The Power of Context
The case for ‘feminine leadership’.
Adopting a gender lens on leadership issues has spurred important debates in recent years, most notably the case for more ‘women in leadership’.
Yet, such a concept covers a broad reality of challenges and equally diverse perspectives on potential solutions. Indeed, debates on affirmative action are well documented and a reminder that giving legitimacy to uncomfortable claims is not necessarily a commitment to problem-solving.
Still, no agreement on direction is needed to acknowledge that the case for ‘women in leadership’ signals a need for the system to evolve. Hence, besides fairness, it is an opportunity to improve the efficiency of organisations.
The current system is defined by three characteristics: (i) a focus on productivity, (ii) a supposedly rational approach to problem-solving, and (iii) a lack of diversity in points of view represented. These characteristics highlight one thing: the importance of context.
“Is the ability to provide context the distinctive trait of ‘women in leadership’”, asked the Mouse?
Making such a claim risks essentialising leadership characteristics of women: instead of decreasing symbolic violence and dominance in organisations, it may shift who is entitled to exercise it.
A simple reframing would consist of describing the ability to provide context as a sign of ‘feminine leadership’. This fluid concept has three advantages:
Without shying away from the need to address gender issues, ‘feminine leadership’ is not attached to the essence of being a woman. It gives men a chance to ‘acculturate’, so to say, and nurture their own feminine leadership.
It anchors the inherent diversity of leadership styles.
It maintains relevance across leadership cultures as ‘the need to provide context’ is a common injunction made to women across the world.
However, this injunction is to be considered cautiously. It is far too common to consider context as a transient concept, a colourful yet vague here and now, which cannot be activated and therefore provide agency to feminine leaders.
On the contrary, ‘feminine leadership’ equates context with meaning. It encompasses the ability to reclaim meaning through storytelling, among other things. Therefore, ‘feminine leadership’ contributes to clarity, consistency, and convergence, which enables and empowers other leaders.
Reflections on the substance of ‘feminine leadership’, and how to activate it in different leadership cultures, can draw upon good practices in the field of emotional intelligence. ‘Feminine leadership’ is comparable to a similar paradox whereby less cognitive approaches still need to be understood rationally. In other words, establishing the business case for ‘feminine leadership’ (i.e., its contribution to productivity) is a challenge that cannot be overlooked.
The way forward may be found in McLuhan’s theory of the medium as the message. How we popularise ‘feminine leadership’ as a concept will contribute to giving it substance. In this case, it means promoting role models: women or men embodying the qualities of feminine leadership.
Traditionally, role models are painted as rather well-known and heroic figures, as if singularity and institutional recognition would carry more weight. Think of Jacinda Ardern- the former PM of New Zealand -or Arthur Sadoun- the CEO of Publicis who will be remembered for his call to acknowledge the challenge of cancer illness at the 2023 World Economic Forum -.
However, the very notion of who is to be considered a role model needs to be reframed in the context of ‘feminine leadership’ itself: it is the context, not the personality that makes the leader. More room for the anonymous, the hard working, the discreet leaders whose claims to fame are not only defined by performance but also by relevance. This is the meaning behind initiatives such as ‘Role models, not runway models’ spearheaded by Carrie Hammer.
As a parting thought, let’s consider the fact that if feminine leadership is obviously more complex a question than one of skirts vs trousers or indeed trousers for everyone, it is sometimes also about that. An acknowledgement of the symbolical domination of masculine concepts in leadership is a necessary first step to tap into the reconciliatory potential of broader perspectives. A reflection to be tackled one context at a time.
Baptiste Raymond - 03/2023.