Gender in Leadership: Part 1
“Women are central to their cultures; womanhood is significant to the development and survival of any society” (Alfred &Nanton, 2009, p. 13). Through many centuries, women have been great leaders and they highly affected the nations with their impacts. One of those great women leaders was Mother Teresa.“Women are called to offer psychological support for those around them, including anxiety reduction and tension relief” (Alfred &Nanton, 2009, p. 13). Mother Teresa’s main mission on earth was to serve the poor and relieve their stress whatever their culture. This paper will address her leadership philosophy, personal characteristics, multicultural leadership challenges and lessons, and a proposal to increase the number of women in executive positions.
Mother Teresa was born in Albania on the 19th of August 1910 under the name of Agnes. She was Roman Catholic and in her early years she was fascinated by stories of the lives of missionaries and their services. By the age of 12 she was convinced that she should commit herself to a religious life. When she was 18 years old, on the 15th of August 1928, Agnes left her home to join the sisters of Loreto abbey in Ireland as a missionary. She learned the English language and arrived in India in 1929 to teach the school children near Himalayan Mountains. Agnes took her first religious vow as a nun on the 24th of May 1931 under the name of Teresa.
“Culture is made by humans, confirmed by others, conventionalized and passed on for younger people or newcomers to learn.” (Trompenaars & Hampden-Turner, 2012, p. 32). Teresa served in poor cultures and got affected by them. She had a lot of passion for these cultures and passed her passion to all nuns around her. She began her missionary work with the poor in 1948 and in the beginning of 1949 she was joined in her effort by a group of young women and laid the foundations to create a new religious community helping the poorest among the poor. She was a true servant leader.
Gender in Leadership Case Study
Fr. Tadros Hirmina
St.Peter Seal of the Martyrs, coptic orthodox church, West Palm Beach, Florida.
Palm Beach Atlantic University
LDR 5044-30W
Professor Carmela Nanton
Continued in March 2017…
References
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Maxwell, J. C. (2010). Everyone Communicates Few Connects. USA: Thomas Nelson.
Moodian (Ed.) (2008).Contemporary leadership & intercultural competence. Sage Publications. ISBB 9781412954532
Nanton, C.and Alfred, M. (2009). Social Capital and Women’s Supportsystems: Networking,
Learning and Surviving. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. ISBN 9780470537343
Northouse, P. G. (2013). Leadership Theory and Practice (6th ed.). New Delhi, India: SAGE.
Sire, J. (2009). The Universe Next Door (5th ed.). USA: InterVarsity Press.
Taylor, C. (1991). The Ethics of Authenticity. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Trompenaars, F and Hampden -Turner, C. (2012). Riding the Waves of Culture: Understanding Diversity in Global Business, (3rded). New York: McGraw Hill.
Wren, J. T. (1995). Leader’s Companion: Insights on Leadership Through the Ages. New York: The Free Press.
Leadership and Teamwork
Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.
Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12
A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.
Martin Luther King, Jr.
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