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Leadership Lessons: About Pants and Pedestals

Guest post by: Sylvia Lafair

Article Overview: This year as we celebrate women's achievements, we look at how the role of women in society have changed over the years.

Leadership Lessons: About Pants and Pedestals

This is a year for celebrating women’s achievements; and there are many. It was only 50 years ago that during the spring season college girls were panicking if graduation was only a month or so away and there was not a ring with a shiny bling on it. There was a sense of failure; no matter how great the school grade point average was, if there was not an announcement to the world that they were ready to get their “MRS” degree.

In researching my latest book “GUTSY: How Women Leaders Make Change” I have been reminded over and over that revolutions take time and that we need to tell the younger generations about that time long, long ago when women could not wear pants in public. These were the good old days when women spent time way up high on pedestals, and there was not much wiggle room up there. There was a constant sense of fear that they would fall from grace and tumble to the ground.

There was a lot of unspoken depression and disappointment as the boys were prodded to become the best men they could be while their sisters were taught to do the tending and caretaking no matter what their inner dreams and talents were.

Let’s get back to pants and pedestals. When I wrote “Don’t Bring It to Work” I wanted to address the power of how family and culture impact the choices we make. So often we learn to do “the right thing” merely to fit in with the common beliefs of the day.

Then when stress hits the hot button there is an explosion of anger at being forced to behave in ways that are out of alignment with who we really are. It has taken strong, gutsy women to stand up and say “it will change with me”.

Wearing slacks has been an equalizer. It has helped take women down from that pedestal, the place of fairy tales and limited reality.

When I do executive coaching I always ask for a sentence or two about how parents were remembered from the childhood perspective. If someone talks about his or her mother as a “saint” I start to worry. You see, it borders on impossible to live up to the memories of the perfect parent. Sooner or later there is a tendency to fail because that is so much easier than continuing to climb onto that tiny space allotted to the pedestal.

Now, as women dare to be spicy, sassy, and smart there is a much healthier atmosphere both at home and in the workplace. GUTSY women can be the real leaders in the present movement which is demanding authenticity at work. Funny how something as simple as wearing slacks can be such an important part of gender equity.

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Article Tags: CEO Inc, Creative Energy Options, gender equality, gender politics, GUTSY, personal growth, Sylvia Lafair, women achievements, Women leadership development, women transformation as leaders



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