PAPER PRESENTED FOR NATIONAL SEMINAR ON
“WOMEN EMPOWERMENT IN EDUCATIONAL - ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT & ADMINISTRATION”

Sub Theme: Developing Leadership Quality in Women

Women are leaders… Hardly a new concept! History is a witness to the women who have in the past demonstrated unique leadership capabilities. Maharani of Jhansi, Sarojani Naidu and Indira Gandhi are a few names that come to the mind of one and all. Until the 20th century, most women were able to demonstrate the leadership qualities only on their home fronts. The reason being that in our society man has always been called the master of the scene and empowering women has always been taken by him and the society as degrading his own social status.

Today, women are emerging as leaders in a growing range of fields. Be it aeronautics, medicine, space engineering, law, politics, education, you name the profession and they are there. Women currently hold nearly 16% of the top executive positions in the Universities of the United States and the same trend is being seen in India also. This represent a sizable increase over the last two decades when only few top positions in the colleges were held by the women.

The trend of women coming into limelight, so far as the leadership quality are concerned, has shown great promise in the past decades. Women of India are showing an upward change and are gradually getting the recognition long overdue. This is because:

· they have shown the ability to take risks;
· have shown self confidence to assert their views;
· recognize the achievements of the women who have came before them and
· have shown varied leadership styles.

It is a very positive sign that women are being accepted as leaders. Though some women have shown their mettle, yet a large majority of them have to sharpen their leadership qualities in more ways then one. In order to help women develop into good leader, they need to be empowered in educational and economic management. Keeping the above requirement in mind, it is pertinent to first understand what constitutes a good leader and what qualities are expected of a leader who has to be a woman.

There are some peculiar traits, which a women must possess before she is termed a good leader. Leaders are people who are able to express themselves fully says Warren Bennis. They also know what they want and why they want and how to communicate what they want from others in order to gain their cooperation and support. Leaders he says, achieve their goals.

It is true that leaders provide leadership but not all leaders provides good leadership. While there are some who are born leaders yet majority of them have to be trained to be skilled leaders and empowerment is one of the most important tools to bring about leadership qualities. The leadership traits, which should be there in women, can be listed as follows:

§ Listeners. In order to lead well, they have to learn to first of all, listen well.
§ Objective. Leaders have to learn the art of asking questions.
§ Fairness. Even-handed and fair leaders do not play favorites.
§ Humor counts. They are not afraid to smile and demonstrate a good sense of humor.
§ Self-motivators.Leaders pursue new approaches for doing things and stay up to date with the latest.
§ Volunteers. They serve the profession by writing articles, participating in conferences, and sharing knowledge with co-workers.
§ Network. They are familiar with who the key players are and effectively network with them.
§ Ethical. Leaders act ethically and make sure that those around them do as well.
§ Timing. Finally, leaders know when it is time to go whatever may be the reasons.

The qualities listed above represent the ideal leaders. Certainly people that do not have these qualities may also be leaders. Quite often such people are not really leaders but dictators or authoritarian who lead through the use of fear. In order to develop women into effective leaders, the following approaches & strategies can be made use of:

Ø Take advantage of mentoring. Mentors play a critical role in helping new planners. They develop not only their professional skills, but also their leadership skills.

Ø Be a problem solver. Make others feel good. Help people find solutions to problems.

Ø Accept change. You are more likely to get ahead if you are able to handle change with a minimum of stress. Try to get out in front of issues rather than spending time figuring out how to deal with change after the fact. Dare to be the person in the staff meeting that generates discussion about a new topic or a new angle on a project. Understand that change is not necessarily being done to you personally, so you can deal with it.

Ø Take risks. Stretch yourself professionally & intellectually. Think outside the box.

Ø Be a positive team player. Be somebody others want on their team. Motivate people around you with praise and enthusiasm. Take credit for your accomplishments, but do not brag about it as it may dampen the team spirit.

Ø Learn the basic leadership skills at workshops, watching others, through readings. Take advantage of training sessions offered through continuing education programs and at conferences. Observe those around you with leadership qualities you respect, and emulate them. Read articles and books that depicts leadership techniques.
Ø Recognize that it takes times and energy to be a leader. To lead, you must also follow through with commitments. It will require more time and energy, so be aware of that fact.

Ø Adopt a philosophy of optimism. Optimism is contagious. People tend to gravitate toward those that are enthusiastic about what they are doing, rather then being with pessimists or those with negative attitude. Develop a ‘can do’ attitude, and learn to build on your successes.

Ø Understand politics. Find out where the action is, understand how internal and external politics work, and where you fit in.

Ø Look at the big picture. Learn how to convey vision and your convictions as part of the big picture that you operate in. Set goals, including the steps that need to be taken to obtain the goals.

Ø Have fun. Genuinely like others around you! Show you are interested in them, and help establish camaraderie within the office while you work toward your office’s common goals.

Ø Sometimes life may be unfair. Let’s face it: all offices are not created equally. Develop strong communication skills to best sell yourself and the planning profession. Do not get bitter if things are not going your way in the office. Instead, get even by doing things better. Expect acceptance and equal treatment, and act toward others accordingly.

Ø Get along with and reach out to others. Make it a point to reach out to difficult people. Be open and approachable with every one. Seek out the hesitance and ask for their participation and/or opinion. Listen respectfully and act interested to what is being said.

Ø Have a balanced life. Have other interests besides your job. Take time to be with your family and friends. Learning is life long; enjoy that fact! Be true to yourself and to others. Plan you own future, and do not try to be like someone else who is not you, just to get ahead.

Ø Expertise. Cultivate a specific skill and/or knowledge base that others recognize and value. This is what will give you the credibility to lead.

Ø A thirst for knowledge. A leader appreciates the value of learning, both from the past and the present. She continuously broadens her knowledge base with the understanding that unrelated areas of study may provide unexpected insights.

Ø Adaptability. A leader embraces change and views it as an opportunity, not as a threat. She has already “slain the dragon.” She has become stronger and wiser as a result of painful life circumstances. A leader is also a calculated risk taker. She understands that progress cannot be made without entering uncharted territory and that potential mistakes go with that territory.

Ø Ability to commit. A leader does not embrace a cause reluctantly. She takes it on wholeheartedly, recognizing that success requires unflinching dedication. Those around her will find strength in her conviction, and in turn will commit to the effort at hand.

Ø Ethics. You will gain others trust if you consistently do the right thing. A woman without moral fiber may temporarily pose as a leader. In time, however, the truth will surface, and she will invariably lose her following.

Ø Courageousness. Fear is human, but a true leader moves forward despite her fear.

Ø Vision. This is the ability to take an ordinary situation and from it, create something unique. To do this the leader must be able to step back and see the big picture. She must also be creative and not panic in adverse situation! Creativity is not some magical and elusive gift, but a skill that can be mastered.

Ø Ability to listen. She must learn to listen more than she speaks. Hear and address the concerns of those around, particularly those supporting the vision. This will win their loyalty. And by keeping the ears open she may learn something new and valuable from them that will further the cause.

Ø Effective communication. A good leader is a clear and consistent communicator. She says exactly what she means and with tact. Her enthusiasm and confidence permeate her message and inspires others to follow her.

Ø Generosity. A leader shares her expertise, and is not afraid of giving the credit to others who have earned it. She takes pleasure in mentoring women who demonstrate enthusiasm, curiosity and courage. She also knows when it is time to turn her strength and energy inward and nurture herself.

So far, efficiency and growth for developing leadership qualities has been talked about. But there appears to be a paradigm shift towards service and maintenance of relations being the most important qualities in leadership.

The service is connected with minds and maintenance is in terms of relationship. Both these involve contribution, personal attention and care.

The relational aspects of leadership has become increasingly important in the present situation as managing the human beings has become more important in comparison to other skills of a leader. The ability to develop networks and to trust people has become very important for a leader to learn in order to be successful. We are seeing that leadership rests on having Power With, rather than Power Over. Power With involves.

¨ responsibility
¨ personal ethics
¨ being at ease with paradox
¨ being direct
¨ insight
¨ humour
¨ vulnerability
¨ receptivity

IQ, EQ and SQ
Leadership and power is not just about IQ. With the growing emphasis on social capital, self-awareness, and appropriate and inclusive behaviour, the concept of EQ – emotional intelligence – has found its place. But IQ and EQ do not give the whole picture.

A few years before Daniel Goleman became known for his work on Emotional Intelligence, he wrote a book called “Meditative Mind” which brought Eastern Psychology and spirituality into a Western context. For him there is something deeper than EQ, that gives us a connection to self and also something beyond self. This could be called SQ – spiritual intelligence. SQ is about being open, without defenses, seeing the much broader picture. It is with SQ that we confront life’s deepest struggles and realize our humanity.

All these three forms of intelligence can function separately – but when IQ, EQ and SQ pull together, there is true leadership.

God has gifted women with compassion, tender heart, caring nature, concerns for others and all such qualities, which form the basis for emotions of a persons. As far as intelligence is concerned, they are not less than men! They fortunately have a right bent of mind towards spirituality. If IQ, EQ and SQ in the right combination can make good leaders, then why it is that women in our country cannot become better leaders? The answers probably lies in the fact that they have not being empowered!!

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References:
q Patrik Manu, August 13-19, 2001, 39(33), University News
q Women in Community College Leadership Roles, ERIC Digest, 1996
q Leadership Skills for Women in Management – IIR South Africa
q Sandi Redenbach, Women in Leadership
q Revolutionary Ideas in Planning, 1998 APA Proceedings
q Women’s Council, Sri Aurbindo Society, Pondicherry