Lessons in Leadership: How Women-Led Teams Thrive Through Collective Strength
As someone who has worked in and with many organizations and has been led by men and women alike, I have noticed that there are significant differences in leadership styles and company morale that seem to trickle down from the top. Among these organizations, those with mostly or wholly women-led leadership teams have been especially unique. For the past several years, I have been lucky to work with Trusty Oak under the leadership of founder Amber L. Gray.
Inclusivity
Women-led teams tend to attract diversity, whether it’s a focus or not. I think that part of it is the knowledge that women are often overlooked or held back in many working fields. Amber has been especially good at attracting diversity due to her openness about who she is and her willingness to accept and empathize with people, regardless of how similar or different they are.
The Trusty Oak environment includes everyone, regardless of gender, pronouns, sexuality, age, parental status, or race. As long as you can be professional when it counts, work hard, have integrity, and are excited to serve leaders (our clients), the Trusty Oak leadership team will welcome you with open arms (and hearts!). This trickles down throughout the freelance organization.
Communication is a great way to show inclusion. One of the first things I learned when I started freelancing with Trusty Oak was that the team was committed to inclusion. The email signature block that we were instructed to use included pronouns. It was standard across the board, so no one would feel singled out, but everyone would be recognized as who they are, not who others thought they should be.
Leading with Emotional Intelligence
As a homeschool mama with a master’s degree in psychology, I regularly focus on social and emotional learning. Emotional intelligence doesn’t come naturally to everyone. Being concerned with others’ well-being is a sign of compassion, emotional intelligence, and strong leadership. Many men and women are less concerned with others and tend to prioritize their own well-being, while others are more compassionate. Although men can be just as compassionate as women, most men-led organizations (i.e., the majority of leadership is male) seem to prioritize the bottom line first, and the well-being of their people a few steps down on the list.
More often than not, women-led teams are more focused on the well-being of their people alongside the bottom line. Unless the monetary gains far outweigh the personal losses, women-led teams will continue to look toward new and different solutions to ensure their people’s well-being. In the case of Trusty Oak, I remember the team sharing just how much Amber worked to build and grow the business and how little she was being compensated at the time. She chose to put in the time and effort so that each member of her team and each freelancer could reap the rewards of her labor. Some men would do the same (and we’d more likely hear their stories in the news or on social media), but Amber’s sacrifice is worth noting. It allowed Trusty Oak to grow to the business it is today, one that she was able to recently sell and transition to new leadership for the continued good of all involved.
Collaboration
One of the best things about Trusty Oak and most women-led teams is that collaboration is valued and encouraged. In all levels of the organization, collaboration is prevalent. The leaders will share experiences and offer ideas to improve outcomes. They send out surveys regularly to find out how the team (the freelancers) is experiencing the business and ask what they like, don’t like, and what they would change if they could. Even freelancers have a space where they can reach out and ask for help.
Collaboration fosters a culture of teamwork, making everyone involved want to stay in the long term. In an organization like Trusty Oak, which is a completely remote workplace, finding ways to cultivate the company culture, boost team morale, and foster connections is crucial to long-term success.
Trusty Oak expands upon the culture by having a team Slack group. Not only can we ask for help in the group, but we also celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, holidays, and special events. If there’s interest in talking about hobbies, a channel pops up. Every Halloween, there’s a costume contest channel so the team can share pictures of themselves, their kids, or their fur-babies in costumes. There are fun contests and opportunities to share throughout the year. I may not know everyone personally, but I’d likely recognize their kids, cats, and dogs if I saw them… just like when I’ve had in-person jobs. This culture is another way that Trusty Oak has been inclusive.
Something Special
There is something special about women-led teams. There is something special about Trusty Oak. I could easily overlook everyone else and give all the credit to Amber for founding and leading the organization for over 9 years, but I don’t think she’d want that. If I know Amber how I think I do, she would lessen the importance of her involvement and give credit to the team. I’ve been with Trusty Oak for 3.5 years, and I’ve seen the leadership team go through changes and strengthen over the years. Not only has the leadership team grown, but their roles have also evolved to support the increased workload of freelancers and clients.
But the most important thing, the most special part of Trusty Oak, is that its heart has remained there. It would be easy for a business to grow and get to a point where the money became a focus over the people, but Trusty Oak has always been a business that puts the people first and tries to do what’s best to help the freelancers and, by extension, our families thrive throughout the years.
Amber recently announced the sale of Trusty Oak to COO Jacy Cruz and Jacy’s husband, Zack Pennington, our new CEO. I am looking forward to seeing how they will continue to grow and evolve the beautiful business that Amber founded and built from the ground up. I also want to thank Amber for giving me, and giving all of us, a chance to be part of this organization. Amber will always be a part of Trusty Oak. She planted the seed, nurtured it, and will continue to be the roots of our great big treehouse. Thank you, Amber, for everything.
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Kristen has a natural aptitude for proofreading and has an inability to read without keying in on grammatical and spelling errors. She’s edited six books for publication and many blogs, emails, and social media posts for clients. She enjoys calendar management, juggling even the busiest schedules, as well as assisting with email management, and taking care of the small details. Kristen often ghostwrites blog posts for clients, repurposes content for social media, helps with website updates and design, and assists with podcast management. She has helped coaches and entrepreneurs across the globe.
Kristen is an online business owner, wife, and mother living in New York State who is willing to go the extra mile for her clients. She has even helped a client sell a bicycle!