Female leaders lead differently

I was on a course recently, to learn a completely new skill. Aside from the many light bulb moments I had related to the technical content, there were a couple of really significant take aways about leadership that hit me between the eyes:

One, some leaders who are female bring totally different things to the table. Not the same things as men but with a female perspective, but utterly different. We need not only to let them do it their way, we need to truly understand the value of that to an organisation and its bottom line.

Two, because we currently don’t really do the above, many of these women have decided to say ‘bugger you’ to the status quo that means that they would have to better than every man in the room technically to even be allowed to pull up a chair not labelled ‘diversity hire’, and they would have to be something other than themselves to be heard once sat down.

They are somewhere else, building multi multi million dollar businesses, ‘movements’, networks, and whole industries of the future. And they don’t need ‘us’, the status quo, sitting here talking to ourselves in places like LinkedIn.

And so we don’t see them. And we don’t hear from them. And so, we don’t learn from them.

And that is to the detriment of ‘us’.

These women are leading in new places and in a way that empowers, includes, excites, supports innovation, and is inherently consumer centric and is therefore on a sustainable growth path. 

These women are leading in a way, and building new industries in a way, that can be part of the solution to our economy being more productive and prosperous in the future. We need to get out of our spaces and heads, and go find them.

On a personal level, as a consequence of the above, I learnt that in a space of psychological safety ‘Darth Vader’ can take off the metaphorical mask, but doesn’t have to pretend to be ‘Mary Poppins’ in order to be accepted. 

Finally, on a technical content point, I learnt that I can keep the physical manifestation of the Sith lord’s ‘cape’, it works (‘structure and flow’ and ‘body illusion’), but I can change the fabric and colour for something more flattering to the skin tone and it still feels like ‘me’.

Last week I thought I was learning about personal styling. I did - and to the men on Bumble… I’m coming for you, but not in the way you or I imagined, I will teach you how to dress and that thongs are not acceptable date attire if it’s the last thing I do! But, I took away much more. 

I have been incredibly lucky in my career to have had people who have inspired me, helped me formulate my value systems, and who have lifted me up. Last week I met someone who I would like to learn more from, and not in the way that I expected. Thank you Lauren Di Bartolo.

Thank you also to the amazing team at the Australian Style Institute most particularly Claire Jensen , I look forward to more steps on this journey.

(Article published on LinkedIn 19 May 2025)