“Leadership is hard as it involves people, attitudes, opinions, behaviours and emotions,” (A. Mukoki).
Being a leader is in itself a challenge especially being a woman as you may find yourself by default competing in a male dominant society. In leadership there are kinds of challenge one faces and need to be aware of:
1. External, coming from people and situations;
2. Internal, stemming from within the leader himself/herself; and
3. Those arising from the nature of the leadership role.
Leadership is usually the most difficult when the situation is changing or unstable. I believe as a woman of God in leadership, God had a special plan for my life and this is continuously being unveiled as I mature in my journey. In Scripture we learn that Esther was placed in a royal position, not just for the sake of filling a vacant position, but for a purpose and I believe that the same applies here. A woman in leadership must be prepared for the task and go against all odds. You do not have to prove yourself to anyone just be yourself, true and obedient to fulfil the purpose of the Master. “I would be TRUE, for there are those who trust me, I would be PURE, for there are those who care, I would be STRONG, for there is much to suffer, I would be BRAVE for there is much to dare.” (SASB Song 648)
With the historical pathways and barriers to women’s advancement into leadership positions in our country and the church, being a woman in leadership had its own challenges, including sometimes having labels attached to you when you take decisions which are contrary to the desires and wishes of some people you are leading, especially your male counterparts. In many cases, women are not encouraged to take on leadership roles as often as their male counterparts, contributing to an imbalance of who’s in power.
Hold onto the promise in Isaiah 45:2-3 “I will go before you and will level the mountains, I breakdown gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.”
The UN recognizes that gender parity within the organization is a ‘crucial first step to orienting the system to deliver on gender equality in education’ (United Nations, 2017). Even so, efforts to ensure equal representation in positions of authority have fallen short, with a negative relationship between seniority and inclusion of women.
I believe that Gender shouldn’t be a determining factor whether or not a person can be in a leadership position. A person’s leadership responsibilities should depend on their individual strengths and personality traits.
The professional challenges that women in leadership face are unique and often fueled by an unconscious gender bias in the church. As a woman of God in leadership, I can overcome these hurdles for myself through the grace of God and believing and trusting in the promise that ‘God will never leave nor forsake me’ and by developing practical strategies for leadership development.
Recognizing that in one’s leadership as a woman there will always be people on the team and in the working life who will be with you and against you, but remember you are the leader of both camps. You have to be an advocate of Equality, Peace and Justice.
- Male counterparts as much as they seem to be difficult are the ones that support and come alongside with advice and shared ways of working.
- Alleviating pressure. Acknowledge that you cannot do everything by yourself. Surround yourself with competent likeminded people with passion and vision for mission and positive change. The work environment has a lot of pressure built into it, therefore having a shared vision and clear ways of working alleviates the pressure.
- Accept constructive criticism for improvement and success in your leadership. The leadership style that seems to work for me is more democratic and encouraging coupled with a bit of task orientation. People need decisions from the leader therefore being decisive is important while recognizing and acknowledging the input of your team.
- Be persuasive and able to control your emotions. Never be shy or ashamed to seek advice when necessary and never stop learning.
- Most importantly in the business and demands required in the position, make sure you have personal time.
- You are accountable first and foremost to God, the people you lead as well as those who appointed you.
- Responsibilities might be shared, but being in leadership, you need to take the largest part of the burden. The people need a leader, they need to be led, guided and shepherded.
Encouragement to Women in Leadership
Be prepared to take risks for God.
Be prepared to take risks for God. Be and stay faithful to Him. The degree of difficulty is not an indication that God is not in it, in fact, the joy experienced outweighs the challenges. Trusting in God completely brought great unexpected rewards in my leadership. In Esther 8 we see a great team of both genders, Esther and Mordecai, working faithfully together, even to the point of risking their lives to save others. They were willing to give up everything, and God rewarded in proportion to their all-out commitment in ways they could not have foreseen (NIV Commentary). Reward for obedience was even better than expected, the people were so inspired by the faith of one woman and one man in equal measures that everything changed for that nation. Be an agent of change and follow God’s plan.
I would like to conclude with a Salvation Army chorus as an encouragement to women in Leadership:
“I have pleasure in His service more than all, where are now those doubts that hindered all His will from being done? When I saw my Lord, they vanished like a mist before the sea. No one now is dearer, daily I obey His call and I’ve pleasure in His service more than all.