Women Must Lead the Way

It’s our time.

I have seen lots of progress for women in my life. However, though we are climbing more mountains than ever, not enough of us have reached the summit. Our world continues to be controlled by competition, aggression, and the mine-is-bigger-than-yours model of conducting public and private business. We cannot survive on zero sum thinking.

This is not an anti-man rant. Instead, this is a pro-woman cheer. Ultimately, it’s a prescription for all of us to survive and thrive.

Nowhere is the woman model of collaboration clearer than what I observe in the all-day women-only workshops I lead. I watch in awe as these women, all of whom are there for their own reasons, reach out and help other women who, just hours earlier, were complete strangers. By the end of the day, these women are exchanging contact information, not as a business networking activity, but so they can continue to support one another. They believe – no, they know -  they can all rise. No either/or thinking.

These women are smart, motivated, and insightful. They are entrepreneurs and corporate executives, lawyers and artists, yoga instructors and authors. Their paths would probably never have crossed without my workshop, but they are now connected, perhaps for life.

Regardless of why - evolution, hormones, socialization, or all three - women are excellent collaborators. We truly like working with others to achieve a desired outcome. Many of us, while looking ahead, also look back to extend a helping hand to those women coming right behind us. We want the proverbial sea to rise for all.

I don’t think my workshops are unique; rather, they are microcosms of how women operate when aggression and competition are absent. Our energy is spent uplifting rather than outdoing. We prefer to clasp hands rather than wave fists.

Society must change for the sake of all of us. Our future depends on having many more women in charge.

To my sisters: run for office, advocate for yourself, negotiate from strength, speak out, take charge.

It’s our time.