All Women Can Be Successful Leaders in Any Situation, Say Former Marine Officers By Whitney Hopler
Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch, both former U.S. Marine Corps officers, say that all women can be successful leaders in any situation. Morgan and Lynch, authors of the best-selling book Leading from the Front: No Excuse Leadership Tactics for Women (McGraw-Hill, 2006), emphasize that leadership is about who women are (rather than just what they do) as they speak to clients across the United States through their company Lead Star (www.leadingfromthefront.com). Here, they offer some insights on women’s leadership.
Why do you think some women don’t think of themselves as leaders?
Many women believe that "leader" is a title that is bestowed upon them, rather than a title that you can take and own for yourself. Many women also believe that you can only be a leader if you’re a manager. This is a popular misconception. However, we learned a unique definition of leadership: a leader is someone who influences outcomes and inspires others. As women we do these two things everyday in the variety of roles that we fill – from mother, to daughter, to friend, volunteer and employee.
You define a leader as someone who influences outcomes and inspires others. How does that differ from the more narrow way leadership is sometimes presented in our society? Why is it important for women to broaden their perspective on leadership?
There are many in our society who view leadership as if it has something to do with power, prestige, or the trappings of a fancy job title. Of course, these views of leadership couldn’t be further from the truth. Once women, and even men for that matter, broaden their perspective on leadership, they recognize that leadership skills will allow them to become more effective, efficient and balanced. When women dedicate themselves to becoming stronger leaders, they realize that they’re in much more control of their circumstances (and less at the mercy of life’s circumstances).
Why did you decide to start Lead Star?
A: When we left the Marine Corps and started working in the private sector, we quickly realized that many of the leadership lessons we learned in uniform had relevance in our new careers. We also found ourselves (for the first time in a long time) working with women. Out of 180,000 Marines only 1,000 are female officers. So, with that in mind, working in this "new environment" we were surprised that so many of our female colleagues (in particular) had never really viewed themselves as leaders. This was despite the fact that they were great communicators, technically capable and solid performers. We knew that if they realized their leadership potential, they’d achieve even greater success. Leadership skills are the missing link that ties together your character, performance and talents.
We saw the need to share military leadership best practices with women because women don’t look to the Marine Corps for leadership inspiration. We knew there’d be a lot of synergy by bridging the gap between these two, very unique audiences.
What was a key experience you had in the United States Marine Corps that helped you value the importance of leadership skills?
We both had managerial responsibilities at a very early stage in our Marine Corps career. At the age of 22, we both found ourselves responsible for 50 Marines. While we were both college graduates, we knew we needed more than an education to be credible in the eyes of our troops. The Marine Corps taught us in our early stages of our careers that in order to earn respect, we had to be leaders. The Corps then provided us with a leadership curriculum that would allow us to become authentic, seek responsibility, be decisive, and be servant leaders. These skills allowed us to approach leadership with confidence, as well as to be good commanders for our Marines.
Based on your conversations with the women you help across the United States, what are the most common leadership challenges they face? How do you try to help them overcome those challenges?
One of the most common leadership challenges women face is their desire to be liked (versus trying to earn respect). In their pursuit of affirmation, they often find themselves shifting their personalities to try and fit in, or taking on a promotion and altering their managerial styles. Both common mistakes can be disastrous.
As a leader, it’s critical to be authentic. You should never deprive those around you of your true personality. When you do, you quickly stop earning respect. Your credibility and reputation are then damaged. Ultimately, you have a very difficult time influencing outcomes and inspiring others.
As a leader, you have to start by earning respect – respect through your hard work, performance level, and character. With all of those in tact, you’ll then – 9 times out of 10 – be liked, too.
Being a leader can be a lonely place. As a leader, you’ll oftentimes have to make unpopular decisions, or you’ll have to hold people accountable to a certain level of performance. These things can be difficult. But in the long run, you’ll earn the respect necessary to get the job done.
Women have so many different roles to fill in their lives – from employee (or employer), volunteer, and neighbor, to wife, mother, and friend. How can fulfilling their leadership potential empower them to better integrate the various aspects of their lives and effectively balance their time and energy?
| One of the key themes to our leadership message is that leaders are decisive. Sometimes a decision that women have to make is saying "no." "No" is often the decision that allows us to live a life in balance. As women, we know that we can do anything – but we have to recognize that we can’t do everything. We oftentimes have to say "no" to additional opportunities that we can’t commit to. It’s important to lead a life in balance and in order to do so, we can’t over-commit and under-deliver. As leaders, we constantly have to assess our workload and our priorities. We have to be in tune with all of our worlds to see if we’re in balance. If we’re not, then we need to take action and make decisions to get us back in control of our surroundings. |
Women often feel pressure to try to please other people, but in the process, they can lose sight of their own goals. What are some ways that developing leadership skills can help women take back control of their lives from others?
It’s easy to fall into the trap when you feel as if your life isn’t your own. It can also be incredibly challenging to pull yourself out of a rut and regain control of your life.
It’s important for women to constantly assess their talents, strengths and character. Once women acknowledge that which makes them unique, they begin to grow more confident in their surroundings. Confidence also has to be accompanied by strong performance, too. We’re all at our best when we’re meeting and exceeding standards, meeting the needs of others, and being accountable.
If women feel controlled by their circumstances in life, how can leadership skills help them stop just reacting to life and start making proactive decisions that will move toward the lives they really want?
When women recognize that they are leaders, they also become aware that an important leadership quality is to have a vision. Leaders spend time reflecting on not just where they are in life, but also where they want to go. They see their future and they take steps each day to live the life they envision. For example, we’ve met women who’ve started off as administrative assistants in financial services firms who have attended evening courses to earn their degrees because they wanted to be financial planners. These are women who have goals and put plans in place to achieve them. Goal-oriented people are more focused and they have less time to worry about life’s distractions. This allows them to rise above everyday drama and focus on their success.
Some women mistakenly assume that they need to adopt a masculine leadership style to succeed. What are some uniquely feminine strengths that women can draw on to become strong leaders?
Women are natural caretakers. We always look to assess the needs of those around us. This leadership quality is fundamental to building strong teams. Surprisingly, we learned this important point in the Marine Corps. At our very early stages of training, our instructors shared with us that being a compassionate leader would allow us to promote camaraderie among our troops.
However, there are times that women go overboard with caretaking. It’s important to note that being a caretaker isn’t about coddling or enabling. When used appropriately, being a caretaker is about empowering others to become more effective. Oftentimes this means removing obstacles for a colleague or friend, or perhaps even offering suggestions on how to become more efficient.
01.10.2007
Print Version»
Tell a Friend»
All articles » Subscribe»
Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch, former Marine Corps Captains, recognize first-hand the value of a military leadership education. With a combined 18 years of military experience, they have had to face challenging circumstances leading dozens of troops in missions across three continents.
The two met during an excruciating training exercise at Quantico. They became fast friends while serving in the Corps as they both learned to lead in a highly competitive environment where 94% of their peers were men. The US Marine Corps remains the military branch with the fewest women - out of 180,000 warriors only 1000 are female officers.
After ending their military careers as decorated officers, Angie and Courtney went on to hold successful executive positions in civilian life. Angie launched her career as a pharmaceutical sales representative, where she was continuously recruited and promoted among leading corporations. Courtney led a successful sales career and then, upon completion of her law degree from William & Mary School of Law, practiced law at an international firm. Throughout each milestone they accomplished, their friendship continued as they each discovered their training and experiences as Marines essential in managing their work and personal lives.
It was this unique and parallel military background that brought them together in 2002 to embark on yet another challenging mission: to share their insights on leadership development with other professionals to help them become more confident, efficient and successful in their personal and professional lives. They began by writing their book, Leading from the Front (McGraw-Hill), which quickly rose to best-seller status. They also co-founded a consulting firm, Lead Star (www.leadingfromthefront.com).
Through Lead Star the duo is able to share leadership principles and values of one of the world’s greatest institutions: The United States Marine Corps. Through their keynote speeches and workshops, Angie and Courtney provide positive, relevant and energetic presentations empowering every level of employee through the use of leadership skills.
Angie and Courtney have trained thousands of professionals in Fortune 500 corporations, organizations, and colleges and universities. Their clients include Wal-Mart, Merrill Lynch, Cisco Systems, Baylor College of Medicine, Raytheon, Uno’s Chicago Bar & Grill, SAIC and Baylor College of Medicine.
Their success has been recognized in Inc. Magazine, The New York Times, The Chicago Tribune and Fast Company. The women have also been featured guests on FOX & Friends, CBNC, and CNN. Courtney’s entrepreneurial success was awarded as she was the 2005 Stevie Award Winner for Best Entrepreneur. Angie’s leadership expertise has been highlighted by AOL, where she is an AOL Business Coach.
|
