In today’s world, it is impossible to miss the conversation around female leaders in the workplace. Should we lean in, lean back or opt out? According to the Scandinavian experts on the future of leadership, Brainwells, we should focus on one thing – to lean in.
“We need more female leaders in the workplace, and the time is now. Women need to claim their spot at the top, in the executive team or the boardroom,” said Kristine Maudal, partner at Brainwells.
It should not be a question about if we should be climbing the corporate ladder or playing around on a jungle gym. As women, whatever our career path, we should be concerned with the challenges of leadership. The corporate world needs us. We should engage our employees in a meaningful way, be clear and concise with our direction and maximize results. Sounds easy?
Hardly.
That’s where Brainwells comes in. Brainwells is founded by Kristine Maudal and Even Fossen, both with essential corporate and 
entrepreneurial leadership experience at companies like Apple, Philips and Tech Data. Throughout their careers, they developed a passion for leadership and how to make leadership easier by breaking it down to a set of tools and methods leaders need to succeed in the future.
Maudal tells us that every leader they meet wants to be a good leader, a leader people respect and want to work for. But leaders also need to adapt to new knowledge. The corporate landscape is shifting and only leaning on personality or traditional leadership skills won’t make it.
“A leader today needs to know how to ensure engagement, effectively tap into the collective intelligence of their teams and secure collaborative efforts, while at the same time proving that this way of working has better results,” said Fossen.
Brainwells works internationally with ambitious executive teams and knows from experience that leaders today are more successful if they apply methods and processes that ensure involved leadership.
Brainwells approaches the changing corporate landscape in new and exciting ways. To be available to more leaders they have launched online training sessions where they share critical strategies for developing future leadership. This series will kick start a new set of leadership skills by helping people know and use the framework for future leadership, how to work more effectively and how to obtain better results, faster.
With the online training tools, Brainwells is at the forefront of the changing leadership landscape.
Brainwells FutureLeadershipNOW! – a 1 minute espresso shot from Brainwells on Vimeo.
“It’s a great honor to connect and work with ambitious like-minded leaders from all over the world – from Boston and Copenhagen, to Amsterdam and Tokyo,” said Maudal.
Today, Project Eve estimates that as many as 1/3 of American women are considering “opting out” of the workforce at some point, although 89% of women report that they would like to continue working. So, where is the disconnect?
Brainwells believes that the corporate world is at a critical point of change, and that many want to opt-out because they do not thrive in the corporate landscape of today. The key to solve the challenges starts with a different way of performing leadership. It might be called a more feminine approach to leadership because it requires building emotionally intelligent teams in a way we have not seen before. The solution to secure engagement at work lies in involvement, and most leaders need to learn how to better involve their teams. It’s about leading effectively, deftly and audaciously.
“Women can bring a lot to the leadership table,” Maudal said. “They are humble, yet strong, curious, yet determined, caring, ambitious and adept at multitasking.” Maudal said women’s leadership skills are a natural fit for tomorrow’s corporate culture and strategic planning.
In Gallup’s latest worldwide workforce study, only 13% of employees said that they are engaged at work. Brainwells aims to change that. And it starts with the leaders.
Maudal and Fossen believe that women are in a key position to capitalize on the changing corporate landscape. Women can make the most of this opportunity, “by showing up, by raising their hand and being visible,” Maudal said. “When it comes to leadership, the corporate world has never been so ready for a change, or needed a change so badly as we do today.”
Kristine Maudal and Even Fossen are also the authors of the blog Leadership.Courage.Fun. where they share weekly insights and tips for leaders and changemakers.
This post was provided with support from Brainwells. Brainwells is a Norwegian company working internationally with ambitious leaders and executive teams. With engaging blogs, online programs, workshops, and speeches they share their passion for involving leadership, creating emotional intelligent organizations, and helping leaders be fit for changing the corporate world.
Photo credits: 2014 Astrid Waller, Brainwells
