How To Be A Strong Female Leader

Gender equality remains an issue within several businesses, primarily due to the awareness of its positive effects on organizational performance. Increasing diversity within company teams has been shown to have positive outcomes for business culture and retaining talent.

Gender diversity and equality in the workplace have improved, but female entrepreneurs aren’t free from challenges just yet. Women leaders are regularly placed under scrutiny and experience greater levels of judgement compared to male leaders. 

No matter what industry you’re working in, strong female leadership is essential for positive business outcomes. Female leaders can bring different outlooks and characteristics to the workplace that are hard to locate elsewhere. 

In the case of these traits, strong female leaders have qualities that help them battle challenges related to female leadership in the workplace. 

If you’re wondering how to be a strong female leader in today’s business world, here are some tactics to help you earn a stellar reputation and improve your female leadership development. 

1.  Communication

Prioritising genuineness and communication are factors that go into how to be a strong female leader. Authenticity greatly influences whether leadership is successful in an organisation.  

Communicating sincerely is related to displaying your true nature in the workplace. Despite this, it’s difficult to be open at work if you’re afraid of judgement. This is a serious issue for women, particularly those who climb the career ladder and are surrounded by fewer female colleagues. 

Effective female leadership in the workplace involves a safe space to ask for help and display emotions, without fear of being judged. This helps female leaders seem genuine to employees and managers, improving working culture relationships as a result. 

If you don’t feel like you can express yourself openly in your present workplace, you won’t have the right environment to support female leadership development. In this case, finding a new working setting with a supportive culture can help your leadership growth.

Effective female leadership in the workplace requires a safe space to ask for help and display emotions, without fear of judgement.  

2. Networking 

Another example that goes into how to be a strong female leader is whether you have a good working network. People in the workplace all need encouragement, but we can be wary of reaching out to other people for help. This can make it hard for women to overcome work challenges and become strong leaders. 

A SHRM report found that female managers didn’t feel as included in their business network compared to male managers. As the business sphere is primarily made up of men, any support women can give to each other matters a lot. 

A report from Chief found that women’s networking was significant in attaining greater career milestones. A network of women in similar leadership roles gives participants opportunities to share tactics and strategies. Networks also give female leaders access to assets that are difficult to obtain, acting as a financial community. 

A network of like-minded women also acts as a safe space for sharing important information, creating connections, and improving confidence. In addition to giving female employees role models to look up to, this also shows employees that your workplace prioritises equality, inclusivity and personal development.

At Tramshed Tech, our Female Founder Investor Readiness Programme is designed to give Welsh female tech entrepreneurs the support, mentorship and skills needed to increase their capital. 

The programme is 100% fully funded and gives participants access to networks that support them on their journey. Participants should be prepared to raise investment over the following 18 months and enthusiastic about connecting with a community of diverse female founders. 

If you’re ready to connect with a network of like-minded female leaders, give your project a head start, and develop your leadership skills, apply for the Female Founder Investor Readiness Programme here. 

A network of like-minded women is a safe space for sharing important information, creating connections, and improving confidence.

3. Overcoming Self Doubt

If you’re a woman wondering how to be a strong female leader, you need to take steps to overcome self-doubt and make bold decisions. 

Good leaders are usually courageous enough to be unique, embrace change, and take risks. Despite this, women have been taught not to believe in themselves or trust their instincts. 

A well-known Hewlett-Packard study found that men regularly apply for jobs when they meet 60% of the job description, while women apply if they meet 100% of the requirements. This shows that self-doubt in women can be a huge barrier to career success. 

Changing beliefs around self-doubt and getting out of your comfort zone can be tricky, but it is possible. Being a strong female leader requires you to be bold in decisions, as playing it safe won’t result in successful outcomes.

Rather than beating yourself up for feeling doubt in the first place, try embracing the feeling and focusing on positive thoughts.

To find out more about beating self-doubt, check out this post on overcoming imposter syndrome. 

Changing beliefs around self-doubt can be tricky, but it is possible. Being a strong female leader requires you to be bold in decisions, as playing it safe won’t result in successful outcomes.

4. Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence involves identifying, understanding, and handling your emotions, including how you acknowledge and affect the emotions of those around you.

People with better emotional intelligence are good under pressure, settle disagreements well, and develop a rapport with colleagues. 

Emotional intelligence is important for leaders to show team members they respect their efforts. This can help improve employee cooperation and shows you’ll work hard to ensure they reach their full potential. 

Studies show that females generally have better EQ skills than males, like emotional awareness and empathy. These tendencies don’t necessarily apply to every female or male, but women can use their empathy to succeed as female leaders in the workplace. 

The more you appreciate other people’s perspectives, the better your leadership capability becomes.  

Emotional intelligence is important for leaders to show team members that you care and respect their efforts. The more you appreciate other people’s perspectives, the better your leadership capability becomes.  

There we have it! We hope this post gave you an insight into effective female leadership in the workplace and how to be a strong female leader. 

The Female Founder Investor Readiness Programme

Tramshed Tech is a startup ecosystem, home to 50+ companies ranging from pre-revenue start-ups to scaling businesses with 600+ registered members from the digital, creative and tech communities.

Tramshed Tech is the best place to start and grow your business because we understand the challenges entrepreneurs face.

The Female Founder Investor Readiness Programme is one of our many business support programs. Supported by the British Business Bank, the scheme aims to give Welsh female tech entrepreneurs the support, mentorship and aptitude needed to increase funds. 

The scheme is 100% fully funded, gives participants access to supportive mentors and networks, and helps develop the skills needed to secure investment opportunities.

The Female Founder Investor Readiness Programme is eligible for female tech founders based in Wales who have an MVP (minimal viable product).

Participants should be prepared to raise investment funds over the following 18 months and eager to connect with a network of like-minded female tech founders. 

You can find out more about the Female Founder Investor Readiness Programme here or apply with this form.  

For more helpful tips from our experts, check out our news page or get in touch to find out about our spaces and memberships.