Taking the fact of men and
women starting their careers
with the same level of intelligence, education, and
commitment, but comparatively few women reaching the top as a challenge,
the McKinsey Leadership Project undertook a study to unearth the
`drives' that sustain successful female leadership. In the pursuit, they have
interviewed 85 successful women in diverse fields, of course, along with
a few successful men to get insights into what it takes to be a successful
leader. Simultaneously, they have also reviewed the existing literature on
leadership, psychology, organizational behavior, biology, etc., and from the
so- gathered information they distilled a leadership model that consists of
five broad and interrelated elements: one, meaning—knowing one's strengths and putting them to use in the
service of an inspiring purpose; two, managing
energy—knowing its source, towards what it is flowing, what it
needs to manage it; three, positive
framing—adopting a more constructive way for looking at the world, to
expand one's horizons and build the required resilience to march
forward even when the odds are against; four, connecting—identifying those
who could help one to grow, and build stronger relationships with them
with an increased sense of belonging; and five, engaging—finding one's own voice, becoming self-reliant and
confident to accept opportunities along with their embedded risks and
collaborating with others.
They named this model `centered' leadership. It is supposed to be
endowed with a well of physical, intellectual, emotional and
spiritual strength that drives personal achievement, while at the same time
inspiring others to follow. The research carried out by McKinsey clearly indicates
that the model of the central leadership resonates well with women.
For, women—being doubly burdened by motherhood and management
get drained of energy in a quite challenging way; and they tend to
experience emotional ups and downs, not only more often but also more
intensely than men, and owing to such emotional challenges they are often
found opting out of work than men—can, under the proposed centered
leadership model, consciously draw upon positive psychology to thrive
effectively as a leader. Indeed, many of the successful women leaders whom
the McKinsey team interviewed echoed similar ideas. |
