The world needs courageous leaders—especially courageous women in leadership. Women have innate strengths and unique skills that foster cultures of inclusivity, respect and productivity. There needs to be more space at the table for female leaders and we want to encourage women leaders to take up that space.

In honor of Women’s History Month, we’ve launched our newest offering for Women in Leadership. We coach, celebrate and believe in women who want to make a positive and lasting difference in the lives of those they lead, love and serve. And, in this article, we’ll share five ways a courageous woman leads.

How to Lead as a Courageous Woman

1. Own Your Strengths. Don’t just look at the “traditional picture of a boss” that so many of us saw portrayed in movies while growing up and assume that’s how a leader behaves. And don’t necessarily even model yourself after previous managers you’ve known. Be yourself! The world needs your unique combination of skills and abilities. Though sometimes we need help figuring out what they are—and that’s why it’s so important to put in the time and effort into knowing yourself. A self-aware leader is a person of depth. If you understand your own motivations and how your past contributes to your present, you’ll be much more likely to understand those you lead and serve. Plus, a self-aware person is just so much more fun to be around! Put in the work now to figure out who you are—so you can be the best version of yourself both at work and at home.

2. Create a Safe Environment. Healthy relational dynamics require psychological safety. And relational dynamics play a huge part in any team. As a leader, you have the privilege to foster a collaborative, supportive environment within your team and organization where people feel open to not only share new ideas or raise concerns about the actual work they’re producing but also where they feel safe to share openly about their own lives, backgrounds and perspectives. Google released the findings of a study they performed in their company with more than 3,000 participants that revealed when team meetings started off by inviting people to share a risk they’d taken the previous week that psychological safety increased by 6%. This percentage may seem small, but it’s also a small thing to carve out a few minutes of a team meeting for sharing time.

3. Trust Your Intuition. World Economic Forum defines intuition as, “When your brain has made a significant match or mismatch, but this has not yet reached your conscious awareness.” Often your brain (and gut) knows more than you realize. That feeling you get is because you see a broken pattern or your brain has determined something makes sense. You must listen to those cues that your brain is sending your body. It’s wise to seek counsel and the perspectives of others in big decision-making, but don’t forget that your opinion counts too. Learn to trust your gut, value outside perspectives and move forward in confidence.

4. Bring Your Empathy to The Table. A study by Catalyst revealed that 76% of participants who received empathy from their leaders experienced higher levels of engagement. People are bringing their whole selves to work, and sometimes that includes the personal crisis they’re walking through. If you are able to put yourselves in the shoes of those you lead by showing compassionate leadership, your teammates will experience coaching from someone they believe is truly for them. Don’t dismiss the value that comes from an empathetic nature, despite what traditional workplace models have past taught, empathy does have a place in the workplace—a very important place.

5. Don’t Be Overly Humble. Humility is a beautiful trait but can quickly turn ugly if you excessively apologize—for things that shouldn’t require an apology. If you’ve offended someone and you’re sorry, then say it. But that’s really the only time you should use that word. If you over-apologize it can indicate low self-esteem and undermine your authority. At Building Champions, we talk about humble confidence and how it’s on a scale. If you slide too far one direction, you can become arrogant, but if you slide too far the other direction, you can seem insecure and unsure. There will be times when you swing the pendulum too far one way and then swing too far the opposite way so give yourself grace in those moments—even apologize, if needed—but don’t stop working to find that healthy middle place where you lead in confident humility.

We all have a unique set of strengths, skills and even weaknesses; it’s how we use them, develop them and grow in them that makes the difference. Our dynamic team of female coaches would love to walk alongside other women seeking to be that lasting difference in the lives of those they lead. Get in touch with us at Building Champions, we’re cheering for you and with you.