SPOKANE, Wash.–As the world goes through the uncertainty of a fourth Industrial Revolution, credit unions here were told that the leadership traits most often associated with women are ideal for the success of future leaders.
“Women are uniquely qualified to become organizational intrapreneurs,” said Samantha Paxson, chief marketing and experience officer with CO-OP Financial Services. “Women score higher than men in 12 of 16 competencies within intrapreneurship, including building relationships, collaboration and teamwork, championing change and problem solving. These are human, softer skills and the kinds of things a computer can’t do.”
Speaking on the subject of “Women and Today’s Leadership Opportunity” during the Northwest Credit Union Association’s MAXX annual meeting here, Paxson stressed that her remarks weren’t just aimed at women. “This is a call to action for both men and women,” she said.
“We are in the midst of the fourth Industrial Revolution, and what is required of us as leaders is a completely new way of behaving, and feminine traits and female leadership traits are where our leadership needs to be going,” Paxson said.
Paxson noted entrepreneurs are the “rock stars” of business today, featured often on Shark Tank, Wired magazine and in Fast Co. But the fast change within businesses today require intrapreneurship skills, she said, and that’s where women excel.
Defining the Term
What is an intrapreneur?
“It’s a creative, innovative thinker who focuses on evolving their organization from the inside out,” answered Paxson. “They behave in a little bit of a different way. It’s not a siloed leader, it’s a relational leader. They use empathy to understand the departments on either side of them. How can I help you so you can help me? We have to understand the space between our functions. That is important to digital transformation (at CO-OP), because we are no longer a linear type of business. The way we deliver is algorithmic. That means we all have to be agile and come together to deliver at the same time.”
As business leadership evolves to reinvent itself, new skills will be needed, according to Paxson, including flexibility/adaptability to change, inclusive team management, problem-solving, innovation and creativity.
“The hierarchical, siloed leadership of the past will not be here in the future,” she predicted.
But for all the good news about the skills needed to compete in the future that are represented by women, the statistics of corporate America remain “sobering,” she said, pointing out that “women fall behind early and continue to lose ground with every step.”
The challenge in a world with those types of statistics, said Paxson, is there is a lack of role models for other women to look to.
“Barriers to attaining top executive status for women are deeply rooted and persistent,” she said. “Women often don’t feel comfortable in being self-promoting. But we need to wipe that slate clean. We are in a new world. This is the time for us to not think that way. You have to look at the other statistics about where business is going.”
What Organizations Need
At CO-OP, the C Suite is 50/50 male/female, Paxson noted. “What’s wonderful is it kind of happened by accident. We are in the midst of tremendous digital transformation. It requires broad, diverse perspectives, male and female and all kinds of different backgrounds.”
What kinds of leadership do organizations need? According to Paxson, it’s leaders who:
- Place a high value on relationships
- Are successful in using direct communication
- Are comfortable with a diverse workforce and see the potential a diverse group can offer
- Rarely compartmentalize their work, which helps increase their insight on the work environment and the big picture
- Rarely work with hierarchical type management styles, preferring to lead from the center of the organization.
Five Traits of Centered Leadership
What does centered leadership mean? Paxson said it shares these five traits:
- Meaning. Meaningful engagement offers lasting fulfillment, taps our core strengths, gives us energy and leads to confidence we may not realize we have.
- Energizing. Energy is the fuel for each of the five capabilities. Energized leaders and teams build on strengths, pause and reframe in challenging moments, attract and mobilize others, accept risks, and take action.
- Framing. Becoming aware of our fears and triggers and understanding how they serve us and how they will limit us. With acceptance, we can adapt, choosing to reframe our mindset or belief, enabling a different behavior to emerge. You have to ask for everything you want to get.
- Connecting. This is about creating meaningful community.
- Engaging. Presence happens when you align your intention with your attention and your emotions. That alignment helps you accept the personal risk of acting, allowing you to take ownership of your future.
“When I started in my career, I felt like I had to really press down on my authentic self and be very male-like,” said Paxson. “What feels great today is I can feel like myself. We hear the term ‘man-up,’ which means getting tough and having a stiff upper lip. But I would say we need to ‘human up.’”