Championing Female Leadership: Empowering Support for Lasting Success
Behind every female leader is an army of men and women supporting her growth.
There's zero chance I would have made it this far in leadership had it not been for the men and women who invited me to lead, created opportunities for me to build my confidence, and made sure I was rewarded for a job well done. Just like every other leader who's ever led before on planet earth.
I wouldn't have finished a degree at Dallas Seminary without Dr. Glenn Kreider's encouragement or co-founded the Polished Network without my husband's support.
Leading for the long haul is not easy for anyone, but navigating leadership as a woman has unique challenges.
At the Polished Network, we're proud to serve partners who value and encourage the women in their organizations to reach their fullest potential. In fact, one question we hear from the leaders we serve is how they can be more intentional to support women in their organizations.
I'm glad you asked.
Here are my top three recommendations to support the unique needs of female leaders:
Extend more invitations - Female leaders do not initiate opportunities for themselves as much as male leaders do. They shy away from applying for jobs until they are 100% qualified, whereas their male colleagues will jump at a new opportunity if they are only 60% qualified because they believe they can make up the difference when they're on the job.
Whether it's raising their hand with recommendations, offering themselves as a candidate for a position, or asking if they can be the person to solve a problem, women sell themselves short and wait for someone to invite them to the table. We could talk for hours about why that is the case, how this impacts our organizations, and how we get to the root of the issue but at the Polished Network we want to take the conversation further, to a practical next step, something we can all act upon.
Start extending more invitations to the women in your organization. Invite them to join committees, join the task force, run point on the huddle, take charge of the project, or lead discussion on a topic. The female ace on your team might have unrealized potential because she's waiting to be tapped on the shoulder. So, reach out to her. Invite her to apply and to apply herself. She shouldn't be waiting on you for the invitation, but until she has the permission and confidence to invite herself, strengthen your team by coming to her with new opportunities. We should extend more invitations to female leaders because it will support their leadership growth but also because qualified female leaders are proven to make organizations perform better. Do it for her, and to increase your impact.
Reflection Questions:
Who are the top 3 female leaders in my organization?
What invitations could I extend to those three women? And what's my deadline to extend that invitation?
Who's missing from this table?
How can I encourage our whole team to start thinking this way?
Who are the leaders on my team now, male or female, that intentionally invite women to realize their fullest potential, and how can I celebrate and amplify their efforts?
Build their confidence
Most female leaders have less confidence than male leaders. This is a problem because every single one of our organizations should be brimming with confident leaders who are competent in their responsibilities, deeply engaged and invested in the mission of your organization, and working with bone-deep conviction.
Women often struggle with imposter syndrome at a higher rate than men; their inner critic is shouting through a megaphone. This is not just a personal development issue for women only. Any leader on your team who's lacking confidence is also lagging in effectiveness.
At the Polished Network, we know that building confidence will not be accomplished by increasing someone's self-esteem. We, of course, want your self-esteem to be sky-high. You evidence God, you bear his image. You are worthy of love and belonging. Your Creator esteems you and so you should too. But self-confidence doesn't necessarily increase as your self-esteem increases.
Confidence grows when leaders master skills. Self-confidence is not a result of feeling better about ourselves; it's a result of knowing how to do your job well. Female leaders need more reps, more opportunities to lead, and more coaching as they lead to increase their confidence. Just like building muscle mass is a result of maximum reps and increasing weight over time, a leader's confidence will grow when they acquire, develop, and master leadership skills like delegation, leading meetings, communicating vision, giving and receiving feedback, and planning for a successful succession.
Here's what you can do to build a female leader's confidence: teach her new skills and create opportunities for her to master the skills she needs in her role.
Reflection Questions:
What skills do the female leaders on my team need to acquire, develop, or master?
Do they have access to a leader, mentor, or executive coach who can guide them in skill mastery? If not, what introductions do I need to make? What resources can I set aside to help women grow in confidence?
What learning opportunities can I create to build their confidence?
What feedback mechanisms exist for me to invest in their skill-building?
Raise their pay
Women go where they're invited and stay where they're celebrated.
The gender pay gap is closing, but we still have work to do to support female leaders financially. Very recently, a friend shared with me a leadership fumble they'd made a few years ago concerning their female CFO. Her predecessor was making significantly more in salary, and she found out by reviewing the books. After confronting the CEO with the information, she asked him if he valued her contributions. He said yes, and that led to a conversation about why the cost-saving measure was only directed at her. He came clean and said he knew she would take a low-ball offer and could potentially get away with it because she was a woman. It wasn't personal. At the time, it felt like smart business, prudent cost-saving measures.
What this leader described to me was the conviction that comes from the Holy Spirit that he was undervaluing his new CFO. I tell you this story because it illustrates a common problem in leadership: we cut corners when we think we can get away with it. Budget cuts are a reality no matter what role you fill or what organization you serve. But we need to start asking ourselves, not if we can get away with something, but what will help us catalyze all of our leaders so we can maximize our outcomes?
Instead of asking how little we can pay a woman, we should be asking how valuable she is to our team and how necessary she is to our success.
If she's not adding value or not the right team member, that's great clarity for you as a leader. But under-compensating a female leader because she's a woman lacks integrity.
If you want to support female leaders, raise their pay. Ensure their compensation is competitive with the men in leadership and help them chart a path to a bonus structure, salary increase, or benefits they'd find valuable.
In the case of the leader I mentioned before, he corrected his mistake, took radical ownership, apologized, and re-established trust. He wanted me to be sure to mention to you that just years later, his CFO proved her worth and exponentially increased their revenue.
If she's worth it, raise her pay.
Reflection Questions:
Which female leaders on my team are the most valuable?
Does their compensation reflect their value to our organization?
Is their compensation competitive with the men in comparable positions?
Have I asked my female leaders what incentives motivate them the most?
Is there a clear path for her to increased compensation?
Have I cut any corners recently? How could I make it right?
To all the female leaders, the Polished Network is in your corner. We love supporting women committed to leadership growth.
Kat Armstrong was born in Houston, Texas, where the humidity ruins her Mexi-German curls. She is a powerful voice in our generation as a sought-after Bible teacher, preacher and leader. And she’s on a mission to spark holy curiosity in a generation of Bible readers. She holds a master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and is pursuing a doctorate of ministry in New Testament context. Kat is the author of No More Holding Back, The In-Between Place, and the Storyline Bible Studies. She is the cofounder of the Polished Network, and the host of the Holy Curiosity podcast. She and her husband, Aaron, have been married for over twenty years; live in Dallas, Texas, with their son, Caleb; and attend a church in Dallas, where Aaron serves as the lead pastor.