When female wisdom remains untapped, women, men, families and organizations suffer. As leaders are unable to translate our best ideas into action. We give our competency, but not our authentic contribution. I call this the competency trap. For too many years I restricted my deepest passions because of my attachment to my competency. Rolling it out day after day – making a difference through my work I added to my competencies, learning & growing within the framework of my past “safe” competencies.
Although organizations need to change to value and invite feminine wisdom it’s also up to us to be as clear as we can about what we see and value and communicate it in a way that our organizations can understand and value.
“Without the female vision [wisdom] organizations lost power. They undermine the full potential of their talent base. They diminish the capacity of their people to make balanced decisions. They undermine creativity and reduce the potential for real collaboration. They remain one dimensional in a multi-dimensional world.” Sally Helgesen, The Female Vision
There are 3 Steps to take to begin to change:
1. Discover what you value: What do you care about so much that when you speak about it it brings tears to your eyes?
2. Develop your understanding: Write it down, speak about what matters the most to you with a trusted colleague or friend until you’ve integrated the power behind the words.
3. Design an action: What is it that you can do to act on this? Who do you need to speak with? Where do these words belong?
How about you? How do you get yourself ready to communicate in such a way that others can understand and value your vision?
In appreciation for your beautiful wise voice,
Karen