Exploring the Topic of Women in Leadership Using the Three-Piece Approach - Coursework Example

Introduction The issue of women in leadership is one of the most interesting topics in the sphere of leadership today. The reason for this is that for a long time women have been left out and discriminated against in positions of leadership with very few women make it to the positions of leadership after much struggle (Bono & Ilies, 2006). However, in the recent past, women have jumped from being spectators to important positions of leadership of power. For example, Ellen Johnson, the Liberian President, is a good example of how far women have come to gain popularity as the most preferable leaders of the people (Bono & Ilies, 2006). In this regard, the women have taken tremendous strides towards leadership positions now than ever before. The purpose of this paper is to explore the topic of women in leadership using the three piece approach and specifically referring to different women who have led and are still holding on as leaders in different capacities. The first approach will be to explore how Aung San Suu Kyi who played her purpose as a woman leader. The second approach will be to explore the risks associated with women leadership or the challenges women leaders have encountered in their pursuit of leadership such as lack of people’s trust which is driven mostly by cultural beliefs. The third approach will be to explore the issue of power struggle between and women because a majority of men do not like being under the power or leadership of a woman. Purpose It is imperative to note that a meaningful purpose is the central core of leadership. In this perspective, leaders must demonstrate clear and unshakable purposes in the manner in which leaders undertake their responsibilities. This should be accompanied by self-confidence and represented in what a leader values (Pedler et al, 2010). Aung San Suu Kyi is one of the women who have made significant milestones as a leader amid numerous struggles. She was born in 1945. Aung has held different leadership positions such as General Secretary and an opposition leader in Burma (Aslund & Anders, 2006). In the National League for Democracy where she sat as the general secretary, Aung was perceived as an important pillar of the league due to her visionary leadership capabilities (Judy, 2007). According to Gill (2006, p. 96) an effective leader is that who defines and communicates an attractive and meaningful vision of the future and the mission through which the vision can be pursued (Gill, p. 96). Gill observed that visionary leadership is paramount in any given setting were people are involved because a visionary leader helps people to see things from a wide perspective. For example, in the organizational setting, a visionary leader helps employees to perceive the organization in terms of “our organization” and not “her/his organization”. In the political setting, visionary leader helps people to see the wide perspective of the country ranging from “our country” to “our leadership”. This entails taking purpose in vision and creating a common purpose for all the people (Senge, 1990). As the official opposition leader in Burma Aung exhibited visionary leadership through her leadership qualities which helped to put the Burmese government in its toes in terms of accountability to public resources and expenditures (Aslund & Anders, 2006). She also championed for equal opportunities between women and men in terms of employment opportunities and sharing of educational resources as well as fighting for the marginalized groups such as the poor, the disabled and the old aged folks in the country (Irrawaddy, 2006). Her visionary leadership qualities enabled her to gain support of the majorly of the people because she was able to unite her purpose and her vision with the purpose and the visions of the Burmese people. . In the general election which was held in 1990, San Kyi had gained popularity and the trust of the people due to her 'positive leadership ideologies' which helped to better the lives of women and the marginalized segments of the society in Burma (Aslund & Anders, 2006). In the election, the National League for Democracy party headed and led by San Kyi garnered more than 55% of votes nationally as well as more than 80% of the parliament seats in the Burmese parliament (Aslund & Anders, 2006). Consequently, San Kyi became the popular leader in the nation and parliament with more than 390 seats out 485 seats in the Burmese parliament (Aslund & Anders, 2006). Amazingly, all these chains of winning and gains of trust and popularity as a leader happened while San Kyi had already been under house arrest. This served as a motivation, an inspiration and San Kyi was perceived as a role model in the political arena because her power as a leader did not originate from her struggle with men but from the people themselves. According to Gareth (1986) authority of leaders is only effective when legitimized and recognized by followers (Gareth, p 70). San Kyi’s leadership was legitimized by the people and her leadership power was evident even in her time of arrest. For more than 10 years San Kyi served a term under house arrest but has continued to gain mileage as the most popular political leader in Burma (Barbara, 2002). As a show of leadership might, San Kyi received numerous local and international awards such as Rafto Prize, the Jawaharlal Nehru Award, the Sakharov Prize, the Nobel Peace Prize, the Bolivar Prize Award (Barbara, 2002). In addition to the above awards, San Kyi emerged as one of the few foreign citizens to receive the prestige of being a honorary citizen in Canada a honour that only five people have so far been awarded by the Canadian government (Barbara, 2002). As a matter of fact, San Kyi is today regarded as the most influential and instrumental woman leader who has contributed immensely in the expansion of the democratic space in Burma (Judy, 2007). Risks In leadership perspective, leadership is defined as the occurrences which put a leader in a position that inhibits the leader from executing the required leadership responsibilities. In order to make a difference, a leader must in one way or the other encounter different risks which includes losses. Losses may result into system or mechanical failure or breakdown (Pedler et al., 2010). However, Greenleaf (1977) mentioned that true leadership “emerges from those whose primary motivation is a deep desire to help others”. In servant leadership, leaders functions as servants before functioning as leaders. Servant leaders are driven by a strong urge to serve other people which contrast with other types of leadership styles where leaders seek to fulfill their objectives before dealing with the needs of the followers (Greenleaf, 1970). This type of leadership style exposes leaders to numerous risks because the objective of the servant leader is to empathize, listen, persuade, and establish long lasting relationships with the followers which mean that servant leaders have got no ill-motives. However, this is used by opponents as the point of attack particularly when a servant leader is used to achieve a negative objective without prior knowledge of the opponents’ plans. Women leaders are mainly servant leaders and most of them are exposed to risks of being associated with negative deals and outcomes because they tend to submit to their followers without prior knowledge of the negative plans the opponents might plan against them. . The rise of women in leadership positions is not an easy journey. For example, in many Asian countries and some parts of African countries, a woman aspiring to be a leader is exposed to numerous risks of being rejected because it is hard to gain people’s trust. This is driven by the culture in these countries which does not give women room to rise into leadership positions. For instance, Megawati Sukarnoputri attempted to rise to leadership position in Indonesia but her attempt was shut down and criticized by the public for criticizing Suharto’s regime (Richard, 1998). Subsequently, she was barred from participating in any form of political connections or activities in Indonesia. Although, her fight as a woman leader led her to defying this ban, she has been in hiding for fear of public and the ruling regime. In the Filipines women have also been sidelined with and have failed to gain the trust of the people (Richard, 1998). Marcos Imelda is a good example after stepping down from the ballot after realizing that she would not garner enough votes to propel her into the presidential position. The reason for this is that it proved hard to gain the trust of the public in Filipines being a woman. Even women who have found their way into positions of leaderships have had it rough. For example, Benazir Bhuto had a rough time in Pakistan with almost all the member s of her family suffering due to her continued being in power as the country’s woman prime minister (Richard,1998). Although, in some situations leaders may choose to avoid risks by supporting even the worst policies agitated by the opponents. In other situations, the leader may be forced to live with risks. For example, Benazir Bhutto is a good example of a leader who lived with numerous risks surrioding her. Her brother was brutally murdered by people who wanted to send a clear sign that she should resign or else face the consequences of having all her family members annihilated. Still as the prime minister, Bhutto’s husband was jailed for corruption allegations which were also a clear sign to her that she was powerless as a woman prime minister in Pakistan (Richard, 1998). These and many more women in Asia have suffered immensely in their attempt to gain popularity and rise into leadership positions in cultures where women are regarded as inferior and second to men (Thomas, 2006). From the foregoing, it is evident that women are exposed to numerous risks such as lack of people’s trust, cultural hindrances and negative stereotypes which hinder them from rising into positions of leadership in different parts of the world. Power According to Pedler et al (2010) the ultimate leadership challenge is the use of power bestowed upon a leader. Power is the driving force that keeps things moving and thus power can be defined as “the ability to act or do, make things happen and get things done” (Pedler et al, 2010). Power struggle between women and men has been a problem because men perceive women as inadequate beings to lead them. In this regard, men do not like being under women not only in the political arena but also in the organizational setting. As seen above, numerous women have emerged in Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, Fillipines, Burma, India and Sri Lanka into different positions of leadership. However, the fear of men to be led and be under women has been a great hindrance to the rise of women into leadership positions (Thomas, 2006). Another good example is Yulia Tymoshenko. She was born in 1960 in Ukraine. Her struggle as the prime minister of Ukrainian government is evidence enough that men do not like being under women leadership. Tymonsheko had to withstand massive storms from President Yanukovych’s government with a hostile relationship between the president and Tymonsheko ensuing for better part of 2009 (Thomas, 2006). The hostile relationship between Tymoshenko and the president was perceived as the battle of power because the president was afraid that Tymonsheko would unearth numerous corrupt vices in his government. Tymoshenko has encountered numerous humiliating experiences in her political career. All these experiences were castigated and executed by men who felt that Tymoshenko as a woman did not deserve to be a leader. This is because men associate power and leadership to their masculine features and thus a woman who strives to rise into positions of power is regarded as an outlawed person. This is particularly true in cultures where women are only required to be submissive. However, in his analysis of the three dimensions of power Luke (2004) held that it involves focus on resources, focus on participation and processes and focus on values, ideologies and norms. These were qualities demonstrated by Tymoshenko. Her ego and determination was perceived as a threat to the male dominated field of politics. One such experience was a well planned accident which was aimed at assassinating Tymoshenko but she escaped unhurt (Aslund & Anders, 2006). Her administration as the prime minister of Ukraine was short lived because several men in her government such as her deputy Tomenko Mykola, Poroshenko Petro (Defense and Security Council head) who felt that Tymoshenko yielded too much power as a woman leader and thus they could not continue supporting her (Aslund & Anders, 2006). During the Russia-Georgia war in 2008 hundreds of accusations were levelled against Tymoshenko who chose to take a neutral position than support Russia or Georgia in the war (Aslund & Anders, 2006). Although, Tymoshenko’s struggle in power between men in the government is evident in the battles and immense struggles she has undergone as a woman leader, it is important to state that she managed to get back to power twice in a regime dominated by men who feared working under a woman. This was necessitated by her leadership approach. Tymonshenko demonstrated transformational leadership approach through idealized influence, inspirational motivation, intellectual stimulation and individual consideration (Gareth, 1986). Tymonshenko achieved this by transforming her followers in literal sense and enabling them to see their country in a different perspective than in their current approach (Gareth, 1986). This involved opening up people to new ideologies which would help build their country than the traditional ideologies which had been applied for many years (Gareth, 1986). Tymoshenko was also able to clarify her purpose thus making it clear for her followers or the people to understand the political path she was taking as well as the benefits and repercussions of such a political path (Gareth, 1986). Conclusion It is evident in the foregoing that the issue of women in leadership is a controversial issue not only in the political but also in the organizational setting. This paper has explored the various aspects related to women in leadership. The first aspect is the women who have achieved their purpose as leaders both in the political and business arena. The second aspects is the risks associated with women leadership such as lack of trust from the people particularly in cultures where women are regarded as inferior and second to men. The third aspect that has been explored in this paper is the power aspect which focuses on the fear of men being under a women’s leadership and the efforts made by men to oust females from senior positions of leadership. It is evident in the foregoing that the issue of women in leadership is a controversial issue in the political as we has explored the various aspects related to women in leadership. In the first aspect women who have a deep sense of personal purpose coupled with an unshakable self confidence in the ability to realize her purpose and make things happen in the political arena has been explored. The second aspects is the risks associated with women leadership such as lack of trust from the people particularly in cultures where women are regarded as inferior and second to men but still demonstrating willingness to take personal risks and make sacrifices in order to realize their vision. The third aspect that has been explored in this paper is the power aspect which focuses on the fear of men being under women’s leadership and the efforts made by men to oust females from senior positions of leadership. Evidence reveals that such women do everything in their power to help other people instead of thinking about themselves. Greenleaf (1977) reiterated that “such is the characteristic of the best leader”. References Aslund, M, & Anders, M. (2006). Revolution in Orange: The Origins of Ukraine's Democratic Breakthrough (Washington, DC). Barbara, V. (2002). The Lady: Aung San Suu Kyi: Nobel Laureate and Burma's Prisoner. Bass, B. & Bass, R. (2008). The Bass handbook of leadership: Theory, research, and managerial applications (4th ed.). (New York, Free Press). Bono J. & Ilies, R. (2006). Charisma, positive emotions and mood contagion. The Leadership Quarterly 17(4): pp. 317-334. Bunch ,C.(2011).Leadership Quotes.Available at: [Accessed: 15 March 2011] Cherry, K. (2008). 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