“Tomorrow’s leaders need: HEART, SOUL, BRAINS, COURAGE. True leaders create new leaders.”
I so love this Unicef advertising which caught my eye when walking through Davos during the WEF 2023. It perfectly sums up what is important for a leader to navigate successfully through these times of transformation, with so many challenges, a lot of change in high-speed time and more and more technology coming in and also disruption. And when we look at the rapidly growing Artificial Intelligence solutions, what is the key difference to human power? It’s our soul with its unique blueprint and individual gifts to serve the world. What a superpower we have here!
At the WEF 2023 events I was able to witness many leaders who are already representing what Unicef claims, who are authentic, open minded, and truly interested in people’s talent and welfare.
Here are some impressions and key statements I wanted to share with you from the fabulous
Equality Lounge (The Female Quotient) and #EqualityMoonshot (World Woman Foundation):
“Most important leadership quality for me is authenticity.” (Chuck Robbins / Chair and CEO Cisco)
“Care about your people first – the “S” in ESG. Share – Pay parity. Listen to your people.
Talent is leaving the company when they do not feel connected to the culture.”
(Francine Katsoudas / Executive VP and Chief People, Policy & Purpose Officer, Cisco)
“Applicants from Generation C also asking about the opportunity to do Volunteer work.
It’s already a very important topic.” (D. Steve Boland, Chief Admin. Officer, Bank of America)
And I was very impressed by the powerful ladies of the Middle-East Panel at the EqualityMoonshot which gave us valuable insights to their business life and how to deal with cultural challenges and also brought up the term “Gender-harmony”.
Key statements from the “Inclusive Innovation, Workforce Development EqualityMoonshot”
- Put the human in the center. Do not separate people in different groups (e.g. LGTB, gender, etc.). Don’t put people in one box. It’s not only one category people do present.
- Focus on the solutions not the issues and don’t give up to reach your goals.
- Use your imagination. Dream the world you want to live in (Martin Luther King)
- Listen to other women and their stories and although you might not understand, show respect.
- Share your personal stories. Every story is a data point which helps to make better decisions. No one in a company wants to make bad decisions.
- When you join a board as female leader, see it as your responsibility to bring more women in.
Final conclusion: there is incredible female leadership power existing which is not seen enough in the world and so much talent who deserves more attention and support. Thank you so much:
ShelleyZalis, CEO, The Female Quotient and organiser of the “Equality Lounge® Davos” and the team of the World Woman Foundation Initiative to have kicked off the World Woman Davos Agenda and #EqualityMoonshot with Global leaders of 30+ countries and 450 delegates.
Further information about the events and the organisations and initiatives you find here:
Website: https://www.thefemalequotient.com/
