ASPIRATIONALLY, AMY
LEADERSHIP STYLE LIBRARY
Styles of leading that you can aspire to.
The Leadership Style Library pairs with the Aspirational Assessment to serve as a digital resource hub where anyone can learn about approaches to leadership that work well for women. These interactive tools are designed to help women and femmes who want to level up their leadership skills but don’t necessarily have access to fee-based professional development and certification programs, advanced business degrees, or mentors.
Click on the tiles below to explore our top six leadership styles for women. You'll find an overview of each style, its pros and cons, strategies for putting it into practice, and additional readings.
Why develop leadership resources for women?
It is widely acknowledged by academics and industry leaders alike that there exist patterns of systemic cultural and social barriers for women in the workforce that have led to a significant gender wage gap and a gender gap in leadership. Those who study and criticize the absence of women and female-identifying individuals (femmes) from positions of power typically suggest a range of solutions to close this gap. These include strategies for developing a leadership identity, networking, seeking mentorship or sponsorship, engaging male allyship, pursuing leadership development programs, and “leaning in” – or “leaning out,” depending on one’s perspective and privilege. This project seeks to highlight how women can succeed when applying specific communication and relationship-building approaches that are associated with feminine leadership styles. It also contributes to the growing body of engaging and widely accessible digital resources that aim to help women lead and succeed.
YouTube star and comedienne Lilly Singh describes why a "seat at the table" isn't enough for women.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE GENDER GAP IN LEADERSHIP
Carolyn M. Cunningham
Heather M. Crandall
Alexa M. Dare
Colleen Ammerman
Sophie Caldecott
Zoë B. Cullen
Ricardo Perez Truglia
Robin J. Ely
Irene Padavic
Lisa DeFrank-Cole
Sherylle J. Tan
Herminia Ibarra
Otilia Obodaru
REFERENCES
Ammerman, C., & Groysberg, B. (2021, May-June). How to close the gender gap. Harvard Business Review, 99(3), 124–133.
Cullen, Z. B., & Perez-Truglia, R. (2022). The old boys' club: schmoozing and the gender gap [Working paper]. Harvard Business School. https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=57091
Cunningham, C. M., Crandall, H. M., & Dare, A. M. (2017). Gender, communication, and the leadership gap. Information Age Publishing.
DeFrank-Cole, L., & Tan, S. J. (2022). Women and leadership: Journey toward equity [eBook edition]. Sage.
Ely, R. J., & Padavic, I. (2020, May-June). What’s really holding women back? Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2020/03/whats-really-holding-women-back
Ghazi, R. (2022, September 12). Why the world needs more women in leadership. Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2022/09/12/why-the-world-needs-more-women-in-leadership/
Helgesen, S. (2017). Gender, communication, and the leadership gap. In C. M. Cunningham, H. M. Crandall, & A. M. Dare (Eds.), Gender, communication, and the leadership gap (pp. 3-11). Information Age Publishing.
Ibarra, H., & Obodaru, O. (2009, January). Women and the vision thing. Harvard Business Review. https://hbr.org/2009/01/women-and-the-vision-thing
McKenzie, K. L., & Halstead, T. (2017). Narrowing the leadership gap: Communication strategies to combat microaggressions. In C. M. Cunningham, H. M. Crandall, & A. M. Dare (Eds.) Gender, communication, and the leadership gap (pp. 29-45). Information Age Publishing.
Netflix (2020, April 17). Explained | Why women are paid less | FULL EPISODE | Netflix [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/hP8dLUxBfsU
Orr, M. (2019). Lean out. Harper Collins Leadership.
Sandberg, S. (2013). Lean in: Women, work, and the will to lead [eBook edition]. Alfred A. Knopf.
Singh, L. (2021). "A seat at the table" isn't the solution for gender equity [Video]. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/lilly_singh_a_seat_at_the_table_isn_t_the_solution_for_gender_equity
Unites States Census Bureau. (March 14). Equal pay day: March 14, 2023. https://www.census.gov/newsroom/stories/equal-pay-day.html
Vox (2016, September 7). What people miss about the gender wage gap [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/13XU4fMlN3w
Wood, J. T. (2005). Gendered lives: Communication, gender, & culture. Thompson Wadsworth.