An Interview with Liz Bloomfield

Written by Liz Bloomfield, Executive Director, Ripple Effect Images

1. Why is “an approach to leadership that resonates with women” needed?

For decades, gender equality centered on sameness. Affirmative action and training courses offered women a ‘leg up’ to some imagined leadership holy grail, and encouraged them to become more masculine in their approach to advance as leaders. Flawed assumptions about the ‘ideal leader’ must be addressed to meet current global challenges. A paradigm shift in leadership culture is relevant across the gender spectrum, but a critical starting point is identifying an approach to leadership that resonates with women.

The good news is that a lot is already working, and the Expedition is well-positioned to accelerate change by shining a light on what can be replicated. Over time, the people promoted into leadership roles will change because the results will speak for themselves.

2. Halfway through the Expedition what are you uncovering?

The Expedition is revealing wide-ranging ways in which effective leaders project strength without relying on physical or verbal dominance. Building influence by investing time in listening, understanding, and communicating with clarity that inspires confidence, leaving people feeling anything is possible. Effective leaders are equipped to identify in the moment when a situation requires power with, versus power over people, accepting that there is a time and place for both.  A willingness to be vulnerable can be particularly effective in building trust but is often misrepresented as weakness rather than strength, therefore problematic for those being judged against more traditional expectations of strong leadership.

Relinquishing control is another important factor emerging from the Expedition. Approaches to leadership that resonate with women appear to rely less on the control that comes with power, and more on the influence that arises from inspiring the confidence of others. Control is also relevant to the environments within which any new approach to leadership will ultimately have to prove effective.

To read more about Liz, click here