The Professional Female Shift

Women globally represent 70% of the buying decisions around the world, according to Indra Nooyi, the CEO of PepsiCo. There is a dramatic shift happening among women in the world which is impacting what happens everywhere from large corporate organizations to local non-profits. Since the recession, we see the importance of humanity being incorporated into advertizing, business, and the executive role.

Nooyi believes that leaders must balance their IQ with their EQ – or emotional intelligence to be effective. The EQ factor empowers women with an advantage to relate directly to their colleagues and customers because they can “…bring their whole selves to work,” according to Nooyi. This combination of empathy, active listening, strength, resilience, and ambition will serve women leaders well.

Sadly, only 12 women hold CEO positions at Fortune 500 companies at this time but the tide is turning and women stand poised to assume more leadership roles. Nooyi believes that women leaders have an advantage over their male counterparts because they can add humanity to a position and nurture without losing effectiveness.

At a recent conference, Nooyi shared her 5 C’s of Effective Leadership which we can all learn from.

Competency – stand out from the pack and be a lifelong learner. Remain ahead and stay abreast in your field.

Courage and Confidence – speak out. Establish your knowledge base and be confident as a leader.

Communication – over-invest in written and oral communication.  Leaders constantly need to motivate their troops.

Consistency – remaining steady, reliable, and determined allows for credibility and a baseline to measure your success and failures.

Compass – integrity is critical in leadership.