Episode 54: What Great Leaders Do to Develop Female Talent | 12MinuteLeadership

In this final episode of the Empowering Female Leadership series, Elise explores an important question: What do great leaders do to develop female talent? While leadership development is important for everyone, men and women often experience confidence, visibility, opportunity, and advancement differently. As a result, effective development requires intentionality from both organizations and individuals.

In this episode, Elise discusses:

• Why confidence and capability are not the same thing
• How great leaders identify potential beyond visible assertiveness
• The role advocacy plays in leadership development and advancement
• Why stretch opportunities should come before confidence, not after
• How to recognize and leverage diverse leadership strengths
• The importance of creating environments where more voices are heard
• What female leaders can do to increase visibility and accelerate growth
• Why authentic leadership is more powerful than imitation

Whether you're developing talent within your organization or looking to grow as a leader yourself, this episode provides practical strategies for creating more opportunities, building confidence through action, and leading from your strengths. Listen now and share this episode with a leader who is committed to developing the next generation of female talent.

Transcript

Welcome And Series Setup

Speaker 0:02

Welcome to the 12 Minute Leadership Podcast, where in 12 minutes or less, I'll share small things that you can put into immediate practice that will make a big difference in your leadership effectiveness. I'm your host, Elise Boggs Morales, leadership professor, consultant, and coach. For the last 17 years, I have helped thousands of leaders level up their influence and achieve remarkable results. If you want to treat compliance for true commitment and create your dream team, you are in the right place. Get ready for a quick hit of practical wisdom to increase your team's engagement, inspire top performance, and retain your best talent. Ready to level up your influence and get better results? 12 minutes starts now. Hi everyone, Elise here. Welcome back to the podcast. Over the last two episodes, we've been talking about empowering female leadership. We started by discussing why capability doesn't always translate into confidence. Then we discussed why authentic leadership is more powerful than imitation, and how women can leverage their natural feminine strengths to lead with greater confidence and influence.

How Leaders Develop Female Talent

Speaker 1:19

Today, I want to shift the conversation to what great leaders do to develop female talent. Developing male talent is equally important, of course, but because men and women often experience leadership, confidence, visibility, and advancement differently, effective development requires intentionality. I also want to emphasize that development is always a shared responsibility between the developer and the one being developed. So in this episode, I'll share what great leaders do to cultivate female talent and what female leaders can do to maximize their own growth and opportunities along the way. Great leaders create environments where talent can thrive, and talented women have a role to play in stepping into opportunities when they arise. So here's what this looks like.

Look Past Confidence Signals

Speaker 2:12

First, great leaders look beyond confidence signals. One mistake I see organizations make is confusing confidence with capability. I touched on this in the first episode in this series, but it bears repeating. Sometimes leaders unconsciously equate leadership potential with speaking first, speaking often, self-promotion, and visible assertiveness. These are communication styles or sometimes personality traits, but they're not necessarily indicators of leadership potential or capability. Great leaders learn to evaluate things like judgment, influence, trust, execution, decision making, and the ability to bring others along. Some of the most capable leaders in an organization aren't always the loudest voices in the room. At the same time, it's important for female leaders to understand that visibility still matters. Many women have been told just work hard and your work will speak for itself. While performance absolutely matters, being memorable and visible matters too. That doesn't mean becoming someone you're not, but it may mean speaking earlier in meetings, sharing your perspective before you've perfected it, raising your hand for opportunities, and contributing even when you don't have every answer. Leaders can't recognize strengths they never get the chance to see.

Advocate And Create Visibility

Speaker 3:42

Number two, great leaders advocate for talent. Great leaders don't just identify talent, they advocate for it. They speak positively about talented people when opportunities arise. They recommend people for stretch assignments, they create visibility, they invite emerging leaders into important conversations and experiences. Potential alone isn't enough. It has to be seen. One of the most powerful things a leader can do is to use their influence to help others gain opportunities that they may not have had access to on their own. And here's what female leaders can do. Advocacy also starts with visibility. Many women work incredibly hard but remain largely invisible to decision makers. So ask yourself, who knows the value that I bring? Who sees my contributions? Who can speak to my strengths when I'm not in the room? This isn't about self-promotion. It's about ensuring your work and capabilities are visible enough to create opportunities. Leaders can't advocate for strengths they don't know exist.

Stretch Opportunities Before Ready

Speaker 4:52

Point number three, great leaders are developers and they create opportunities before someone feels ready. They stretch people. They don't wait for perfect confidence, they don't wait for someone to feel completely prepared. They recognize potential and provide opportunities that help people grow into bigger responsibilities. Many leadership opportunities are developmental, not rewards. And here's what female leaders can do as well. Stop waiting until you feel completely ready. I can't tell you how many talented women I've coached who waited until they felt 100% confident before raising their hand. The challenge is that leadership growth rarely works that way. Most of us become confident because we step into opportunities, not before. Instead of asking, am I completely ready? Try asking, Am I capable of learning this? These are very different questions and it reinforces a growth mindset, which is an essential leadership quality. And by the way, if you haven't read Mindset by Carol Dweck, I highly recommend it. Point number four,

Develop Strengths Without Making Clones

Speaker 6:00

great leaders recognize different leadership strengths. One of the best things leaders can do is recognize that effective leadership doesn't come in a single package. Not every leader influences the same way or communicates the same way or builds trust the same way. Great leaders develop people, not clones. The end goal can be the same, but the how can be accomplished in many different ways, even if it's different from how you go about it. And here's what female leaders can do. Trust your strengths. Many women downplay feminine strengths that are actually incredibly valuable. I've covered these qualities in previous episodes, qualities such as empathy, relationship building, collaboration, emotional intelligence, reading a room and bringing people together. These aren't secondary leadership skills. They are leadership skills. The goal isn't to become someone else, the goal is to become more intentional about using what already works. And

Build Rooms Where Voices Are Heard

Speaker 7:02

point number five, great leaders create environments where voices are heard. Great leaders pay attention to participation. They notice who speaks, who gets interrupted, whose ideas gain traction, and who gets invited into important conversations. They create environments where different perspectives can contribute. Better decisions often come from hearing more voices, not fewer. Be intentional about inviting your female leaders to contribute to discussions, lead meetings, etc., at least as much as their male counterparts. And here's what female leaders can do. Use your voice. For some of you, this may be a stretch, but it matters. Many women wait until they have the perfect idea, perfect answer, or perfect certainty before contributing. Meanwhile, the conversation moves on. Sometimes leadership means speaking before certainty arrives and not waiting to be called upon. You're not doing this recklessly, but courageously.

Shared Responsibility Recap

Speaker 8:04

As we close this series, I want to recap an important point. Developing female talent is not solely the responsibility of the organization. And advancing as a female leader is not solely the responsibility of the individual. It requires both. Leaders create opportunity. Women step into it. Leaders recognize diverse strengths. Women trust those strengths enough to use them. Leaders advocate for talent. Women make their talent visible. The most effective organizations don't just hire talented people, they create environments where talent can thrive and develop. And the most effective leaders don't try to become someone else. They become more intentional about who they already are. You can't connect with someone who's not authentic. So, I hope you enjoyed today's episode. Share it with another leader who needs it. I'll see you next time.

Share Subscribe And Next Steps

Speaker 9:07

Like what you heard on today's episode and want to go deeper? Subscribe to this podcast so you never miss an episode. You can also pick up my book, Lead Anyone, on Amazon. Then, go to my website to check out ways that we can support your leadership goals. From executive retreats to customized training and coaching, my team of experts will help you level up your leadership and accelerate your results. Go to www.eliseboggs.com for more info.