Leadership is not a fashion
statement. It does not change with times or with gender. Having said that, can
one follow the same style of leadership that has always been practiced? What
does it take to be a “New Age” leader? And that too, for women?
First things first, in the past
25 years of my experience in IT, what I have witnessed as typical, distinct
challenges that women leaders have always faced are: approval-seeking,
networking, balancing work and personal priorities, being assertive especially
with men in the top management, fear of being ridiculed, being a minority.
So, what is “new” in the “new
age”? Predominantly, “People” & “Technology” have evolved. Evolved to an
extent that they have impacted the way companies grow and leaders behave. However,
there is no change to the way leaders are looked upon. Leaders are still like
the “fish in the fish-bowl”. Constantly watched by the world around!
Technology evolution has paved
way for new channels of communication and collaboration. There are so many ways
women leaders can now reach out to the world, get more accessible and become
heard. Women can be a “part of” all events, not necessarily physically. Social
media, for example, is a blessing in disguise especially for women.
People evolution has created a new
breed of workers – the Millennials! Most of the times, they are better informed
than us. Borders are all erased. They want work life balance. Patience and
perseverance are only adjectives in the dictionary. Millennials want results
RIGHT NOW! They are always in a hurry and have very little attention span. Money
is not the only driving force. They need to be respected, consulted and
included.
Only if leaders adapt a style that
is collaborative, consultative, inclusive, technology-enabled, does not shy
from asking questions and learning from teams, they are reckoned as new age
leaders.
Barring a few, women are by
nature, patient, perseverant, listening, focused and inclusive. All these
virtues come in handy in dealing with new age teams. However, women must
nurture practices of learning new developments without shying away, asking
questions without the feeling of being ridiculed, learning what it takes to
keep the team together and the art of putting technology to good use in leading
teams.
What are the new age imperatives
for women leaders? Stay Connected. Stay Informed!
