When Women Lead: An Inspiring Reflection for Women’s History Month

March is Women’s History Month. In 1987, Congress passed Public Law 100-9, which designated March as “Women’s History Month.” Why, you might ask, is a month dedicated to women’s history?! Originally created as a way to supplement the lack of accounting for women’s accomplishments and contributions in US history lessons in schools, it has evolved.

Perhaps you learned about Amelia Earhart, Rosa Parks and Elenor Roosevelt, but have you learned of Catharine Greene, Ida B. Wells or Mary Harris Jones? Across many states of our nation, local school boards and women’s history organizations lobbied for inclusion. A National Women’s History Week started in California during the late 1970s and in the 1980s was organized around International Women’s Day which has been celebrated since 1909 on March 8th. Today we give due recognition to celebrating women in history during the month of March.

In honor of Women’s History Month, we’d like to offer some tools for leadership that are oft attributed to women’s leadership. While no characteristic or trait is inherently female, the likelihood of centering these leadership skills is greater when women lead. For example, according to one study, women are seen as engaging in more effective agentic and communal leadership behaviors. Perhaps this is due to decades of being left out of leadership roles, or it may come from the values learned in the gendered roles of women’s lives. Nonetheless, it seems there are patterns of women’s leadership that we can all learn from.

1. Show Up

The first component of leadership is to “show up.” I heard an interview with Kathleen Hennessey, the editor and senior vice president of the Minneapolis Star Tribune newspaper, where she spoke about leading a news outlet in the current social and political climate. She said, “you have to show up big.” And that means “all hands on deck” to show up and tell the story. “Every moment matters.” Translating this to your organization, as a leader, you need to be present and show up for your team, your employees. One needs to know what is happening in the organization which means being present, being visible, and showing up for your people.

2. Listen with Empathy

A vital tool of leadership is to listen with empathy. Emotional intelligence helps leaders to read the room and to listen to employees and colleagues with empathy to hear what is going on behind the scenes and to evaluate team dynamics.

3. Acknowledge Contributions

Everyone loves to hear that their contribution to the team is appreciated. In team building this is vital to ensuring that each team member feels seen and heard, and thus a valued member of the team. As Jacqueline Hutton details, women are often able to foster an inclusive environment by valuing team members contributions.

4. Mentoring and Inclusion

One Pew Research Center (2018) study found women to be perceived as more effective in creating a safe workplace, embracing diversity, and mentoring their teams. Women leaders tend to invest in coaching their team members, give opportunities to viable candidates for professional development and growth, and consciously cultivate talent within their organizations.

5. Adaptability and Resilience

Women Leaders frequently show resilience in the face of challenge and adaptability during times of change. Both these attributes inspire teams to recover from setbacks and persevere through change. Organizations fare well with leaders embodying such attributes during mergers, acquisitions, Covid type pandemics, and uncertain financial times.

Much has been written about how Women’s Leadership Styles are believed to create higher retention than traditional styles of leadership. Leveraging these leadership styles help in sustainable organizational growth, a culture of belonging, and a place where all voices are valued. Such outcomes are good for every organization. In this month of March honoring women’s contributions, we encourage all of us to show up with empathy, build better relationships in the workplace, hear all voices, celebrate belonging, and grow our organizations in dynamic and ethical ways.