How To Claim Your Power and Authority as a Woman in a Leadership Role

By Nirupama Subramanian | ELAvate Senior Trainer

Today, 189 countries out of 200 are led by men. 467 out of the 500 CEOs of Fortune 500 companies are men. The importance of women leadership is even more critical to have a more balanced world.

Yet, there is no playbook for how to be a successful woman leader. We do ask the question- How is women leadership different ?but have no clear answers. The few women leaders who are successful have been described as ‘ strong’,’ tough’, ‘decisive’ and ‘ bold’. They needed to behave more like men to claim power and authority. They need to be of a certain age where their femininity can gracefully recede into the background allowing them to appear, at least, androgynous if not masculine.

Yet, in a research quoted in the book, The Athena Doctrine( How women and the Men Who Think Like Them Will Rule The Future), two-thirds of people feel the ‘world would be a better place if men thought more like women’. The research covers 64000 people from 13 countries.

Half the group was asked to define which traits were masculine and which feminine. Then the remainder rated how vital each trait was to leadership, success, morality and happiness. The data showed that “many of the qualities of an ideal leader are feminine,” including flexibility and expressiveness, and that success, morality and happiness also were associated with feminine traits. It was surprising just how many traits the respondents considered feminine — not just vulnerability, empathy and cooperativeness, but also loyalty, creativity, originality, reason and articulateness, among others.

It seems as though the world needs these traits of of a successful leader, yet we are unable to let go our old mindsets, stereotypes and prejudices.. Women leaders still face many biases. They have to try twice as hard. They have to pay the beauty penalty if they are attractive and have to tone down their femininity to be taken seriously. They run up against the Maternal Wall. Many of us believe that the traits of a woman leader need to be the traits of a typical good woman- who has rarely been seen as a leader.

So how can women become more powerful and lead with authority?

Own your feminine powers

Women who are leaders can claim power and authority by acknowledging their feminine powers and becoming confident about using them. The whole world appreciated the spontaneous affectionate gesture of Croatian Prime minister Kolinda Grabar Kitarovic as she stood in the rain and hugged the football players of her croatian team after they lost the world cup finals. She was emotional and the others became comfortable with their emotions as well.

Create your own leadership style

Women leaders need not copy the men even if there are not enough women role models. Successful women create their own style. As Jacinda Ardern, the PM of New Zealand said, “Political leaders can be empathetic and strong. This can be a new paradigm of leadership, especially in the Pandemic era

Build a leadership presence

Women leaders need to establish a powerful presence through their posture, body language, voice and actions. In the early stages, they need to be better prepared and more mindful about their presence until they grow in stature and confidence. They should not accept disrespect or condescending behaviors from others. Asking for what you need, being firm yet respectful and taking charge of your decisions and powers creates a powerful presence.

Soon, we will not need to distinguish between women leaders and male leaders. There will only be effective leaders or ineffective ones. Until then, the women leaders need to demonstrate that they can hold power and authority with grace, confidence and ease.

Unlock your full potential as a woman leader and join the Powerfulife movement, a unique movement that aims to enable women to identify and claim their feminine power. You can take The Powerfulife Assessment, for your personal as well as professional growth and development or get a copy of the Powerful book, a book that helps women identify and claim their inner power & authority.

Nirupama Subramanian
CEO & Founder of Powerfulife Solutions
Cofounder of GLOW - Growing Leadership of Women