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Chen Chunhua: Women Leaders Can Draw Strength from Idealism

Mar 17-2022   



The most daunting challenge for female managers in this age of digitization might have less to do with skills and more with mentality; said Prof. Chen Chunhua, Dean of BiMBA Business School, in an event on women’s leadership. Though confronted with difficulties and pressures unique to their gender, female managers were likely to gain more room for development by taking one step forward and keeping their mind open, she added.

 

The event was jointly organized by the NSD and Amazon China at Cheng Ze Garden on March 8th, the International Women’s Day. Prof. Chen noted that from 2011 to 2021, women’s share of boardroom seats had only edged up from 6% to 16%. When working with women entrepreneurs who participated in the training programs of Mulan Academy, part of the NSD that is dedicated to fostering women leadership, Prof. Chen discovered an impressive stock of leadership. But why women CEOs accounted for only 5% of the total? Prof. Chen said that perhaps it’s partly due to a dearth of opportunity provided by the society to women, and partly due to some women choosing to give up on moving up the corporate hierarchy.

 

Women, though, did harbor certain idiosyncrasies that could give them an advantage in the workplace in this digital era that valued technology, innovation, and collaboration, said Prof. Chen, citing research findings that women were twice more likely to be rated empathetic, helpful and committed than men in performance reviews. Peter Drucker seemed to have given women a vote of confidence when he remarked that the epoch was changing to better fit with the idiosyncrasies of women.

 

Prof. Chen advised women leaders to recognize that fostering leadership was a process of shaping oneself through continuous learning and pushing the boundary of personal potential. To become an outstanding leader, women should understand that what they took on was responsibilities and not a gender role, that one must persistently believe in her abilities to lead teams to solve problems, that one should train her critical thinking and be inclusive of different opinions, and that one must build and work with a true team that comprised great talents.

 

She continued to point out that women leaders could also improve themselves by viewing the world from multiple perspectives, acquiring a sense of happiness rooted in work-life balance, and follow their spiritual pursuit. In other words, as Marie Curie once said, one should seek out spiritual strength from an idealism that wouldn’t render us too proud of ourselves but could enabled us to place our hopes and dreams far above.

 

Chen Chunhua: Women Leaders Can Draw Strength from Idealism

Mar 17-2022   



The most daunting challenge for female managers in this age of digitization might have less to do with skills and more with mentality; said Prof. Chen Chunhua, Dean of BiMBA Business School, in an event on women’s leadership. Though confronted with difficulties and pressures unique to their gender, female managers were likely to gain more room for development by taking one step forward and keeping their mind open, she added.

 

The event was jointly organized by the NSD and Amazon China at Cheng Ze Garden on March 8th, the International Women’s Day. Prof. Chen noted that from 2011 to 2021, women’s share of boardroom seats had only edged up from 6% to 16%. When working with women entrepreneurs who participated in the training programs of Mulan Academy, part of the NSD that is dedicated to fostering women leadership, Prof. Chen discovered an impressive stock of leadership. But why women CEOs accounted for only 5% of the total? Prof. Chen said that perhaps it’s partly due to a dearth of opportunity provided by the society to women, and partly due to some women choosing to give up on moving up the corporate hierarchy.

 

Women, though, did harbor certain idiosyncrasies that could give them an advantage in the workplace in this digital era that valued technology, innovation, and collaboration, said Prof. Chen, citing research findings that women were twice more likely to be rated empathetic, helpful and committed than men in performance reviews. Peter Drucker seemed to have given women a vote of confidence when he remarked that the epoch was changing to better fit with the idiosyncrasies of women.

 

Prof. Chen advised women leaders to recognize that fostering leadership was a process of shaping oneself through continuous learning and pushing the boundary of personal potential. To become an outstanding leader, women should understand that what they took on was responsibilities and not a gender role, that one must persistently believe in her abilities to lead teams to solve problems, that one should train her critical thinking and be inclusive of different opinions, and that one must build and work with a true team that comprised great talents.

 

She continued to point out that women leaders could also improve themselves by viewing the world from multiple perspectives, acquiring a sense of happiness rooted in work-life balance, and follow their spiritual pursuit. In other words, as Marie Curie once said, one should seek out spiritual strength from an idealism that wouldn’t render us too proud of ourselves but could enabled us to place our hopes and dreams far above.