Masculine and feminine, when hearing these two words your automatic reference point has usually been to consider gender: men and women. I wouldn’t blame you, for many years I did.
Operating as a woman in a man’s world, where we often feel there is a further need to prove ourselves in a boardroom or to our male colleagues and peers, has also meant that women have often held back on our more inherently collaborative, empathetic, creative and receptive natures.
Feminine energy is powerful in leadership, the workplace and in business. It’s a positive attribute and should be encouraged, applauded and work cohesively for the benefit of an organisation’s positive culture. It is time to recognise that embracing femininity in the workplace is a good thing.
Every one of us possesses both feminine and masculine energy and the balance of these energies is used in many different aspects of our lives, particularly in the workplace.
Mo Gawdat, author of Solve For Happy, former chief business officer at Google X and co-founder of 20 other businesses, shared recently that one of his most cherished business regrets was his failure to ‘embrace his feminine side’ earlier in his career.
Gawdat said: “The world is suffering from hyper-masculinity, a world of doing rather than feminine qualities such as nurturing creativity, playful, beautiful and empathic”.
Work history
I remember my early days in business well – young and female in a very male-dominated environment. I had to hustle hard. I was focused, determined and goal-driven. I frequently overcommitted and pushed harder and harder, I didn’t want anything to stand in my way of business.
In hindsight, I wasn’t being totally honest with myself. I didn’t fully understand the benefit to my business of embracing my feminine energies. It’s fair to say I have come a long way in 18 years.
The shift in embracing my femininity within the workplace did not happen overnight. The true meaning of it crystalised for me via the self-development workshops coaching, books and podcasts I am such a fan of.
It’s strange because my business, launched aged 24, was a very feminine focused service, but my approach to doing business was very masculine. I was typically black or white in my thinking. I hated the feeling of being constrained and would never reveal my true thoughts, emotions or feelings.
I saw this as a sign of weakness – if I was to tell someone else that I wasn’t feeling okay or that my business wasn’t doing particularly well that month. I pushed and pushed but found life becoming increasingly unsustainable.
On reflection, much of how I operated had a strong focus on masculine characteristics. These are absolutely not bad traits, but an imbalance is never healthy or productive. I embraced the flow more, learning to connect with my intuition and instincts. Seeking consensus rather than being (overly) decisive has had many a positive business benefit for me.
A new personal and business direction was my watershed. A significant shift in my business model, where I became a business mentor and personal brand strategist, found me nurturing clients in pursuit of their dreams. It was no longer about the destination, it was all about the journey – mine and theirs.
Reflecting on my new role I found I was truly able to embrace my femininity. I no longer feared being judged, seen as too familiar or weak. These characteristics make us unique, they make us stand out and only help to draw people to you.
So, what are great female traits that can be leveraged by women and those that men can learn from as they forge ahead and become great leaders? My top five have become those that I value the most and have proven to be my ticket to success – empathy, humility, persuasiveness, resilience and above all, spirit.
Opportunities are always found in sharing struggles and insecurities, being unapologetic can be life-changing. Your brand and visible values become your USP. Conforming to the traditional, masculine style of leadership is no longer the route to success. In a time of revolution, where your employees are calling a lot of the shots, and much-needed developments in where and how we work, we need to meet them halfway.
You won’t have an all-male workforce, and even if you do, the balanced energies of masculine and feminine only bring a positive flow to your leadership style. We need both strengths in the modern workplace, where there should be no minorities and everyone has a seat at the table.