Why we need women leaders now more than ever

Einstein famously once reflected that in order to create a different future we have to bring new ways of thinking to bear on our problems. If the styles and structures of old simply no longer make sense here the question is: how do we step out of our conventional thinking?

Need something exceptional

To truly turn our world around we need to examine our behaviours and actions, surface our thinking and assumptions. And we need something exceptional to make this happen - different views in the debates, different voices in the conversations, different ways of leading.

Having women in leadership positions is one way to do this. The research is clear. Women, whether they like it or not, have an innate capacity to relate; they see patterns and can recognise leverage points in a complex web of relationships. This skill set adds great value in the current business reality.

It seems crazy to reorganise our institutions to include more women just for the sake of fairness - why not rearrange them so we have access to their thinking? Women's perspectives can bring an innovative balance to the workplace, a balance that we cannot do without.

Three elements are central to the world of work today. Regardless of what we do in the months and years ahead, competition, complexity and change are going to continue to shape our working lives. How we respond to them will determine whether we are able to create organisations that people can thrive in, or not.

Capacity to connect

In countless studies undertaken by behavioural scientists, developmental psychologists, neuroscientists and biologists, there is compelling evidence of, among other things, the capacity of women to connect.

• Women know about and care about relationships.
  
• They see connections and patterns of interrelatedness.
  
• They build and nurture communities.
  
• They have the capacity to sense their own and other's impact and read emotional fields.
  
• Their focus is on people rather than things.

So, what difference might such a skill set make to our organisations? How might leadership reflect more of the competencies described above, at least in equal measure to the masculine? Let's look at each of the three elements of work mentioned earlier could be approached by leaders now that is different, and classically feminine.

How might women leaders impact competition?

Women can generally be relied upon to link profitable business with social responsibility. They bat to win but keep the triple bottom-line in mind. Confident women leaders can be expected to challenge simplistic and aggressive attitudes to competitors, forming “win-win” alliances, and benefitting a wider network of stakeholders.

Inside their organisations, they could foster a culture that spurs innovation, where people are free to experiment, to learn from mistakes and come up with new ideas. In essence, competitive advantage today relies on having open and trusting relationships. Women are often good at this.

How could women add value in making sense of complexity?

Women see the network of interdependencies in situations readily and make intuitive leaps of abstraction, integrating the non-obvious, linking the parts to the whole. Managing complexity demands a skilful blending of many diverse perspectives, a way of ensuring that the relevant voices are heard.

Throughout the organisation, respect for difference could become the norm and through the art of relationship-building, women's leadership could shape a culture of inclusivity and shared accountability.

And how might women leaders impact the change agenda?

By addressing the wide-reaching, often unintended consequences that could occur as a result of networks. They recognise the need to communicate the rationale for the intended changes and are visible and approachable, helping people to hold the tension while they shift. They invest time in people, developing resilience, and coaching the next generation of leaders.

The feminine approach has the potential to create more robust organisations, able to navigate significant change intact.

It isn't only women who can do this. From the same body of research we know that men and women are not trapped in either the masculine or feminine approach. We have both approaches encoded in our DNA; we can move and switch between them continuously.

Time to bring balance

However, organisations that have been dominated by the masculine for many years, have to break out of old habits. It's time to bring balance to the corporate agenda of task, technology and expansion by including a focus on people, collaboration and sustainability. Both men and women recognise and long for this.