This article focusses on the strength of female leadership styles while highlighting three female leaders who have exhibited these styles in their roles. We look at research discussing how female leadership can impact organisational performance and why it's important to strive for a gender equal future.

Traditionally, the trademark of an effective leader was masculine, not feminine.

The undertones of masculinity dominate in qualities like assertiveness and self-reliance, and they are driven by results (and outcomes). Women, on the other hand, are perceived as kinder, gentler and are motivated by people.

Women also feel as though they have to worker harder to compete with masculine traits in order reach for positions of leadership. In doing so, women have been fighting for equal opportunity in the workplace for decades.

International Women's Day reflects the importance of innovation towards gender equality and the value of setting a new standard of cultural, social, and economic codes for gender equal opportunity in the workplace.

In this brief article we reflect on several notable examples of how female leadership styles have redefined what it means to be an effective leader. We'll also touch on their contributions within their organisations, and dive into the impact female leadership has on organisational profit and performance.

Female leaders are flexible and adaptable, often displaying an blend of transformational, participative and democratic leadership.

Let's look at 3 inspiring and powerful businesswomen and the ways they exhibit these leadership styles.

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It's our job to draw the best out of everyone....employees must be able to immerse their whole selves in a work environment in which they can truly develop their careers, families and philanthropy, and truly believe they are cared for. - Indra Nooyi

Indra Nooyi reminds us that effective leadership isn't a one-man-band; it's collaborative. Her leadership style focusses on building her team up, expanding their skillset and encouraging them to always raise the bar. More importantly, she emphasises the importance of holding oneself to this standard as well.

This is a noteworthy example of what we mean by transformational leadership '. A transformational leader is someone who inspires and empowers members of their group. They're enthusiastic, passionate and focus on helping everyone succeed.

In the case of Indra Nooyi's time at PepsiCo, her role as CEO demonstrated that a transformational leadership style is not only effective on a team level, but on a strategic and organisational level as well. She was responsible for re-shaping overarching strategy, diversifying the brand and refreshing PepsiCo's sense of purpose.

In her book, My Life in Full: Work, Family, and our Future, Nooyi shares the value of support in her overall success.

I ask everyone's opinion when they don't speak up. And then when they have an opinion, I'll ask others to talk about it. - Ginni Rometty.

As the first female CEO at IBM, Ginni Rometty certainly made a difference. Throughout 2012 to 2020, Rometty reinvented over half of IBM's portfolio, established IBM as a leader in AI and built a $21 billion hybrid cloud business.

She did so while prioritising her team and their personal development. Decisions were made after team discussions and her actions and goals were always transparent. She was participative.

Participative leaders like Ginni Rometty place a strong focus on collaboration. They motivate and welcome input from their whole team, gathering different perspectives before coming to a decision.

Rometty is a powerful example of how participative leadership embraces teamwork to optimise individual and organisational potential. The more participative leaders we have in the workplace, the closer we get to gender equality in the workplace.

The old world of autocratic, top-down leadership styles are gone. - Gail Kelly.

During her tenure, Gail Kelly was one of the most powerful business women in Australia. She was the former CEO of two major Australian banks, St. George Bank from 2002-2007 and Westpac from 2008-2015.

Under Gail Kelly's leadership, Westpac purchased St. George in 2008 in what was the largest in-market merger in Australian banking. From 2008 she made it her mission to have 40% of Westpac senior management positions held by women by 2014, a goal she reached swiftly by 2012. She was a powerhouse for helping women ascend up the corporate ladder.

Kelly's democratic leadership style focused on promoting teamwork and loyalty by considering the input of others when making decisions. Everyone has the opportunity to participate, share and debate ideas; creating better employee engagement, productivity and satisfaction.

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Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. - Marianne Williamson.

It's hard to provide a cookie-cutter generalisation between men and women leadership styles. But, the research shows some tendencies.

As we know, women naturally gravitate towards leadership qualities that are more people-orientated: collaboration, fostering growth and the ability to share power and information. They also have acute interpersonal skills - it's all about working together to meet the goal.

Men, on the other hand, traditionally are known to exercise more assertive traits. They generally favour self-reliance and are seen as more goal-orientated. Studies have shown theyre more likely to express dominant behaviour, initiate negotiations and self-select in competitive environments.

Where women tend to be more transformational , men tend to be more transactional.

Instead of leading from the top, women prefer a flat organisational structure that dismantles traditional corporate hierarchy. Women see cooperation, participation, collaboration and empathy as the keys to success rather than mens stereotypical command and control approach.

Some argue that this is one of the barriers that women face: trying to work their way up the corporate ladder in male-built and male-orientated organisational structures.

The past two decades have shown an upward trend of females striving for and earning leadership roles. Women now have better access to education (and are even graduating at higher levels than men ), and there is more demand for people-centric leadership qualities. Especially when we explore areas such as psychological safety and workplace wellbeing after the COVID-19 pandemic.

Post pandemic employees want more say in the kind of work they do, what their workplace offers, and the kind of managers they want to lead them. And as the research says , female CEOs express greater empathy, adaptability and diversity.

Takako Hirata has an interesting take on the subject: In her book The Virtual Leader , she says employees want recognition, a sense of community, flexibility and positive work relationships. In other words, they seek the qualities of both men and women leaders.

In fact, a recent study of 800 employees found that 38% would prefer to work for a female boss, 26% prefer and male and 35% had no preference. There's a growing indifference of what gender leads the team. As long as employees are treated with fairness, respect and their professional and personal needs are met, they dont care what gender leads.

As Gloria Steinem perfectly outlines:

A gender equal society would be one where the word gender does not exist: where everyone can be themselves.

Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldnt be that women are the exception. - Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

The McKinsey Global Institute reports that advancing women's equality in the workplace can increase global GDP to $12 trillion by 2025.

Every business can benefit from tapping into the strengths of women as leaders. So what is it about female leadership styles improve team performance?

According to McKinsey , there are 9 key types of leadership behaviours that improve organisational performance:

1. Participative decision making
2. Role model
3. Inspiration
4. Expectation and rewards
5. People development
6. Intellectual stimulation
7. Efficient communication
8. Individualistic decision making
9. Control and corrective action

Women leaders are more likely to exhibit 5 of the 9:

1. Role model
2. Expectation and rewards
3. People Development
4. Participative decision making
5. Inspiration

Women also often possess higher levels of soft skills and a better understanding of emotional intelligence. In fact, a 2016 study highlighted that women outperform men in 11 out of 12 emotional competence skills.

A further study by Catalyst shows employees with empathetic leaders are typically more engaged and innovative with their work. They also show higher levels of satisfaction in their job and are less likely to leave the organisation.

And when leaders incorporate these qualities into the workplace, employees are more willing to learn, collaborate and make valuable contributions to the organisation.

Not only does an equal representation of women leaders drive better team performance, but better business performance too. The Gender Equity Insights 2020 Report highlights that business profitability and performance are more likely to increase when there are women in leadership positions.

Women leaders are slowly ascending up the ranks, and we have our existing female leaders to thank for that. Yes, we are celebrating how far women have come. At the same time, we are recognising the hardships, and reminding us all that we need more women in leadership to meet the goal of a gender equal future.

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Growth Faculty also offers a good value Enterprise plan for larger companies to develop leadership skills in teams of 20 or more employees.

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