Working in the In-Between

In today’s organizations, getting something done means working in the intersections – the places between teams or organizations, where a traditional leader has little direct influence or power.

Many women are wise in collaboration, cyclic change, relationships, nurturing, and working with ambiguity. They see and act from inside a web of interconnections. Their web-like-thinking and feeling moves easily between different stakeholders, competing priorities, and shifting relationship to carve out a solution. Their wisdom is the source of what they notice and value and how they perceive the world in operation – their vision.

Without the female vision organizations lose power. Sally Helgesen and Julie Johnson identified some of the costs in their must-read book “The Female Vision“, “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.”

If you check out the images of wise people by googling wisdom, you’ll discover that a significant number of the faces and quotes are by men. It appears that women’s wisdom is undervalued and underrepresented! When women’s wisdom remains untapped, we all lose.

It makes good business sense to develop and utilize feminine wisdom within our selves, in teams and in our organizations. Women leaders must take the initiative. They can’t wait for their organizations, managers or family to recognize the power and value of their wisdom.

As the wise leader that you are – how do you speak about your wisdom and the contribution it makes to your organization, team, community, family, or the world? Do you find that you have the words to clearly communicate? Do you receive respect?

We’d all like to learn from the ways you unlock your wisdom in authentic connections at work. Let us know.

Warmest regards, Karen