Jean Oelwang: Values That Were Considered Too Female Are Suddenly Vital

Jean Oelwang: Values That Were Considered Too Female Are Suddenly Vital HPFB.init();
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Jean OelwangCEO, Virgin Unite, the entrepreneurial foundation of the worldwide Virgin Group

GET UPDATES FROM Jean Oelwang   Like Values That Were Considered Too Female Are Suddenly Vital Posted: 02/06/2013 9:36 pm Follow   Women's Empowerment ,   Career & Money ,   Career & Money ,   Career & Money , Female Leaders , Women News
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I believe that women haven't been assuming more leadership positions in the world today because the systems we've created often do not place the right value on the strengths that women can bring to the table.

Fortunately, that's all set to change.

By the very nature of their role in society, women have evolved certain values that have not yet been fully celebrated within systems that focus on short term financial profits above all else.

A wise woman named Zinny Thabethe once said, "the world's most dangerous idea is that we are not all the same." Heeding her words, I realize that these values are ever-present in many men; I'm hesitant to draw broad distinctions between men and women.

So rather than classify them as male or female, I'll call them Gaia values. Here are three that tend to be prominent in many of the inspiring women I've had the good fortune to work with.

People matter -- capitalism started out with this premise, freeing people to make a living and pursue their dreams, but as greed fogged people's views on what really matters, the increasing lack of equity has led to unacceptable human suffering.

Fortunately, our newly connected world has now put the power back into people's hands. Leaders who put people and equity first will break through the glass ceiling hand in hand with the people they are leading.

Openness is the best policy -- as the world becomes more interconnected, this value will become more important. Honest dialogue will become the new power, the new success, the new sexy.

Collaboration is queen -- the fight for the top rung of the ladder is becoming irrelevant in the face of the issues and opportunities we face as a global community.

Those who join forces with others for far better outcomes will topple the ladders and build solid, equitable foundations for the emergence of a new way of living and doing business.
So women (and men) armed with these Gaia values are perfectly positioned to take on powerful leadership roles in this changing world order.

The future of successful business will incorporate these values and always do well by doing good. At Virgin Unite we've been calling this "Screwing Business as Usual." There has never been a better time and more critical need for women to embrace leadership roles and for all of us to embrace their Gaia.

This post was originally published on Business Insider.

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Post to Facebook. Post to Blogger. Post to Twitter. Post to WordPress. Post to TypePad. Post to Tumblr. Post to Yahoo! Blogger login: Blogger password: Select blog: refresh list Remember me: Wordpress host: Wordpress login: Wordpress password: Remember me: TypePad host: TypePad login: TypePad password: Select blog: refresh list Remember me: Tumblr login: Tumblr password: Remember me: Community Notice:  We've made some changes to our badge program, including the addition
of our newest badge: Community Curator. View AllFavorites Recency |  Popularity Jonathan L C1 Fans 58 minutes ago (12:18 AM)These are not new ideas.Jonathan_L_C: These are not new ideas.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Jonathan_L_C/values-that-were-consider_b_2635027_228157075.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… Cosa Nostradamus558 Fans 2 hours ago (11:27 PM)"You need relatively few males to make a species successful in terms of passing on genes which enable survival ..." So true. See the closing scene from "Dr. Strangelove."Cosa_Nostradamus: "You need relatively few males to make a species successfulhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Cosa_Nostradamus/values-that-were-consider_b_2635027_228149915.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… BilloBrillo224 Fans 2 hours ago (11:15 PM)If you want things done efficiently and rationally then it's the male qualities people should covet.BilloBrillo: If you want things done efficiently and rationally then it'shttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/BilloBrillo/values-that-were-consider_b_2635027_228147891.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… HUFFPOST COMMUNITY MODERATORMortOnce I thought I was wrong, but I was mistaken.530 Fans   2 hours ago (11:14 PM)The folks at Virgin Unite are making a sacrifice for the rest of us.Mort: The folks at Virgin Unite are making a sacrifice forhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Mort/values-that-were-consider_b_2635027_228147813.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… Seppowatcher54 Fans 3 hours ago (10:30 PM)The most dangerous idea is that we are not all the same?

I would have thought that was obviously true, what is dangerous about it?

There are differences between men and women. Like nearly every other species, females are designed to carry and raise children, males are designed to fight and kill other males for the priviledge of reproducing.

Having a wide variation in males is a fabulous successful evolutionary strategy nature has adopted. While the is almost no difference in the mean between men and women, the distribution curve is much flatter for men; there are more high and low capacity men than women who are closer to the mean. You need relatively few males to make a species successful in terms of passing on genes which enable survival - so nature can afford to play games with males. It would be an incredibly risky strategy for gaia to mess around with female to the same extent.

The differences are based on trade-offs, neither men nor women are better than each other overall. As a whole women are better at close emotional bonds than men are, but men are generally better at maintaining a wide but shallow circle of aquaintences - which might explain why while women start up more small businesses and organisations than men, men tend to be the ones who grow them into very large organisations.

The interesting thing is why did our societies become patriachal, most hunter gatherer societies are pretty egalitarian.Seppowatcher: The most dangerous idea is that we are not allhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/Seppowatcher/values-that-were-consider_b_2635027_228140056.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments… artleadsLet's have a national retreat.681 Fans 3 hours ago (10:29 PM)A good place to begin might be here:

http://www.onebillionrising.org/page/event/search_simple?source=BSDAds_GoogleSearch_V-%20Day%202013-%20Search-%20Branded_One%20Billion%20Rising_one%20billion%20rising_Broad_24490832823&gclid=CMr54LPEorUCFeZFMgoduC0AqA

Then while folks are fired up, they can follow up with this:

http://world.350.org/maine/forward-on-climate/

Rape and pillage of the planet is not woman's contribution to society.artleads: A good place to begin might be here: http://www.onebillionrising.org/page/event/search_simple?source=BSDAds_GoogleSearch_V-%20Day%202013-%20Search-%20Branded_One%20Billion%20Rising_one%20billion%20rising_Broad_24490832823&gclid=CMr54LPEorUCFeZFMgoduC0AqA Thenhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/social/artleads/values-that-were-consider_b_2635027_228139858.htmlHistory |Permalink |Share itThis comment has been down-ranked into oblivion. View comment You have not right to carry out this operation or Error this operation. Loading comments…    new comment(s) on this entry — Click to refreshLoading comments… Most Popular Baby Is Fast Asleep, Until... What Really Caused 'Little House' Sister Mary's Blindness? 7 Celebrity Husbands Who Took Their Wives' Last Names WATCH: What I Learned From Cheating On My Husband LOOK: Parents Never Expected To Find This On Their Receipt Why Working Families Could Be Better Off In Sweden WATCH: Sophia Grace And Rosie Cover Taylor Swift 7 Healthy Foods That Fight Stress 10 Scary Things Stress Can Do To Your Body Another 'Real Housewives' Divorce Pizza Hut Unveils 'Secret' New Dish Tricia Lost 100 Pounds: 'Most People Didn't Even See Me' WATCH: You Lost The Super Bowl, But At Least You Get Free Pudding Free IHOP Pancakes! Unfaithful? 5 Possible Reasons You Cheat 6 Reasons Newborns Are A Piece Of Cake -- The Second Time Around 'I Was A Bad Wife' Danielle Nierenberg 10 Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill While Eating Healthier Vickery Eckhoff Five Reasons Why Burger King's Horse Meat Scandal Could Happen Here Joyce McFadden 3 Things Your Little Girl Needs From You That You May Not Realize Follow HuffPost Email Facebook Twitter Google Plus RSS Mobile HuffPost Daily Brief Women Get top stories and blogs posts emailed to you each day.

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