Women and underdog leadership. In this episode Judith Germain speaks to Jenny L Mitchell about leadership journeys and approaches.
Key Takeaways
- There are parallels between Judith’s “maverick” leadership style and Jenny’s “underdog” leadership style – both value authenticity, curiosity, and bringing out the best in others.
- Mindset is key – assume positive intent, focus on possibilities rather than obstacles.
- Critical thinking skills in younger generations may not transfer across all domains – need to educate holistically.
- Leadership is a constant process of negotiation and seeking to understand. Meetings should drive decisions, not just discussion.
- Women leaders often take on “glass cliff” assignments and overcome perception barriers on their journey. Visionary mindset helps.
- Important for marginalised voices (women, people of colour) to be heard and supported as leaders.
Topics:
Leadership styles and journeys
- Jenny sees parallels between her “underdog leadership” style that embraces ambition and compassion, and Judith’s “maverick” style.
- Shared view that curiosity, authenticity and bringing out the best in others is key.
- Leadership is constant negotiation – need to understand objections and concerns.
- Meetings should drive decisions through prior “spidering” conversations.
- Women leaders overcome “perception barriers”, take “glass cliff” assignments, and need a visionary mindset.
Education and critical thinking
- Younger generations have critical thinking skills from technology/AI, but may not apply across domains.
- Education needs to be holistic to develop true critical thinking.
Diversity, equity and inclusion
- Important for marginalised groups like women and people of colour to be heard and supported as leaders.
- Need more understanding of challenges faced by people of different backgrounds.
In this conversation Judith and Jenny debate different leadership styles like mavericks and underdogs, with Jenny advocating for embracing challenges and Judith emphasising seeking first to understand others’ perspectives.
Jenny outlines five pillars of top women leaders’ experiences: embodied roles, embracing challenges, overcoming perceptions, accepting high-risk assignments, and visionary mindsets.
Jenny L Mitchell is an executive coach, podcaster and professional fundraiser on a mission to help #2s become #1s in work and life. Her new book, Embracing Ambition: empowering women to step out, be seen and lead, marries the research on women’s leadership with the first person stories of 12 women CEOs from across North America.
Maverick leadership is all about thinking outside the box and challenging the status quo. It’s about having the courage to take risks and the confidence to lead in a way that is authentic and genuine.
But amplifying your influence as a leader isn’t just about having a strong vision or a big personality. It’s also about having the right leadership capability and being able to execute on your ideas and plans.
The consequences of not having the right level of influence as a leader can be significant. Without the ability to inspire and motivate others, you may struggle to achieve your goals and make a real impact.
How Influential Are you? Take the scorecard at amplifyyourinfluence.scoreapp.com and see.
Jenny L Mitchell can be found on LinkedIn here. Her website is here.
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