At least twice daily (and significantly more during the Women's Leadership Series), I am asked how we (the Maine Women's Fund) define leadership. I can hear a friend jesting at this saying, "Well, let me put on my 'expert' hat for a moment." Joking aside, I do think that there is a common concern that we may only recognize leaders as those in positions of power (senior leadership, executive positions, "C-Suite", elected positions). This couldn't be further from the truth. We believe that leadership is as much about authority as it is about effectiveness and influence.

This is often the subtlety of social transformation. When we're leading it, we do so through our own individual actions, by acting boldly and taking the pack in a new direction. We may have been inspired by a book recommended by a peer. We may be influenced by our financial advisor. We may have been asked by a mentor or role model. Maybe we're in the pack, and we're making the decision that following the actions of those ahead is a better representation of our values then the path we're currently on.

Authority, influence and effectiveness are all important leadership contributions, and we are all likely to play in them at various times in our lives. These themes resonate for me this month. I've been blogging about them on E-Quality Matters and thinking about how to incorporate them into the next iteration of the Women's Leadership Series, which will kick off in September. (Can you believe that we're already designing that content?) This is also a key theme of the June 10 Leadership Luncheon, and how we lead on behalf of women and girls will be something we're all asked to consider. So while these themes are very prevalent, there is also a richness to imagining how each of us creates change for women and girls in Maine through our ordinary (and extraordinary) actions. It fills me with joy and anticipation!