Reaching senior leadership is often portrayed as the finish line. But it’s also the beginning of a new, and often more difficult, chapter. The title may come with power, but it also brings intense scrutiny, fewer allies, and an even smaller margin for error.
Senior leadership is a time when emotional intelligence, a strong support network, and belief in your own insight and wisdom are critical. At the top, women often face the paradox of visibility: You are highly visible, but at the same time, you are often feeling isolated. Your leadership is evaluated differently and often brings out bias amongst others. Your decisions carry more risk, and your mistakes may be used to reinforce stereotypes and aid confirmation bias.
Sometimes, the glass cliff is at work. This is when women are placed into leadership during crises or parachuted into high-stakes roles with limited support. Add to that the persistent lack of peer-level networks. The higher you go, the fewer women there are. Isolation can be a serious problem, leading to second-guessing and burnout.
However, this is a time when senior women can thrive, inspire others, and advocate for things that are important to you. It’s a time when your years of experience heighten your skills and strategic sensibilities, and a time when you can make an impact with your strategic vision. Equally important, it’s a time when you can mentor and be a sponsor for others whom you see as talented and potentially successful in your organization.
Leadership Checklist, Senior Leadership
Lead with Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize and adapt to the emotions you see and hear around you. Research by Daniel Goleman and others shows that emotional intelligence is a stronger predictor of leadership success than IQ (Harvard Business Review). Not a surprise since someone with EQ can understand what others are experiencing and can integrate that into everyday interactions.
Hone Active Listening Skills
At the senior level, listening is a crucial, strategic skill. By giving others your full attention and asking thoughtful follow-up questions, you uncover insights that drive better decisions and build deeper trust. It’s more than technique; it’s actually hearing what others are telling you and considering their thoughts carefully.
Protect Time for Strategic Thinking
Senior roles are filled with noise and people needing your attention all the time. Guard your calendar to include space for contemplation and visioning. Block time to reflect on industry trends, business shifts, and your team’s evolving needs. This is essential for you and for your organization.
Sponsor Emerging Talent
It’s your turn to be a sponsor, as well as a mentor. Use your platform to elevate people whose voices aren’t heard as loudly as yours. Sponsorship is one of the most powerful ways to build a legacy and create systemic change.
Model Work-Life Balance
In order to sustain your leadership in healthy ways, you need to have time to rest and replenish yourself. Demonstrate that it’s possible to succeed without sacrificing health or family. Normalize boundary-setting, recovery, and real-time off.
Develop Colleagues You Can Communicate With
Being at the top shouldn’t mean that you are alone. It’s important to build a circle of trusted advisors and colleagues, both inside and outside your organization, who can help you think, strategize, grow, and decompress. It’s invaluable to have a peer to mentor you.
Organizations must recognize that supporting senior women and promoting them is a way of ensuring continually strong leaders in the organization. Women leaders, like men, need executive coaching, peer forums, and support during high-risk transitions. When women leaders thrive, you challenge assumptions, shape cultures, and rewrite the rules of what leadership looks like.
Are you at a different stage of your career? Check out the first and second parts of our Women in Leadership series.
