By Linky van der Merwe

“My best successes came on the heels of failures.” -Barbara Corcoran

I like this quote from Barbara Corcoran, Founder of The Corcoran Group, New York’s largest real estate company. Barbara is an expert in the art of leading a team to success and in how to build a successful business.  It’s a big statement admitting to failure as well as success.

In the Project Management industry many women have the opportunity to take the lead on projects and in most instances they excel in this role. They care about their team members and derive satisfaction from leading a team to successful delivery.

But how do women become successful as leaders? If you look around, you will find women who are successful leaders in every industry, from government to business, entertainment, and sports. Fortunately, there are leadership skills commonly found among women in leadership positions, and they can be developed.

According to Susan C. Foster, an Executive Coach and author of ‘It’s Not Rocket Science: Leading, Inspiring, and Motivating Your Team to be Their Best’ there are 7 leadership skills that stand out.

#1 Effective Communications

The ability to communicate effectively is arguably the most important skill for a successful leader and it’s not limited to speaking, but also include listening, writing and being able to read and use nonverbal language.

Many women are naturally good communicators, making polishing this skill easier as long as it’s done deliberately.

#2 Strategic Vision

Successful women leaders are able to influence other leaders and effect organizational change.

Women need to trust their own voices and learn to ‘Lean in’ more by sitting at boardroom tables with decision makers and executives, as per Sheryl Sandberg’s book by the same name. They can excel at uniting teams behind a common vision.

#3 Creativity and Innovation

Today’s business environment is all about uncertainty and competition. Successful women leaders bring creativity and innovation to the challenges by bringing diversity, different working styles, and viewpoints to their teams.

#4 Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage our own emotions, and those of the people around us. Some key elements are self-awareness, motivation, empathy and social skills.

Although many emotional intelligent skills are part of how women are made up especially when also being mothers, these skills need to be consciously developed and practiced.

#5 Critical Thinking and Problem solving

Critical thinking to solve problems means asking vital questions around a problem, gathering and assessing relevant information, and coming to a well-reasoned conclusion. Successful women leaders think open-mindedly about their assumptions and possible consequences.

Women who are always running around wearing many different hats, have to make time for thinking and for being reflective so that better solutions to problems can be found.

#6 Confidence

Leadership is about having the confidence to make decisions based on a reasonable amount of data and then doing what you think is right.

While women may not necessarily be brought up to be overly confident, this is critical if you want to succeed in leadership positions – you need to have faith in your own ability to make good decisions.

#7 Trustworthiness

Successful women leaders are trustworthy, first and foremost. When you establish a climate of trust, your team commits to goals, communications improve, and ideas flow more freely.

Building good relationships cannot be overestimated, as the trust fostered in such relationships is what allows teams to excel and work better together.

Source: 7 Leadership Skills of Successful women

Some content was reposted and provided by Maryville Online Degree Programs.

More Leadership Resources

Maryville University Organisational Leadership site for Women – containing research and tools for women managers, executives and entrepreneurs, to develop your skills.

Resources for women in the business world– The information from Zen Business.com goes in-depth on females who have changed the entrepreneur world, how to go about starting a business, writing business plans, Business finances and many other resources.

Business and Development Guide for Women Entrepreneurs that includes a comprehensive list of business resources for women, including business plans, financing options, small business marketing resources and more.