The Future is Female
...seen on a t-shirt at a women's event. My thoughts on showcasing women role models and an introduction to my new podcast series.
Last week my partner (Gavin) and I went on a ~3800km road trip to see the magnificent flower displays in Namakwaland. We love road trips. It gives us a chance to listen to podcasts or short audio books and to pause the conversation when the speakers say something we find interesting to chat and talk about what they just said.
We were listening to the Diary of a CEO episode with Codie Sanchez, and if you can move past the horrible click-baity tagline for the episode, there really is some excellent food for thought in this episode. What I like most about Codie Sanchez is her attitude and message to young people about hard work and a bias towards action. She shares many many ideas that can be turned into practical businesses. Her message is clear: if you’re willing to work hard, to show initiative, lean on mentors early on and are willing to learn, there are so many opportunities out there in the world. And I thought: ”Wow! I wish I had this type of female role model when I was in my teens and twenties.”
Then Gavin asks me: “Who was your first female boss?” …and I had to think about it, because I think he meant who was my first female boss who could role model leadership to me. Firstly, I have to say that I never (from school days) thought I was in any way inferior to my male class mates and colleagues. Even though the evidence around me (being the only woman in my university Honours class, and working in the very male-dominated mining industry) pointed to a world where male leaders were preferred, I never thought I couldn’t be a leader. This was a very irritating place to be, knowing I knew more and could do the job better, and being overlooked, disregarded and ignored for many years. And you might say it’s not about what I knew, but who I knew, but to be perfectly honest…very few women were promoted into leadership positions in the mining industry in the nineties and that is a fact. I could go on, but you don’t want me to…
Anyway…back to my first female boss…I only had one of those and that only happened in my thirties and she was amazing and the best corporate political player I have ever seen. We worked very well together and she was thrilled when I was eventually promoted into a senior leadership position. But, I do wonder what life would have been like if I grew up in a world where I had been able to listen to people like Codie Sanchez or Brené Brown or Reese Witherspoon. Watch this video:
So, what am I going to do?
I am making a series of podcasts about female trail blazers. women who dared to lead bravely, unafraid of letting their authenticity, vulnerability and values shine through. I am hoping that these conversations will light the way for other women and anyone else who has been disadvantaged by an ego-driven system where the loudest voices are heard first.
And maybe you’ll ask (exasperatedly): “Why are we STILL talking about this?” And my answer to that is: Look around! Who has the loudest voices right now? What are they saying? I, for one, am ready for a new type of leadership where we are able to listen to one another to find solutions for a planet in crisis. And I think a good place to start is by hearing more strong female voices.
"I tell my daughters to have their voice in this world, and it became clear I needed to role-model that." - Melinda Gates I hope you like the new series. Please listen, comment and share.
Episodes will be added as I record them. You can find them here or where ever you listen to your podcasts.
Lots of love
Petro du Pisani is an executive coach who specializes in empowering mid- to senior-level female managers ready to step up into leadership roles. Her coaching practice is rooted in a deep passion for helping women break through the glass ceiling and claim their space at the executive table. Book your free chemistry session here.