How feminine energy can help our workplace thrive.

How feminine energy can help our workplace thrive.

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A workplace culture of men and women suiting up and leaving their emotions at the door isn’t just outdated; it’s out of step with the future of work.

If companies want to be resilient and productive places to work, they need employees to unleash their feminine side. Leaders with grand visions aren’t enough anymore. They need to show up with vulnerability and empathy if we’re willing to trust them.

Women still aren’t on par with men when it comes to being hired into leadership roles, although it’s slowly increasing. According to the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2022, women’s share rose from 33.3% in 2016 to 36.9% last year.

But maybe we have ‘women in leadership’ all wrong. Masculine and feminine energy isn’t about men and women; they’re a way of being. Some people naturally gravitate to their masculine side, and some feel more comfortable relaxing into their feminine.

Why conform to a workplace culture where only certain traits are acceptable when you can join one which values the whole human spectrum? The latter companies will be attractive to new hires, engage existing ones, and will ultimately thrive.

Dominant masculinity in the workplace

Ruler of the left brain, masculine energy flourishes when taking action, solving problems and getting results. Empowered masculine energy is positive; at its best, masculinity is logical, strong, and direct. All these traits are valuable in the workplace.

The issue is that it’s domineering the energy in the workplace, skewing the balance too far towards the masculine and leaving little room for the feminine.

When left unchecked, we collectively lean too far into masculine energy and have workplace cultures that promote action, directness, and completion at the expense of all else, including people’s well-being. This relentless ‘doing’ is exhausting and creates a culture that’s over-competitive and uncooperative.

Meanwhile, it ignores equally valuable feminine traits like intuition, emotion, kindness, compassion, and communication.?

Bringing femininity to work

The female energy rules the right brain, which is compassionate, understanding and nurturing in connectedness.?At its best, feminine energy is creative, intuitive, and expressive, which would benefit any company culture.

Undervaluing feminine energy doesn’t just affect women who lean more comfortably into it. Many naturally compassionate and empathetic men stifle this in the office for fear of being perceived as weak.?

Most organisations cherish creativity and innovation, which are born from feminine energy. To foster more open-minded thinking and invent new solutions, we should encourage teams to dip into their feminine power.

Feminine energy is also naturally concerned with the ‘we’ rather than the ‘I’. As I wrote in a previous article, relationships are the new bottom line of organisations.

Any department dealing with people, whether HR engaging employees or Marketing connecting with customers, would benefit from a strategic and intuitive approach or thinking from the ‘head and the heart’.

?With feminine energy naturally gravitating towards collaboration and connection, there’s certainly a business case for shifting to a culture that cultivates femininity.

It’s not me, it’s you

2022 was the year of the ‘Great Breakup’. Women want more from work and are leaving the workplace at a phenomenal rate to get it. According to the Women in the Workplace report from McKinsey & Company and Lean In, women aren’t just switching roles but are also considering downshifting and opting out of the workforce altogether. ?

I truly believe the big issue with imposter syndrome and women leaving the workplace is that they don’t feel they can be themselves, and their natural skills aren’t valued in the modern workplace.

Leadership programs designed for women create the impression that women must change who they are to fit in. If this is the case, why don’t we have male leadership courses that teach male leaders to be more compassionate and empathetic??

A workplace for everyone

Cooperation and connection can help create the results that organisations are seeking. Structure and objectives can be the containers within which creativity can thrive. Working with both masculine and feminine energies creates an environment that is connected, supportive, resilient, and spacious.

Everybody should be able to bring their whole selves to work. And no matter whether you lean more into your masculine or feminine, there should be courses to help ensure you’re in balance with both skill sets. We all have blind spots in our strengths and weaknesses.

So, when you next head to the office, don’t leave your feminine side at home. Expressing ourselves fully is good for us, the people around us and the companies we work for.?