Women in business nowadays have gone beyond the traditional beliefs that men were meant to be leaders. This is evidenced by the huge strides being made by female leaders in business. Women such as Oprah Winfrey are leading the way for women who strived against the odds to make a mark for themselves.
Not only are they a source of inspiration to many women across the world they have also shown remarkable determination and self-belief. The current trends indicate that women have a greater potential to become greater leaders and people of influence across the globe. But, what are the specific leadership skills which are exhibited by successful women to make them stand out from the rest? Here are 7 skills that are most influential in dictating successful women leaders.
1. Effective Communicators
According to assignment masters, effective communication is undoubtedly the most critical skill that is seen in successful leaders. When we talk about communication, it does not simply imply speaking but rather includes such skills as effective use of nonverbal language, ability to read, ability to write well, as well as active listening. These skills are critical in making individuals establish strong relationships and influence other individuals positively. Communication among leaders involves numerous attributes and implies that leaders should focus on ensuring the followers clearly understand the desired goals and vision.
For women leaders who communicate effectively, they tend to provide their followers with appropriate guidance, ask questions, and seek feedback. These individuals are always transparent in their communication so that the recipient of the information is not confused. They would also be ready to clarify issues that are unclear and ensure that the followers are always satisfied with the information provided. As a result, the performance of the teams always heads in the right direction.
2. Trustworthy
Successful female leaders have strong attributes of trustworthiness. In this regard, they tend to create a climate that promotes trust, and the teams are usually committed towards the realisation of the set goals. High levels of trustworthiness manifested among women leaders are associated with clear communication skills and a greater free flow of ideas. In addition, this skill is critical in ensuring that the followers become more comfortable and prepared to adapt to change and show a willingness to embrace new visions and goals.
In order for aspiring women leaders to realise this skill, they need to be credible, willing to listen to others, honour the commitments they make, and be ready to accept their mistakes while planning to carry out the appropriate corrective measures. These leaders should also be reliable in terms of maintaining confidence, giving credit to the followers, and sharing information. More importantly, it is important to be fair in terms of making decisions based on facts and merits, as well as remain consistent on a daily basis.
3. Problem Solving and Critical Thinking
It’s proven that it’s vital to address problems created by global issues such as competition, poor economic stability, and technological innovations. To do this, you need the ability to solve various organisational problems. This requires asking important questions that revolve around specific problems, gathering, and assessing all the relevant information, and making a well-thought-out conclusion.
Therefore, successful women leaders tend to have the capability of thinking with open minds regarding various consequences and assumptions associated with numerous decisions made. For you to succeed in making decisions as a leader, you need to learn as objectively and fairly as possible on the basis of the available and relevant information pertaining to a particular issue. As such, you should understand any potential biases you may have and appropriately guard yourself against them.
4. Confidence
There is no doubt that successful leaders should need confidence, particularly when it comes to making decisions. If you are not confident about making and committing to your decisions, you may not be in a position to make a difference in your leadership.
For you to succeed in gaining the confidence to understand the issues at stake and be prepared with the information you need. Be aware that you may fail sometimes, but do not fear making decisions you believe will have a positive impact on your leadership as this is what defines your leadership.
5. Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence may be understood as the ability to understand and manage individual emotions, as well as the emotions of others around us. The critical elements that successful women leaders should exhibit based on their emotional intelligence include social skills, empathy, motivation, and self-awareness. A better women leader should be able to relate well and work with others towards achieving the success of everyone involved.
For you to develop emotional intelligence as a leader, you should identify the ways in which you can effectively manage negative emotions and stressful situations so that you do not get overwhelmed and affected by them when making decisions and judgments. You may even consider breathing deeply or taking a 10-minute walk. This will tremendously help you as a woman leader in being poised rather than frazzled, and assertive as opposed to reactive.
6. Innovation and Creativity
In today’s business environment, there is increased competition and a high level of uncertainty. Leaders are usually confronted with the challenge of planning for the performance within a specific period. Other challenges faced by leaders involve living in the promises or commitments of the decisions they make. Successful women leaders possess a high level of creativity and innovation in terms of addressing various organisational challenges through the use of effective viewpoints, different working styles, and embracing diversity.
“In order to effectively utilise creativity and innovation, women leaders should greatly focus on ensuring that the employees are provided with all the tools they need for their work, which include training, software, and computers”, argues Hanna Anderson, a women and leadership coach at Rush my essay, a custom paper writing service company. They should constantly encourage followers to dare to be innovative and creative. Although this may risk some failure on the side of the leader, it counts as a great part of establishing creative mindsets. A women leader should ensure the provision of a climate that does not intimidate the individuals who develop creative and innovative ideas, even those who do not have to be adopted.
7. Strategic Vision
“The women leaders who are successful have the ability to influence other leaders and influence change in their organisations”, says Hughey Gorge, a leadership trainer and coach at Best Essay. Leaders are mandated to deal with difficult issues in organisations and are tremendously influenced by external organisations and market forces. Successful women leaders, usually exhibit the attribute of anticipating what may happen in the future and tend to encourage this type of thinking among the followers. In order to develop the strategic vision, a woman leader should ask the employees about the issues that the organisation may face, including the external forces in the industry that may compromise the performance of the company.
These seven skills are vital for women leaders and are a manifestation that it is not easy to be a leader, regardless of your gender. However, the good thing is that the skills that are discussed here can be developed by women if they have the appropriate mindset and determination to become great leaders. Therefore, women who aspire to be successful leaders should consider practising the seven skills.
Women Love Tech would like to thank Tiffany Harper for her article.
