Women: change your reality if you want to lead

South Africa has a lot to be proud of when it comes to the equality of the genders. A recent study put the country in the top 10 in the world when it comes to the number of women in leadership positions

But, according to Nicola Middleton, founder of global pioneering company GodBrands, simply looking at the numbers tells a severely limited and constrained story.

What our story actually looks like

“When we try to be men, we leave what is feminine behind, including our very identity,” says Nicola.

“Women offer so much more than simply a replacement for a man. The real power of female leaders is in the difference the feminine spirit makes in leading organisations and most especially in how a woman leads from the inside out. Our nature is geared towards loving, nurturing and growing from the inside out. When we try to be men, we leave what is feminine behind, including our very identity,” says Nicola.

Society and the world atmosphere is changing. “There is now a deeper spirit or energy bubbling up around the globe which profoundly enlivens and ignites the feminine heart and spirit. It is time to stop trying to force women into a male-only paradigm. What we ought to be focusing on, is raising up strong feminine leaders who lead as women in their own true identity and who reveal what our story actually looks like.”

Humanity embodies masculine and feminine qualities in perfect harmony and equilibrium. Both are required for balance. The aggressive, competitive masculine energy has dominated for a long time and is now being restored to balance with the equal and opposite feminine energy.

Change of mindset

To develop women in leadership positions does not require legislation. It requires a change of mindset in men and women alike.

“A change in mindset requires a change in one’s internal position. We allow ourselves to be refocused on something better that first changes our personal world and then it changes the whole world,” explains Nicola.

It isn’t simply about women sitting around boardroom tables, acting like men. It’s about women being what they naturally are and helping to bring the positive aspects of humanity to the fore. The new mindset releases a more caring attitude and approach to all things in life, since we are designed to care.

In this new world which women are helping create, the aggressive competitive nature of the past is being superseded by partnership and collaboration. People are seeking ways to collaborate, and the world is being enabled to grow and thrive through the creation and expansion of these relationships.

“The key to empowering women to embrace this new mindset and to take up their natural leadership positions, is within each person. Every individual first becomes the master of themselves before they can implement change in their environment. If women first master themselves, then they are then able to exude this energy in their daily lives, meeting the task-oriented, driven masculine energies in the workforce with fluid, relationship-empowering and collaborative feminine energies,” says Nicola.

Role of women in leadership

The role of women in leadership is to enhance the boardroom conversation and broaden its scope.

“We are here to expand what needs to be an inclusive conversation. We have the opportunity to change the conversation and to drive a new agenda of love, nurture and inclusion; an agenda that leaves no-one behind,” concludes Nicola.

Source: All4Women