What is feminine power and how do we effectively use it to inspire and lead others?

In many ways feminine power is paradoxical:

• It is strong, but not forceful
• It is expressive, but not through words
• It has emotional backbone, but is vulnerable

It’s no wonder men have been confused on how to deal with powerful women. I think we often are confused ourselves.  I know I was brought up in a male-dominated work culture having started out in the tech world.  I started as a computer programmer back in the days of mainframe computers and the good-ol’-boy network, where the guys still kept a bottle of whiskey in their drawer for the nights they slept on the cot in their office doing an all night computer run.

The Unnatural Traditional Male Leadership Model

It was only a few years ago, when my first male life coach, gave me an assignment to discover my feminine power,  that I realized how much I had bought into the traditional male leadership model.  Not only did I judge myself by the patriarchal, leadership characteristics I had been taught, but I judged other women by those qualities.  To be honest, when I look back, I think part of the reason I did so well “climbing the corporate ladder” was because I didn’t pose a threat to my male superiors; I could fit in to the good-ol’-boy network, or at least enough that they felt fairly confident I wasn’t going to bring a sexual harassment suit against them.

But what I realized along this journey of discovery of my feminine power was that even though those male leadership qualities had become ingrained and habitual in me, they weren’t natural.  It created an imbalance in my ability to be an effective and powerful leader.  Why?  Because it wasn’t authentic.  How often was a powerful women considered a “b*$#@!” (and no I don’t mean “bossy”) and her male counterpart was “assertive”?  In my case looking in retrospect, it was two fold; one, was that men weren’t use to dealing with powerful women and secondly, I was projecting my power almost entirely though male characteristics. I did so because that was the way I was taught and that was the way I was rewarded.

It wasn’t until I made a concerted effort to discover what feminine power was, that I even realized there was something different.

In large part my message for CorePowered has formed from my deep belief that I am am a more effective leader and can do more to inspire change in others though my authentic feminine power.

From My Feminine Power Journal

A few excerpts from the journal I created during my coaching assignment:

• I magnetize and inspire just by my presence
• My radiance illuminates the room and gives others permission to shine with their utmost brilliance
• I am open and receptive because I am grounded in my own power
• I have no need for force. I know that persuasion and collaboration are my strength
• I am the essence of being. I am power.
• I step into my feminine power and don’t apologize for it

 

How do you radiate feminine power?