There is something to be said about the people, both men and women, who feel that a woman cannot do certain things. On second thoughts, there is nothing to be said about this mentality. It has all been said before. These are relics of the past and we should just leave them in the past. At present, many women occupy the most dignified roles as some of the top thinkers, creators, entrepreneurs, educators, politicians, and world leaders. And they are just getting started.
In the business world, significantly more women are CEOs, and business leaders of Fortune 500 companies and firms, than ever before in the 65-year-old history of Edgar P’s Fortune 500.
In business, masculine traits have traditionally dominated as the gold standard, but as more and more women take over as leaders, CEOs and business owners, another possibility has emerged. Let us look at some of the traits and styles that women have introduced into the business perspective.
The win-win situation
The idea that someone has to lose in order for another person to be successful has been disproven time and time again. The word compromise, which used to hold a negative connotation in a business sense, has been turned over its head.
The feminine perspective acknowledges that compromising is about listening to the other person, understanding other’s needs, and then finding a suitable solution accordingly.
Natural managers
Management skills come naturally to women, whether it is about managing a household or business. Their inherent talents such as abundant patience, high emotional intelligence, exceptional communication skills, and the habit of listening to everyone and giving them an equal say in crucial matters, just mean that women can be naturally better managers than men.
The people-whisperers
The psychological community agrees that females are generally more interested in people, whereas males are generally more interested in things, or devices. More studies show that the female perspective is more inquisitive towards other people; more open to pursuing knowledge about other people’s feelings, desires, goals, and needs. All of these qualities make for the best people-whisperers.
Women, being more people-oriented, make better team builders and team leaders. Just imagine your mothers. How our mothers never give up on us, never make us give up on something we cherish! Mothers, albeit sometimes naggingly, push us to get our things done. They always know if something is bothering us, without revealing the same about themselves.
Women are just better at dealing with people than men are, as a general rule.
Multi-tasking aficionados
People who are good at multitasking means they need to maintain focus and discipline enough not to give in to temptation, to partake in distractions such as chatting with co-workers or checking their social media, while handling work tasks. But most importantly, and often counter-intuitively, multi-tasking needs a lot of patience. The female brain is more adept at patience and focus, just as the male brain is more adept at learning ability, studies show. This means that with practice, both can make excellent multi-taskers, though females have a slight edge in this race.
Conclusion
It would be cliché to state that women are “making new paths for themselves” or “breaking the glass ceiling”, or some bromide of that sort. The reality is that women are already the top players of the business games. The times demand that we shed the need to differentiate between a leader and a female leader.
Women make it to the top on the basis of their skills, their competencies, their exuberance, their vitality, their never-give-up attitude, their adaptability, and devotion to their goals as well as the work that they love. Their femininity only works as an advantage; Just remember how they sport a happy-go-lucky smile while they take the top job.
The aforementioned qualities are just scratching at the surface of what kind of competitive edge women have. And they are not about to throw in the towel yet.
It is time for the rest of the world to watch as these ladies take the centerstage.
By Aditya Umale
