What Makes a (Woman) Leader? - Institute for Women, Wellness & Work

Categories: Leadership & Career Advancement

Tags: emotional intelligence, Trending, women's leadership

Gina Messina, Ph.D.

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empathetic leadership

Empathy Makes You a Better Leader: Here are 3 Reasons Why

Empathy makes you a better leader. In general, women are perceived to be the most “empathetic” gender, and the science says there may be some truth to that perception. One study found that women are better at feeling others’ pain; female brains react more to images or videos of a person being in pain than male brains. It turns out that high empathy is a very positive thing for women in the workplace, especially if they’re in leadership positions. A recent report by Catalyst found that, especially in the post-pandemic workplace, empathy is a critical leadership skill that influences important factors like innovation and employee satisfaction. There’s no doubt about it: empathy is a necessary skill to have as a leader. Here are 3 benefits…

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Gina Messina, Ph.D. 01/17/2022

African American woman sitting at desk looking empowered as a leader

You are the Leader You’ve Been Waiting For

Do you think of yourself as a leader? You should, because whether you realize it or not, you are the leader you’ve been waiting for. We often think of leadership as a strictly innate quality that you either have or you don’t and live in a culture that strongly associates leadership qualities with male characteristics. In fact, for most of history, the most powerful leadership positions have been held by nearly all men. Although women have made great strides, we continue to face gender and intersectional inequities that seem to simply change shape rather than go away. Women’s work is never done and continues to go unrecognized and be undervalued. We all know what it is like to be “speaking while female,” “mansplained,” or finding…

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Gina Messina, Ph.D. 03/22/2022

strengthen your emotional intelligence

Strengthen Your Emotional Intelligence in 3 Steps

Choosing to learn and grow in your EI abilities offers many benefits including career advancement, higher job satisfaction, and salary increase.

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Gina Messina, Ph.D. 03/31/2021

The word gratitude painted on a street.

Leading with Gratitude

Gratitude is often overlooked as a critical aspect of leadership. We spend many of our waking hours at work and as a leader, you are responsible for creating a culture where both you and employees thrive. Gratitude cultivates the mental attitude and temperament necessary for effective leadership. It shifts the tone of the workplace so that employees feel appreciated and are inspired to be part of the big picture. Research demonstrates that gratitude offers physical, psychological, and social benefits: Gratitude leads to stronger immune systems, lower blood pressure, better sleep, and motivation to care for one’s self. Being thankful produces joy, happiness, optimism, and overall positive emotions; it also allows us to feel more alert and aware of our surroundings.Grounding in gratitude results in more generous,…

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Gina Messina, Ph.D. 07/12/2021

COVID-19 Proves We Need Women Leaders

Considering the many responses to COVID-19, a pattern has emerged where nations with women leaders have had a much higher success rate at battling the pandemic. In fact, countries led by women have six-times fewer confirmed deaths than other nations.

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Gina Messina, Ph.D. 10/06/2020