The power and the passion of leading

‘Power’ is an interesting concept.  For me it conjures up many connotations, positive and negative.  But mostly negative.  I’m not sure why that is; perhaps it’s the many abuses of power I observed in my 15 years working in finance and consulting.

One thing I know from the women’s forums I run is that most of my participants view power as a masculine trait.  It’s not something women talk about wanting more of.  But perhaps we should.

Recently Gail Kelly was listed as the 11th most powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine.  To give you some context, Angela Merkel was #1, Queen Elizabeth II was listed at #58 and Helen Clark, Prime Minister of NZ, was #56.  The only other Australian in the list was Gina Rinehart, at #98.

I know a number of people who've worked closely with Gail over recent years and would say that – while she does indeed yield considerable power – she is also a most passionate leader.  It’s been said she shows a true passion for her staff and customers, in all her interactions and strategic priorities, and perhaps this translates to her results.  And in turn, to her power status.

Of course we aren’t all CEOs of major corporations and we won’t all make it on a Forbes 100 list.  But we all have the ability to bring both power and passion to the roles we play, and to create a powerful force as a community of women leaders.  A simple example: simply being a common voice, pushing our collective agendas, brings us power as a community. 

I’m interested: what does power means to you?  Do you have enough of it, or do you seek more?  And if so, how can sphinxx assist? 

Post your comments at www.thesheeoblog.com - the best comment this week will receive a copy of my new bookLittle Wins for Working Women.

Comments

[Helen]

Power gives us the ability to effect social change. More power wanted over here please.

How can Sphinxx help? By showcasing a wide variety of women who have claimed their power in a range of domains - for example, pick any woman exec from the not-for- profit sector and she will have a leadership story to tell and lessons to share that we can all learn from/be inspired by.

[Heidi Hass Gable]

Hi Jen,
I agree - the connotations I feel around "power" have mostly been negative. And part of that, for me, has been a feeling that women aren't "supposed to" want power - we're supposed to care about our families and about social inequities, not go out trying to get our faces in the news or boss people around!

What I'm learning recently, though, is that power is more than that. Power is the ability to influence and make change.

I've started this year as the president of my school districts parent group. There's a certain amount of "positional" power that I get just based on the position I'm in, but I'm learning to develop my "personal" power - which I define more as my ability to influence based on the credibility and relationships that I've developed.

And I LOVE it!! I love being able to meet with the decision makers and say "have you thought about this?" or "why don't we try it this way?" And they LISTEN to me!! Don't always do it my way, but I have a voice.
I think you can help by exposing some of the myths around power - and those hidden messages that women hold about themselves (like "power is negative" or "women shouldn't be ambitious"). I think you're already doing it - keep it up!!

Women have such amazing ability to bring people together around important issues, to build the relationships necessary to make change, and to just plain GET THINGS DONE!! This world needs us to step into out power!

Check out a video I've made about parent involvement in education - this is the kind of power we can use more of! http://tinyurl.com/whatiwant

Thanks for raising thought provoking questions!
Heidi

[Jen Dalitz]

Heidi I love your idea here. The clip is great too... keep spreading the word!