The Yin and Yang of Balanced Leadership

By Rebecca Shambaugh via Huffington Post
12/19/2012

The Chinese concept of Yin-Yang is a wonderful metaphor that beautifully illustrates a balanced, integrated approach to leadership. Yin-Yang describes seemingly opposite forces which are actually complementary and interdependent. In Western society, Yin-Yang is often referred to as “Yin and Yang” and brings to mind simple contrasts such as dark and light, male and female, logic and emotion. But Yin-Yang is much more than mere opposites. Rather, it represents the idea that the interaction of contradictory forces not only creates harmony, but also makes for a greater, more complete “whole.”

Although we may not recognize it, we often experience Yin and Yang in business. For example, we talk about the reality of budgets versus the possibility of innovation, or the advantage of adequate analysis versus the pressure of the window of opportunity. Our tendency is to see these as conflicting priorities or divergent goals, when in fact, the integration of these competing ideas will create a natural equilibrium where problems get solved and solutions benefit the greatest good.

Many cultures outside of the U.S. have grounded their leadership theories around the Yin-Yang concept, and perhaps it’s time for Western cultures to do the same. If so, what needs to be balanced and what exactly needs to be integrated in this new approach to leadership? It’s really pretty simple: gender intelligence.

Gender intelligence relates to the considerable differences in how men and women operate in the workplace — how they think, lead, communicate, act, react, problem solve, make decisions, negotiate and work together. Men tend to be more competitive, evidence based, results oriented and present focused. Women, on the other hand, tend to be more collaborative, intuitive, empathetic and future focused. Certainly, both men and women can and do possess the traits of both genders, but each gender is geared toward natural tendencies. Read full article>>