Owning the Business Leadership Style That Is Right For You

Contributed by Beate Chelette

Many women in business struggle to find their own leadership style that feels right, natural, and based on “women-centric” qualities instead of “male” attributes.

I hear from women all the time who want something new, a leadership style that reflects more fully what their values are and who they are as individuals. Instead of mimicking male and often outdated models, as women, we must begin to identify what leadership is for us.

The new model I propose must utilize our intuition as well as intellectual abilities.

Leadership Models

And our humility! A recent University of Buffalo study of CEOs, mid-level, and front line managers from various industries found that humility is key to effective leadership. Compared to ego-driven leaders, humble bosses lead by good example, admit their mistakes, and recognize their followers’ strengths. These three behaviors are powerful predictors of company growth, the study also found.

So now we actually have some evidence that leaders who are open with their feelings and willing to take responsibility for their mistakes are better liked and perceived as more effective. For the longest time, most successful women have adopted one of two main business leadership styles because there have been no other models.

One current leadership style is the Alpha Woman Leadership Style. That’s the person who wears suits and heels. They are power-hungry and often mean. There is another kind of woman who follows the Tend-and-Befriend Leadership Style. That’s when you want to be buddies with everyone and you don’t want to be the bad girl so everyone will like you. It’s very difficult to be a good leader when that’s what you want, to have everyone be your friend. These are the women who will remain their entire lives in management positions and never advance.

Neither leadership style is congruent with who we are as women. They focus on just one aspect of what makes a woman. We can only succeed if we embrace who we are. Somehow, emotional and intuitive traits have never been valued and yet both are valuable forms of intelligence.

Our Own Course

It’s time to set our own course that is based on what we know, what we care about, and who we truly are. All of it. Not just the tiny fraction of skills that we have come to believe is socially acceptable.

Yes, a good leader must know how to inspire, create a vision, solve problems, manage change and resources, but the new leadership model also requires personal credibility, professional ethics, showing support and compassion—and humility.

Good leadership means better teams, more fulfillment in a career, and better relationships all the way around. It means examining your thoughts and expressions and eliminating behavior that doesn’t serve you and others. Confidence, of course, is crucial. A confident leader recognizes and appreciates the essence of other strong and powerful women.

There is a direct connection between success and the leadership style you adopt.

Stepping more fully into a leadership style that feels right and natural to you–and owning it—is the next step toward success.

Beate Chelette is a respected career coach, consummate entrepreneur and founder of The Women’s Code, a unique guide to personal and career success that offers a new code of conduct for today’s business, private and digital world. Determined to build a community of women helping each other, after selling one of her companies, BeateWorks, to Bill Gates in 2006 for millions of dollars, Beate created The Women’s Code.  In February 2012, to reach women everywhere, Beate launched The Women’s Code Online course. http://beatechelette.com/the-womens-code