“Research has confirmed that women are better leaders during crises and this is more than ever prevalent with how female leaders dealt with COVID-19 in their respective countries in comparison to the majority,” stresses Rumaitha Al Busaidi, founder, WomeX. “Research states that people are looking for leaders who are able to pivot and learn new skills; who emphasise employee development even when times are tough; who display honesty and integrity; and who are sensitive and understanding of the stress, anxiety, and frustration that people are feeling. Most these traits are more often than not displayed by women,” she notes.
Excerpts:
Women across the world in companies often get into what is termed ‘gender double bind’ – when they become aggressive in their work, they are ‘insensitive’, when they exercise empathy, they are ‘indecisive’. Does it bother you?
Not necessarily. I think as I have continued to grow in my career it has been more and more visible to me that the bias is not intentional as much as it has to do with how society has conditioned us. In fact, this has given me ammunition to better handle a situation of gender bias as it happens because it allows me to better build my awareness of these instances, how to deal with them, and allows me to develop and customise a repertoire of strategies to manage, thereby enhancing my effectiveness and resilience in such instances.
The global pandemic was a sphere in which women leaders showed their mettle. What is this essence of a woman that helps them dismantle the usual narrative and help them veer their companies from disaster to success and beyond?
It all has to do with the facts and figures that tell you this. Research has confirmed that women are better leaders during crises and this is more than ever prevalent with how female leaders dealt with COVID-19 in their respective countries in comparison to the majority.
Based on research data, people are looking for leaders who are able to pivot and learn new skills; who emphasise employee development even when times are tough; who display honesty and integrity; and who are sensitive and understanding of the stress, anxiety, and frustration that people are feeling. Most of these traits stem from higher emotional intelligence and as such these traits are more often than not displayed by women. But as crises continue to break out and intensify in many places, all leaders, regardless of gender, should strive to meet those needs.
While you may argue that women are at present ruling the world, when will the time come when they will, without a doubt, rule the world?
This will happen when we educate and empower every single girl and woman to enter and command spaces that were once denied to them.
What are the fundamental characteristics that help a woman shine in the corporate world?
I would say mindfulness because women adopt the inclusive Big Picture thinking which can often be lost on male counterparts.
The second would be self-awareness. Women should recognise their strength and celebrate them but be willing to identify their own red flags, and also be aware of what are the areas outside their skill-set that are holding them back. The key is to outsource the tasks that take up too much time and to focus on where you bring the most value and repeat.
The third one is embracing failure, and understanding that not everything you do needs to be perfect or lead you to success. You will fail repeatedly, and many female leaders who I know take time to review what went wrong in a situation and access the obstacles they came across to learn for what comes next.
And the final one would be adopting a growth mindset by committing to a life of constant learning, and personal and professional growth. Successful women take advantage of networking opportunities to leverage their own connections, look after their own wellbeing, and lead by example for their teams.
About:
Omani scientist, activist, and athlete Rumaitha Al Busaidi empowers Arab women to step into spaces previously denied to them — whether it’s a football field, volcano summit, or the front line of the battle against climate change.
0 Comments