Leading from the Feminine in Organisations

By Equilibrium Partners

It is early morning in June. The ground is wet and cobwebs stretch out between blades of grass, each thread covered with glimmering beads of dew. The atmosphere is completely still, with the distant hum of traffic far away. 

When I get to the field where the two horses are kept, I find Fudge, the male horse, standing next to Goldie, the female horse, who is lying down, resting in the morning sun. It is a glorious sight. Her golden yellow coat, glowing in the sunshine, contrasting with his dark brown colouring. Not even the flies seem to bother them. He is stood about 3 feet away from her, just close enough to be a support but not so close that he is encroaching on her personal space. She looks totally surrendered and at peace. 

As prey animals who depend on their herd for survival, if a horse was to lie down alone, this would put them in a vulnerable position, potentially opening themselves up to predators. Over 60 million years of evolution, they are hardwired to draw on each other to co-regulate; look out for one another; and to engage with social acts like mutual grooming or fly swishing for each other, stood nose to tail, side by side.

What Goldie and Fudge were doing that day is a brilliant example of the way in which the pure masculine and pure feminine energies can show up in perfect harmony. When we speak of the masculine though, we are not talking about men per se; we are referring to the archetypal energy of the masculine - purpose, clarity, focus and action. When we speak of the feminine’, similarly we are not referring to women. The quality of the feminine encapsulates intuition, feelings, the body, collaboration and creativity. If the masculine and feminine were synonymous with soul and spirit, soul would be the feminine and spirit would be the masculine. 

Of course both of these archetypal energies exist in all of us, both men and women. But we would argue that Western culture has conditioned us to prioritise the masculine (achieving, doing and performing) at the expense of the feminine (intuition, true creativity and emotional intelligence).

“When the pure feminine comes into right relations with the pure masculine, this is the catalyst for sustainable long term growth where we all benefit”

From an organisational perspective, what does this notion of the perfect balance between the masculine and the feminine look like? Of course we need the masculine aspects of the organisation to hold the form; to bring new products into the market place; to take clear action; to bring clarity around branding and take the marketing messages out into the world. Both men and women do this all the time and it is completely necessary. 

But imagine a world where the feminine was also included more fully. Where, for example, every team took 20 minutes to do a morning check-in with each other at least once a week. By this we mean, really, check in. How are you actually doing, what are you struggling with at home, where are you feeling vulnerable, or imperfect. By doing this in a skilled way, we get to bring our whole Selves to work. By allowing more of who we are, we start to feel more connected, seen, recognised and confident; able to bring our full creativity and personal genius into the work place. As Brene Brown says, “vulnerability is the birth place of creativity”! 

This idea aligns with Otto Scharma’s Theory U - a theory of learning and management that suggests that by letting go of our ego state, and sensing into the wider system or ‘field’, then we allow for greater clarity on our vision and intention. Put another way, by dropping into the feminine, the act that Scharma calls ‘Presencing’, this allows all the things that the masculine cares about - action, performance, production - to be in greater alignment between head, heart and hand. The key word here is allow; this is not about forcing or striving. This is about free will and flow. 

The purpose of our Women in Leadership Programme is to engage the potency of feminine intelligence in organisations. We help to evolve and advance female talent that results in greater creativity and productivity across the organisation. 

We run 1-year wrap-around programmes that guide women on their leadership journey. And we love to do this in groups. Evidence shows that there is a tipping point of 20%. So in a given group with mixed genders and ages, if there are is minimum of at least 20% of empowered strong female leaders, then this gives other women the confidence to also step forward. Just one token female will not have the desired effect. 

We also like to take our participants through an experiential learning journey. Evidence shows that we retain 20% of what we hear, but 80% of what we do. So rather than providing more models, techniques and questionnaires, we prefer to embody the learning through the use of personal encounters with horses. No riding is involved as this unique approach takes place purely on the ground, working at a nuanced and often subtle level, where participants get to try out different leadership styles and find what is truly authentic to them. This work is high impact, often with a slow release, that continues to unfold over months and even years.

For me this journey of finding an inner balance between the feminine and masculine has spanned over 14 years. It’s been a journey of loosing it and finding it again. The act of walking requires us to fall, and then catch ourselves. To learn to meditate is to learn to witness the mind’s distractions and gently bring our attention back over and over again. When we notice we have gone off track (and of course we do) we learn to bring ourselves back. The energetics of balance is always in flux. There is no one constant, but perhaps over time we become more skilled at finding our way home.