Celebrating Womanhood: I am Woman I am Paradox

That which is yielding conquers the strong and the soft overcomes that which is hard--Lao Tse

There is a new woman out there. You can recognize her if you look carefully. She’s the one who blithely embraces the typical man’s world with panache, style and a confidence that may daunt without being hostile. She has no motive in doing this except to be the best she can be. In truth, she exudes the apparently paradoxical qualities of compassion and strength. She looks you directly in the eye, is openly vulnerable, sincerely human, yet ultimately powerful. She may intimidate lesser men.

Such a woman exudes a genuine self-esteem and warmth that is charismatic, and demonstrates quiet competence with humility. She is intelligent without the need to intimidate. She is a natural leader without being selfish or tyrannical. This is ultimately the power of woman: to lead with compassion. She is defining her world; not letting the world define her.

From Charisma to Consensus: Are You a Good Leader?

At the turn of the last century and on the heels of the vacillating leadership of Emperor Wilhelm II, the political and social theorist Max Weber forecast that if a “charismatic leader” didn’t emerge in his industrialized Germany “not summer’s bloom [would] lie ahead of us, but rather a polar night of icy darkness and hardness.” Well, he got more than he bargained for. From the chaos of War World I, emerged one of history’s most charismatic leaders: Adolf Hitler (watch what you wish for!). Before Hitler’s dictatorship, the Germans—indeed, the world—yearned for strong leadership; after Hitler they dreaded it. Scholars have long considered charisma, intelligence and a dominating character to be the key to effective leadership. Academics postulated that good leaders used their inborn talents to influence their followers by injecting them with enthusiasm and willpower, otherwise lacking; that a good leader had sufficient character and will to triumph over whatever reality they confronted by exercising their authority over others.