The web of leadership
EmergingVoices: Why women-led projects succeed in spite – or because – of their difference from traditional leadership models
Ginny Belden-Charles, Marcia Hyatt
"Not every group of women I've worked with has had this kind of teamwork, but many of my best team experiences have been working with women."
by Ginny Belden-Charles
When I became a manager in my early career, I was trained in all the (stereotypically male) things a manager was supposed to do: lead, direct, manage, control. In my graduate school class on leadership, our professor taught from a book called "The Leadership Secrets of Attila the Hun." We learned that if change was going to happen, it had to be led from the top.
But that didn't match my experience of how things got done in organizations-especially when women ran things. One project team I was a member of, made up of all women, worked very differently. There were five of us, at a variety of different levels in the organization. We were given the responsibility of putting together a national conference, with a timeline of just three months, and with a minimal budget.
We had no formal leader but we created, together, a compelling picture for what we wanted at this first national conference. We got input and buy-in from leaders, peers and attendees. We discussed the input together in enough detail so that we all knew what was important to our stakeholders. We also developed a clear vision for the experience we wanted participants to have.
Our decisions were guided by this vision. We each internalized the vision so that when decisions had to be made and we were not all available, we could go ahead and make a decision without everyone present, and know that the decisions would be supported by the team.
This also meant that we had great trust in one another and the team. We didn't second-guess each other in our decisions or our level of dedication. Most of us were full-time working mothers and we also needed support around our family commitments. When someone's workload got too high, we covered for each other, picking up the extra work without question. One member had to meet a 5 p.m. hard stop at her daycare, so we adjusted our meeting schedule to make sure she could pick up her daughter on time.
Team leadership felt more like a dance than a top-down military operation. Instead of the traditional hierarchical "command and control," we took turns providing leadership based on what the team needed. We respected one another's skills and competence and divided up our work to use each other's strengths. One team member led us in designing the workshops. A different member was good at organizing and planning the logistics. I had strong connections to leaders and made sure they stayed informed and supportive of our efforts.
The result was a highly successful conference. We got high scores on all aspects of the conference evaluation from the participants, and our leaders decided to hold the conference again the next year. When the team reflected on what we had learned after the event, we knew we would do it again, despite the extra work, if we once again could be part of a team like this.
Not every group of women I've worked with has had this kind of teamwork, but many of my best team experiences have been working with women. Sometimes we are able to set aside our egos, trust each other, align our strengths and share leadership. When that happens, we move beyond the paper-clip chain of command to become a strong web. And today's world needs fewer Attila the Huns and more web leadership.
