“A kindhearted woman gains respect, but ruthless men gain only wealth.”
Proverbs 11:16
I have always admired the stories of how individuals climbed the ladder to success within their career, especially when I came across stories of women in leadership. I remember asking one particular VP how she arrived to success. She simply looked over her glasses at me and said, “well we arrived here by being tough and stern.” I immediately thought in my head, “by being mean.” No doubt the “we” she was referring to was the entire executive team of the company who happened to be all women and were some of the meanest people I had ever encountered in my entire career. The belittling and rudeness displayed by these women had seeped into the hearts of their employees and could be felt. The bad thing is they didn’t even notice it. I remember thinking, “If I made half the money they made, I would be the nicest person ever.”
Well, that was the issue! They were mean with money. The scripture in Proverbs 11:16 tells us that a kindhearted woman gains respect. The word respect simply means to admire. Now, there is nothing wrong with displaying strength as a leader, however, when someone encounters you and leaves wounded, that’s where the concern arrives. As women in leadership, we want to be admired for being a kindhearted and successful woman. A kindhearted woman may not lead with millions, but we choose to lead with kindness, which impacts and reaches into the hearts of people further than a few zeros behind a number can. After the money is gone, the words spoken to an individual will remain.
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