7 Qualities of a woman leader: how to be successful

It’s an exciting time of opportunity for women. As a passionate and creative businesswoman myself, I’m always fascinated by the qualities of a woman leader: how to be successful. The women I coach in my health and body transformation programs are inspiring, ambitious women.

These women are focused and hard-working and have achieved so much with their careers, sometimes while raising families. The qualities of a woman leader are skills that any woman can work on.

A lot of times, we get overwhelmed by how much we have to handle every day and things like our health, sleep, and exercise can fall second to career advancement and suffer.

I’m here to tell you it doesn’t have to be this way! I and many women I know are rocking it in the boardroom and can still rock a bikini on vacation without a second thought.

Some of the traits of a successful woman at work and qualities that help you get to a healthy weight and feel AMAZING in your body are the same.

In this post, I’ll talk about:

The 7 qualities of a woman leader – how to be successful including,

• 3 psychological tricks you can use to build your mental (and physical) strength
• How to create a positive feedback loop to build your confidence
• How to set (and achieve) realistic goals in the workplace and weight loss
• Why a woman’s willingness to nurture is an asset at work, not a weakness

You can apply the characteristics of a businesswoman and the skills you already have to your weight-loss plan. Or you can develop them and WIN in both areas of your life. Here are 7 Qualities of a woman leader: how to be successful.

1. Qualities of a woman leader: strength

Strength of mind and body will both help you feel more on top of your game. A strong mind is essential when you’re up against the obstacles in a male-dominated business world.

Female leaders have to develop their mental strength in the face of setbacks, take risks, and learn from failure rather than be crushed by it. They also have to deal with stereotypes and backhanded remarks. (1)

Physical strength supports mental strength. When you’re exercising regularly and feeling strong and capable in your body, that feeling flows over into your mental perspective, too.

Some of the best methods for developing mental strength are getting enough quality sleep at night, and nourishing your body with low sugar, high protein foods.

Psychology today recommends these three things to help build mental strength. (2)

1. Identify things you’re grateful for – practicing gratitude can actually change your brain patterns to be more constructive.
2. Practice mindfulness – things like meditation or just taking a moment to notice what’s going on around you can keep you from thinking about past or future “what ifs”
3. Act as if you’re already there. Want to be happy and confident? Call a friend and spend time conversing. Want to be in good shape? Eat the way an in-shape person does. You’ll slowly turn into what you act like before you know it.

2. Traits of a successful woman: grit

Grit is the tenacity and ability to push through despite feeling discouraged or not seeing the results you want right away. This applies SO MUCH to work and your workout. (1)

It requires perseverance to follow through on your long-term goals even in the face of discouragement or monotony.

How do you develop grit? Focus on consistency in small actions that add up over time. The repetitive practicing of piano scales as a kid, thoroughly completing un-thrilling (but important) tasks at work, or choosing lentil salad over fried fish burger requires long-term vision and grit.

Practice!

3. Qualities of a woman leader: how to be successful through confidence

Confidence is a belief in your ability to succeed and it’s one of the pillar qualities of a woman leader. It’s the faith and trust that you can achieve what you want to achieve and be who you want to be. (3) One of the biggest female leadership qualities is also the confidence to make decisions and stick to them. 

This applies to business decisions, or the decision to eat anti-inflammatory foods that support your bodily and mental strength. This boosts confidence even more since it comes from knowing that you can do what you set out to do.

Making confident healthy food choices adds up to you feeling better and more confident in your body. It’s a positive feedback loop for growing confidence!

4. Characteristics of a courageous woman: innovation and creativity

Women tend to look and solve problems holistically. (5) That means we look at the entire picture to try and figure out if there are pieces that could fit together or be taken out for a solution.

You can apply this perspective to problems at work or deciding to lose weight with an anti-inflammatory diet that addresses several root causes of excess weight.

Find creative ways to make and bring healthy food to work. Have fun with it!

5. Qualities of a woman leader: willingness to nurture

Successful women in power nurture and mentor other women. (6) This is not a weakness, but a way for us to make the workplace more supportive and profitable.

Nurture yourself, too! It can be easy to get caught up in work and disregard your needs. Self-care through healthy food, good quality sleep, and exercising will help you look and feel more capable.

6. Traits of a successful woman: focus on goals

Having a plan and sticking to it is essential for work and for weight loss. If you never set a goal for yourself, it’s easier for excuses to pop up and take over. It’s only by laying down tracks that we know for sure when we get off track.

It’s also important to find a healthy balance between ambition and being realistic in goal-setting. While losing 20 pounds in two weeks would be convenient, it’s not healthy or reasonable. Set short-term goals and long-term goals.

Keeping your eye on the big goals while sticking to the little ones (like bringing a healthy lunch every day instead of eating out) will snowball into big results.

7. Qualities of a woman leader: how to be successful through the willingness to ask for help

Powerful women know it doesn’t hurt your reputation as a professional to ask for help. (7) Getting other perspectives can help solve a seemingly unsolvable problem.

The same goes for getting support with your weight-loss goals. When you’re feeling weak-kneed around a pan of brownies, call a friend for moral support. Join an accountability group, or accountability weight loss coaching to help you.

You CAN ask for help. It makes life, work, and weight-loss way more fun and doable.

What have been your most important attributes in your career success? What have you noticed are qualities of a woman leader? Please share in the comments!