, but learning from their experiences can provide knowledge and inspiration. The stakes of poor leadership are high, and leaders must continuously strive to improve their teams and organizations to avoid creating toxic work environments and unstable legacies.
Female leaders, in particular, can benefit from the experiences of other women leaders who have already overcome significant obstacles. With the right lessons, they can navigate sexism, strengthen their assertiveness, and lead with confidence. Let’s delve into eight crucial lessons for leadership success.
8 Key Lessons for Women Leaders in Business and Careers
Women can leverage leadership lessons to invest in their people, organizations, and themselves. Below are eight essential leadership lessons based on impactful insights from key women leaders in varied positions.
1. Prioritize a Team Mindset
“Leadership is about the team—the culture they keep and embrace. It’s about empathy for your customers, clients, employees, and the communities where you do business. It’s about doing the right thing for the right reasons, being confident enough to take risks and responsible enough to think of those who your decisions and risks may affect.”—Kat Cole (Former COO & President of FOCUS Brands)
Successful leaders don’t place themselves first; they put their teams first. They hardly ever think in terms of “I,” but instead, in terms of “we.”
Effective leaders recognize that they have multiple teams to consider. They manage a group of employees they must grow and inspire, and communities of customers or clients they aim to serve well.
Great leaders understand that investing in their team enables them to achieve goals that would otherwise be out of reach. Prioritizing a team mindset is one of the most valuable leadership lessons learned.
2. Develop Others
“I’ve always believed that the best leader is not one who has the most followers, but one who creates the most leaders. I strive every day to create more conscious, confident, and soulful leaders who, in return, will build a better world for all.”—Stephanie Courtillier (Founder, Integrous Women)
“Magic happens when you connect people. I credit much of my success to truly getting to know people and helping them whenever I can. It’s become the backbone of our firm’s success. Women founders are often highly skilled at making connections that can help advance their businesses.”—Susan Macpherson (Founder & CEO, McPherson Strategies)
As Susan Macpherson aptly said, women leaders excel at developing others and aiding their growth. This should be the goal of every good leader.
Those who become extraordinary leaders often start with little experience. For instance, Oprah Winfrey began her illustrious career working at a local radio station. Her passion impressed the station managers, who helped her advance to more significant roles.
Exceptional leaders never seek to keep their team members stagnant. This isn’t inspiring leadership. Leaders who don’t develop their teams risk losing valuable members to other organizations that value their growth. Developing others is another critical leadership lesson learned.
3. Take Criticism as Feedback
“Take criticism seriously, but not personally. If there is truth or merit in the criticism, try to learn from it. Otherwise, let it roll right off you.”—Hillary Clinton (American Politician)
Hillary Clinton is one of the most extensively criticized women leaders in the world. Nevertheless, she has accomplished significant feats for at-risk and underserved populations and provides excellent leadership lessons on how to handle criticism.
Criticism can be tough to accept, but being able to take it is a vital component of leadership. Criticism often contains valuable feedback that leaders can use to grow and improve. Accepting criticism well is a crucial leadership lesson learned.
4. Learn from Your Team
“It’s okay to admit what you don’t know. It’s okay to ask for help. And it’s more than okay to listen to the people you lead. In fact, it’s essential.”—Mary Barra (CEO, General Motors)
“Great leaders find people who are best at different things and get them all on the same team.”—Eileen Bistrisky (President & CEO, Effective Leadership Consulting)
A good leader knows how to rely on her own knowledge and recognizes when she can benefit from the expertise of others. Team members who feel comfortable sharing their knowledge can contribute even more innovative and modern ideas.
Additionally, team members can tell when their contributions are appreciated. Those who know they are valued are more invested in the organization’s outcomes. Leaders who allow space for team members to shine create an inspiring work environment where everyone can grow and achieve new heights. This lesson in leadership can help women leaders reach new milestones.
5. Keep Your Team Focused
“People respond well to those that are sure of what they want.”—Anna Wintour (Editor-in-Chief, Vogue)
A distracted team is not effective, nor is a team that lacks clear objectives. Great leaders excel in keeping their teams focused on the most critical tasks.
Leaders must also ensure they have the right people working on the right tasks. If team members are assigned tasks unsuited to their skills, the whole team can lose momentum. It’s an excellent leader’s job to delegate wisely so the team can perform at its best.
6. Care for Your Team Members as Whole People
“Success isn’t about how much money you make. It’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.”—Michelle Obama (Former First Lady of the United States)
Poor leaders push their team members to work harder with only the organization’s goals in mind. Yes, leaders need to keep their teams focused and encourage them to work hard, but great leaders remember that their teams comprise individuals with their own struggles and motivations.
Outstanding leaders consider their team members as whole people. They understand that the individuals working for them are not robots. Leaders who show authenticity and care for their team inspire excellent efforts. This leadership lesson motivates team members to give their best because they want to.
7. Seek to Inspire
“Leadership is hard to define and good leadership even harder. But if you can get people to follow you to the ends of the earth, you are a great leader.”—Indra Nooyi (Former Chairman & CEO of PepsiCo)
“A good leader can paint a picture of a vision for the future and then enlist others to go on the journey with her. A truly conscious leader recognizes that it is not about her, but that the team is looking to her for inspiration and direction. Keeping her ego in check is essential.”—Tamra Ryan (CEO, Women’s Bean Project)
Extraordinary leaders are inherently inspirational. Leaders like Michelle Obama, Oprah Winfrey, and Malala Yousafzai have inspired people across the globe.
These leaders weren’t born knowing how they would lead the world. They all came from modest beginnings. Throughout their lives, they grew into inspirational leaders over time. Every female leader can inspire just as deeply as they have.
8. Learn Continuously
“Continuous learning leads to continuous improvement. Commit yourself to advance your knowledge, skills, and expertise. Be a lifelong student.”—Pamela Gill Alabaster (Head of Global Sustainability at Mattel, Inc.)
Leaders don’t suddenly reach a point of perfection before they start leading. Instead, they trust they’ll figure things out as they go along. Great leaders know they need to keep learning and growing throughout their lives. Great leaders also understand that self-discovery and self-development are lifelong efforts. Learning to improve emotional intelligence is a hallmark of exceptional leaders.
Resources for Leadership Lessons
We live in an age where lessons on leadership are literally at our fingertips.
Reading books is one of the best ways to learn leadership. Reading allows you to make stronger connections between the things you learn and helps you gain deeper insight into yourself. Some recommended books include “Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg and “The Confidence Code” by Katty Kay and Claire Shipman, which are specifically tailored for women leaders.
Leadership podcasts are excellent for women who prefer listening over reading. You can tune into a podcast while commuting or exercising instead of listening to the same old playlists! Use your time to invest in your growth and self-development. Podcasts like “The School of Greatness” by Lewis Howes and “How I Built This” by Guy Raz offer exceptional insights.
Finally, find a mentor or group of mentors to help you on your journey to leadership. Mentors are like coaches who can provide you with valuable insights and feedback. You can ask your mentor specific questions and learn from their real-life experiences.
Consider joining a face-to-face or local networking group to find a mentor who can support you. You may also be able to find a mentor at work!
Conclusion: Embrace Leadership Lessons to Become a Successful Leader!
Leadership lessons will always benefit you. Being a high-quality leader is a lifelong growth process. The leadership lessons you learn will build on each other throughout your life.
Great leaders today may seem like they were naturally born that way, but the truth is, all of them started somewhere. Every journey into leadership begins with small, everyday actions and habits. By embracing these lessons in leadership, you are well on your way to becoming a successful leader!
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