Why I Wrote ‘How to Lead Like a Woman’

It Is Time For Us to Consider Alternatives to Status Quo Leadership

There are cultural differences, for sure, in how we all respond when challenged. I, for one, struggle with overt aggression and assertiveness, as I have PTSD and I was taught from a very young age not to fight back. Fighting escalated the situations and it wasn’t safe for me. I wish I were someone who felt safer asserting my boundaries, but instead I do what I can. Which is to go meta, and to try to identify problems of culture.

I wrote that piece because I spent 25 years in the tech industry, which is dominated by what I referred to as ‘masculine’ approaches to business. Very few women are able to crack the silicon ceiling, because of a lack of respect for how we choose to work and a lack of awareness that there is another way. I also see this happening in other corporate and governmental milieus. I think ‘male’ culture is privileged, because men vastly outnumber women in STEM-related settings. Women therefore try to conform to the established culture, but it means many missed opportunities to mentor them into leadership roles they can excel at.

I, for one, have a gentle heart and a gentle, guiding hand. I get very stressed and unproductive in environments where people go into attack mode on a regular basis. We need to nurture one another if we want to reach our full collective potential.

This is also about Trump and the culture he is bringing with him, based on hatred, intolerance, exploitation, and bullying. He is lauded for being an extraordinary businessman, but all I see is ignorance, dishonesty, exploitation, and abuse. Steve Jobs is also worshipped, even though he was himself a horrible leader who hurt people working for him day in and day out.

It terrifies me to see how this all will play out. If Trump’s approach is a model for how business should be run (which his supporters think is how the country should be run), we are in deep trouble. Even if he doesn’t manage to trigger World War III.