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Following Female Leadership


English translation of the above:


The European RC Leaders’ Workshop took place in May 2020. Two of us had reserved a coach to take the participants to the railway station following the workshop. The reservation had been with a company that had transported us in 2018.


It turned out that [as it happened] the workshop could not take place because of COVID 19, so we cancelled the coach. 


The workshop organiser suggested that we listen to a representative of the coach company and ask if their drivers could stay employed during COVID. We decided that I would speak with the company, and a male ally would support me. 


We wanted the company representative to feel free to talk, so I did the following:


  • I recognized that besides the business aspects, there was a human aspect.
  • I appreciated the company for their past service and expressed my appreciation for the driver who had driven us at the previous workshop.
  • I emphasized that we felt connected to and had chosen the company because of our good experience with it.
  • I gave the company representative lots of space and let silences happen so that they could think about their answers.
  • I also asked open-ended questions in response to their answers.

The company representative was frank and offered more confidential information than we had expected. 


The call was good for me in the following ways:


  • As a woman, I took leadership, said what I needed to say, and expected my male ally to pay attention.
  • I showed empathy for the company and acknowledged that this was a painful situation both for us and for them.
  • My ally followed my thinking, was open to my observations, and listened while I talked to the company representative. I was able to both think and be a relaxed and attentive listener. My ally did not participate in the conversation. It was a relief to not be interrupted and to follow my own thinking. For him, it was a good exercise in following female leadership.

Julia

The Netherlands

Translated by Gábor Menkes

(Present Time 204, July 2021)


Last modified: 2022-12-25 10:17:04+00