In a trend that has been gaining momentum over the past 18 to 24 months, more and more women in positions of influence and 'power' are inviting us all to consider new models of what success looks like, for a more sustainable future.
The fact that this is aligned with my values and my consulting work is all well and good. I could sit in the reflected glow of their insights and revel in the 'I totally agree and have been saying this for a while' aspect of it all.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/arianna-huffington/third-metric-redefining-success_b_3354525.html?utm_hp_ref=third-metric
But what is more heartening to me is noticing the larger pattern: that women leaders of all ages have been the pioneering voices at the forefront of a generational shift that will provide the needed momentum for transformation. On behalf of women AND men.
The 'global millennials' - women and men - have also been asking frame breaking questions about what success should really look like. They have very different expectations for their lives and their careers than those who are, in general, currently guiding companies and institutions. They have begun to drive their 'elders' slightly crazy (which is a good thing) with their pushback and their requests for a different way. They are leaving large corporations when their expectations are not being met, not willing to 'stick it out' and/or 'pay their dues'.
And so, inevitably, things are shifting, and it is the wise leader who begins to restructure her or his organization's collective thinking about models of success and associated practices, so as to attract the talented people that are needed now, and for the future, and so as to keep the talented people they currently employ.
In the gender balance work I do, I coach many of the men in positions of senior leadership who find themselves earnestly wondering what to do, how to do it, when to do it, because these ways of challenging the status quo have been a blind spot for them for a number of reasons.
My advice is often quite simple: "simply ask the women who work in your company and ask the younger people who are entering your organization out of college or high school. You don't have to figure it out all by yourselves."
That is also a feature of the new model of leadership that is emerging: collaborative intelligence is just a smarter and more effective way to address questions of transformation that are pushing against the habitual thinking of the status quo. Embrace the power of collective intelligence available to you, I advise them. It is a lot less work and will point to a much more calibrated course of action. But ironically, embracing a less 'I must know the answers in order to be a leader' is also a mindset change that is not always easy to let go of.
But things are changing. One step. One article. One powerful conversation at a time. Gender dialogues. Generational dialogues. All leading to changes and actions that will reshape the way we work and live together in the future.
