Think about this…you’ve worked hard to get where you are. You are respected by your colleagues and maybe even envied by your friends. You have a great reputation and are known for your integrity, honesty and intelligence plus a whole lot more…and yet, deep down inside you have that “feeling” that sometimes you are…for lack of a better term, an imposter. You are putting on a great front on the outside and inside you have that internal conflict… am I enough? I’ve interviewed enough women to know that this is one of the missing pieces in the puzzle of leadership. This takes courage, and that it one of the seven unexpected qualities of women who lead.

It’s funny when the word leadership is mentioned, everyone thinks of the CEO of a large company with hundreds of people that you are responsible for. You can be a leader of 100, 10 or…even simply yourself. Leadership is about you and me and who we are in this position, and who we can be. Whether you are moving out of a dorm room or moving into an executive suite, you are already a leader. The goal is not to just invite you to be in that position, but to stay and let the magic happen.

Every day there is another woman who is standing out in her field, and making things happen, change, transform and create a better future of opportunities for the women coming through the ranks. The amazing part is that these women are younger and younger and have tools available to them that the women we call trailblazers didn’t have. They have platforms to speak on and mentors to question and yes, they are making a difference in our everyday lives. They are the future of women in leadership and their confidence in knowing that is something we admire.

There are seven qualities of leadership that I direct my readers, clients and colleagues to. You will likely recognize that many, if not all, are part of who you are. You may have pushed them down so they need some polish to put the shine back on and bring them up to the surface. We are reminded to find our voices, get a seat at the table, learn to negotiate and to support other women. Yes to all of those qualities, and let’s go one step further…or seven to be exact. Here are those qualities that just might be your hidden gems:
1. Passion
2. Authenticity
3. Courage
4. Communication
5. Decisiveness
6. Resilience
7. Generosity

Consider this your invitation to reconnect with these seven “unexpected” essential leadership qualities. As my tagline reminds us, “Women Want To Be Treated Equally Not Identically”™, let’s bring women onto the glass floor and not only walk, but dance together and create a movement to the future of women in leadership. In addition, we have created a non-profit foundation by the same name, where we will donate a portion of the proceeds of every book sold to companies, associations, charities, social causes and scholarships and plan to start a movement about women in leadership.
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