The Rise to the Top: Cultivating a Leadership Paradigm

There is a key group of powerful female CEO's in business, tech and marketing who have taken over companies in transition and spearheaded impressive business successes.These include tech visionaries like Marissa Mayer, marketing geniuses like Sheryl Sandberg and brilliant business powerhouses like Barbara Corcoran. These women, and many others like them, have led major companies through difficult transitional periods and taken their brands and businesses to the top.What are the key characteristics and habits that you can take away from their business success stories to grow your own business or brand and get to the next level of success?  Do these impressive women share a set of skills and talents that you too can tap as you lead your small business or major brand?From my many years in leading companies like Princess House and JAFRA, Inc, and being an executive at companies such as Clinique, Lancome, and BeautiControl Inc., I have observed many impressive women leaders. There is a set of qualities that I think are crucial for women in business whether they are overseeing transition and change in their companies or starting from scratch. These challenges might range from managing change that's unpopular, entering a new market, rebranding your company or business, or launching a new product.Outlined below are 5 practices that esteemed women leaders espouse--incorporate these practices in your business, and you will begin cultivating a leadership paradigm of your own:

5 Practices for Cultivating a Leadership Paradigm

1. Grow Into ChangeAny time you're looking to grow your business - a strategic directional change - one of the first things you must do is start with your staff. I like to call this “growing your people into change,” which means prepping internal employees as well as external stakeholders for big changes. External stakeholders might be independent business owners, partners, non-employee based sales forces, volunteers or brand ambassadors. Both audiences need to be tended to in terms of how they are prepared for change.2. Get ClarityHaving clarity about objectives, direction, and intentions is extremely important. If the outcome of an initiative is not what you expected or intended, you want to revisit the issue to get clarity about what your intent was to begin with. You need to be able to say that your direction and choices directly influence your objectives. For instance, does a plan to train your staff to be more digitally savvy really lead to bigger sales numbers? Or is another plan of action needed to reach that goal?3. Be FlexibleYou must learn to be agile - in management and decision making - especially when time is of the essence. Any time you're looking to take your business to a new place, you’re going up against an unknown. Although you are likely headed in the direction you really want to go you undoubtedly will find yourself in uncharted territory. If things don’t go smoothly, you have to be flexible and agile enough to quickly change course, just as if you were steering a ship away from harm.4. Understand The DisconnectsYou must be very clear about what you want your brand to look like in the short-term and long-term. One clear marker is to look at how you present your brand versus how others (such as your key audiences) perceive you. For instance, are you trying to create a luxury and prestige image when your main customers are earthy, wholesome all-Americans? If this is the case, then there is a disconnect that you have to fix. You will either want to clarify your business objectives or get a better understanding of your audience.5. Use Your Power of EmpathyMany women are naturally empathetic. It’s a different kind of power we bring to leadership. Our empathy makes us particularly good at sensing the tenor of different situations, including the impact decisions have on employees, colleagues, customers and other stakeholders.During difficult times such as when major changes are occurring, you may be tested to the brink by the feedback heard and felt from external or internal forces. My recommendation for any female CEO is to use your power of empathy to manage emotions in the board room, on a call, and in person to best present your point of view and reinforce your decisions. Leverage your ability to empathize to create meaningful relationships and more fully informed business decisions.One last tip – stay calm, cool and have fun! Lightheartedness and humor helps you navigate through any difficult situation and helps ensure you don't create create additional stress and tension for your team.Women too are powerful leaders who bring valuable skills (agility, empathy, adaptability) to leadership positions - but women’s leadership style may differ from the norm. Our unique skills might help explain why women-owned businesses have gone up 54 percent in the last 15 years.Fortunately, more business leaders, board members, shareholders, customers, and yes, more women are starting to understand that women's unique leadership style can be an invaluable asset to any company. The proof is in the brand success.

Let's hear from you. Which female business women have made an impression on you? What are the traits or tactics that make them successful, and how can you bring those into your own business? Tell us in the comments!

About the Author:Connie Tang is the first woman President and CEO of Princess House, a direct selling leader offering exclusive products for cooking, dining and entertaining. Named one of the 2014 Outstanding Top 50 Asian Americans in Business by the Asian American Business Development Center Inc., Conie has also been recognized as one of “The Most Influential Women in Direct Selling” by Direct Selling News two years in a row (2012 and 2013), she has been featured on The Today Show, CBS’ The Talk, Daily Buzz, CNN en Español, Univision, Telemundo, Entrepreneur Magazine, and the Los Angeles Business Journal. Connie has worked with Clinique, Lancome, JAFRA and BeautiControl Inc., and has given motivational and leadership presentations to numerous organizations including the White House Business Council. Princess House’s Stainless Steel cookware is respected for its quality, performance, design and lifetime guarantee. Check out Princess House on Facebook, Twitter or Pinterest.