Self Empowering Tools For Women

Women have many natural talents, but all too often, we are discouraged from tapping into their own self empowering tools because they are thought to be unrelated to the needs of the business world. Women’s empowerment tools, those described as natural talents, can be very powerful to success in business.

Of course, women need to master technical business skills, and we are perfectly capable of doing so, but we already have an entirely different set of skills that make us natural leaders. By simply tapping into these skills and using them in a slightly different way, women can empower themselves to do anything and everything they want.

Communication Skills

Women are natural communicators, a skill that is vital for success. Have you ever noticed how a mother just knows  how important it is to talk to her children, using words and phrases that are appropriate for age and experience levels, so that each child can understand. This same skill, slightly adjusted, works perfectly in the business world.

For instance, a woman who is managing other people must know how to communicate with each person as an individual and in a manner that the other person can easily understand. Now look again at the previous paragraph  the same situation that occurs with mother and child also occurs with manager and employee.

Helen Fisher, author, The First Sex: The Natural Talents of Women and How They Are Changing the World, refers to this as a flair for language. Fisher describes the increasing need for the ability to communicate with written and spoken words. To quote her, “At talking, women have the edge.” Fisher describes how the female gender, even at very young ages “excel at… verbal fluency – rapidly finding appropriate words, phrases or sentences.” Fisher writes “Women are, on average, more articulate at saying what they say.” Women embracing this knowledge and trusting their natural language talent in communication will find their confidence building.

Teaching and Coaching

The nurturing characteristics that come so easily to most women make it possible to teach and coach children to their maximum potential. The right combination of encouragement, discipline, freedom and boundaries will lead to a child whose confidence and capabilities continue to grow throughout a lifetime.

Now think of that same situation in the business world. When you are in a position of leadership, you must do exactly the same things for your employees. The right combination of encouragement to achieve, correction when mistakes are made, freedom to pursue ideas, and boundaries within which to operate will empower you and empower others to grow and succeed.

Once again Helen Fisher’s research as presented in The First Sex states, “Women are, on average, more interested in cooperation, harmony, and connections – a network of support.” She further writes, “Women characteristically believe everyone can succeed in business; they take a win-win attitude in the office world.”

Multi-task and Multi-focus

Anyone who has ever been a mom, a Girl Scout leader, a teacher s aide, or a yard sale organizer has most likely mastered the art of multi-tasking and multi-focusing. These skills are vital for the empowered woman to excel in the workplace.

Here is a perfect example. You are a team leader tasked with oversight of two smaller groups. Each has its own needs, strengths, and weaknesses that differ from those of the other group. Your role as team leader is to provide the unique style of leadership that is appropriate for each group while staying up to date on the status and progress of their respective projects. Juggling people, reports, deadlines and all the necessary resources become critical to the success of the teams’ results.

Helen Fisher references that human’s evolution, even back to ancestral times, show a woman had to rear helpless and long- dependent babies under highly dangerous conditions demonstrating the need for multitasking even then. I lover her description, “In order to rear helpless infants, ancestral mothers needed to do many things at the same time. Watch for snakes. Listen for thunder. Taste for poison. Rock the sleepy. Distract the cranky. Instruct the curious. Soothe the fearful. Inspire the tardy. Feed the hungry. Mothers had to do countless daily chores while they stoked the fire, cooked the food and talked to friends.”

The Bottom Line

Women can be just as effective at business leadership and development as men can be, they just come to this realization and demonstrate their natural talents in a different way. Women do have their own self empowerment tools and just have to take the time to tap into them in powerful ways.

How about you? Which of your natural abilities can you use and empower yourself just by applying them in a new way? Think carefully and take notes for yourself. Make a list of your own self empowerment tools that, if viewed and acted upon from a slightly different perspective, empower you to soar to new heights.