Unlocking the Metaphor of “Feminine Power” as a Leadership Directive for Diversity & Inclusion

We’ve all heard cryptic lines about “feminine power” saving the world.

What frustrated me from early on was that I needed to understand what that even meant for the power question I’m living out: how will I wield power?

I’ve struggled with this question my whole life, like Jacob wrestling with the Angel, demanding the Angel Bless him.

My hunch is you're also wrangling with this Angel of a question: how do I wield my power in such a way that I'm aligned with my values?

In my wrestling, decade after decade, as I live out how I play out power, going wrong again and again, ever failing forwards, I see myself maturing into a form of power that feels more and more aligned with my values and heart. In this way, the question of “Feminine Power” has blossomed into the biggest blessing. This is not just my story.

I'm hearing it reflected back at me in conversation after conversation with courageous women and men as we lay a rigorous ground for an intentional Leadership Practice.  This is a commitment to a way of being in values and the metaphoric value constellated by the very term, “Feminine.”

I’ve come to understand the Feminine as a metaphor for “related.” And I’ve come to understand “feminine power” as a metaphor for “related power.”

When I substitute the phrase, "feminine power will save the world" for "related power will save the world," that makes perfect sense to me.

I understand the larger conversation we're really in about feminine power is a global conversation that is profoundly about Diversity and Inclusion as related power, that all of us can get behind as a directive for conscious, just, and safe leadership.

I'd love to hear from you whether or not this discussion resonates. Leave your comments and stories below.