The short answer is yes.
The next question is, Are Men Better Leaders than Women?
Any guesses here? The short answer is also yes, because leadership depends on people, not sex, not race, religion, etc. Leadership depends on people. I think we often forget that leadership is a soft skill. People confuse hierarchical authority with leadership and forget about leadership skills, such as influencing, motivation and building relationships. Leadership is about relationships, and both men and women can forge powerful relationships, and motivate people to achieve new heights.
Let's be quite clear, this doesn't mean that all women and men are great leaders, on the contrary, there are probably more shoddy leaders than good ones. What this means, is that all women and men have the potential to be great leaders.
In honour of International Women's Day, I wanted to try and find some insight from some excellent female leaders, as prime examples of women who can be better leaders than men; or other women for that matter.
- "In the future, there will be no female leaders. There will just be leaders." —Sheryl Sandberg
- “Good leaders organize and align people around what the team needs to do. Great leaders motivate and inspire people with why they’re doing it. That’s purpose. And that’s the key to achieving something truly transformational.” — Marillyn Hewson, Lockheed Martin
- "A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be." — Rosalynn Carter, former First Lady
- “As a leader, it’s a major responsibility on your shoulders to practice the behavior you want others to follow.” — Himanshu Bhatia, Rose International Inc.
- “Ninety percent of leadership is the ability to communicate something people want.” — Dianne Feinstein, U.S. Senator
- “Presenting leadership as a list of carefully defined qualities (like strategic, analytical and performance-oriented) no longer holds. Instead, true leadership stems from individuality that is honestly and sometimes imperfectly expressed… Leaders should strive for authenticity over perfection.” — Sheryl Sandberg, COO Facebook
- “True leaders understand that leadership is not about them but about those they serve. It is not about exalting themselves but about lifting others up.” — Sheri L. Dew, author
- “You have to look at leadership through the eyes of the followers and you have to live the message. What I have learned is that people become motivated when you guide them to the source of their own power and when you make heroes out of employees who personify what you want to see in the organization.” — Anita Roddick, Businesswoman
- “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.” — Sheryl Sandberg
- “Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, ‘I will try again tomorrow.’” — Mary Anne Radmacher
- “I am endlessly fascinated that playing football is considered a training ground for leadership, but raising children isn’t.” — Dee Dee Myers, former White House Press Secretary
- “The question isn’t who’s going to let me; it’s who is going to stop me.” — Ayn Rand
- “Do not wait on a leader...look in the mirror, its you!” — Katherine Miracle
Question for the crowds: Do you have a favourite leadership quote from a female leader? Feel free to share in the comments.
-Alexander C. Cook MEng, MBA, PEng, PMP
Image Source: http://www.halogensoftware.com/blog/more-women-in-leadership-making-it-a-priority