Women in Leadership Has its Advantages
According to a recent American Psychological Association article by Amy Novotney, investing in the development of women into leadership roles is worth the effort. It has been found that female leaders demonstrate more transformational leadership styles and team collaboration is greatly improved by the presence of women in a group. Even with these huge benefits to organizations only 10% of Fortune 500 companies are led by women. How can we create more opportunities for women in leadership within our own organizations?
According to the article How To Be A Champion For Women In Leadership from Forbes, Companies must give men and women equal opportunity for exposure and development to be ready to step into executive roles. Someone who wants to one day become an executive or leader should expose themselves to as many business areas as he or she can. An awareness of the bigger picture can empower you to put your hand up for a senior leadership role. This means it is up to us, as leaders and peers, to provide our colleagues with ample exposure to different learning opportunities.
Joining an organization such as WWAM is one way to get involved and support women led professional organizations. Being able to network and gain insight and learnings from other women leaders will give the inspiration many need to take the Leadership Leap.