Last Updated on October 8, 2026 by YEO Chuen Chuen
Women leaders can level the playing field in male-dominated industries by mastering five key leadership skills: communicating a clear vision, fostering unity and diversity through strategic conversations, adjusting the vision based on feedback, building the right team, and leveraging intuition in people management.
The playing field for many women leaders is far from level. As businesses push for more gender equality and encourage women to step into leadership positions, Chuen Chuen shares insights from her conversation with Ms Kiran Mann, Founder of M2M Business Solutions, in an interview on ‘8 Paradoxes of Leadership Agility.’
Kiran Mann founded M2M Business Solutions in 2017 with a vision to grow businesses by growing people. Since its inception, this organisation has worked with over 100 businesses across Canada, helping them transform their organisations’ operations and optimise returns on investments in people, processes, and technology. The result is a proven programme of business transformation.
To listen to the full interview, visit here.
Women can demonstrate strong leadership even in the male-dominated workplaces
How does a woman gain recognition and respect from men in a male-dominated industry? Women remain underrepresented in science, engineering, mathematics, and technology, and senior leadership roles reflect that gap that history shows has been slow to close.
Speaking with Kiran made one thing clear: leveling the gender scales is possible as long as you bring the right abilities and mindset. Limiting beliefs about a woman’s capabilities or gender suitability are often what hold her back, and building self-awareness is the first step to overcoming them.
Based in Canada, Kiran built a rich career in automotive manufacturing, turning gaps into opportunities through sharp, data-driven insights. Over the years, Kiran has developed a programme to help businesses transform, establish strong foundations, and prepare for growth.
When I asked how she became successful and thrived as a woman executive leader in a predominantly male environment, her answer was disarmingly personal: “My dad was in the army, so I grew up in army campuses, a predominantly male and highly regulated environment. So going from that to the automotive industry was a natural transition for me, though female leaders in this industry are quite rare.”
That response revealed something important: the impressions formed around a woman during her formative years, family, communities, and environment shape how she navigates the world as an adult. Mindset is that powerful. These stories matter because they influence the next generation of women leaders.
Women in Leadership Can Drive Essential Transformation in Organizations with Balance
Adapting to change is a constant leadership challenge. The global pandemic was not the first nor will it be the last time all companies are so radically challenged. Leaders must continuously learn, develop, and understand their teams, both for challenges today and those ahead. While the COVID-19 pandemic has been tumultuous, Kiran sees the positive impact: “Challenges do allow leaders to reflect, reconsider how organizations are being run, and to ditch traditional ways and prepare for the future.”
From Kiran’s sharing on leadership agility and how to excel in it, I distilled 5 skills that will help women leaders achieve success in their careers, and serve as a platform for wider progress in politics, business, and beyond.
1. Communicate a Clear, Focused Vision
“One of the finest qualities needed in an agile leader is a clear, focused, but flexible vision,” said Kiran. To empower employees, fuel creativity, and build a culture of excellence, leaders must communicate the long-term goal clearly and keep sight of the end. Women leaders, being good listeners, can easily build a community around the vision, strengthen their professional network, and gain the support of team members focused on achieving shared goals.
2. Build Unity and Diversity through Strategic Conversations
The clearer a leader’s vision, the more focused the team, and the sharper the implementation of strategies will be. While the leader sets the destination, the team finds the path. Leaders must stay open-minded and play a facilitative role, connecting ideas, enabling conversations, and helping team members learn from each other. Women, naturally having more nurturing traits, are well-suited to promote such strategic conversations. that strengthen trust, communication, and collaboration.
3. Adjust the Vision Flexibly with Feedback
A relevant vision requires an active feedback loop. Leaders must ask: Is this vision still current? Still aligned with where the organization is heading? A study by Zenger Folkman showed that women leaders ‘Improves based on feedback from others‘ significantly more than those of male leaders, indicating that women leaders generally take feedback well, another critical key to success for women in the workplace.
4. Ensure Right Team Composition
So once the clarity and relevance are established, the agile leader will work to bring the right people together. A person who is “right” for one job may not be “right” for another, especially when the needs of a project continue to evolve. One may be a smart or right fit for one company but not for another. A key role of an agile leader is to ensure every member of the team is positioned to contribute effectively
A key role of an agile leader is to hire the right people and set them up to thrive. To Kiran, the ability to bring leaders together plays a key role in the dynamics of the business world.
And because the vision and milestones are clear, they can be empowered to bring appropriate ideas and solutions in interactive teams and group discussions full of creative diversity to achieve.
Another guest on my Agile Leadership Conversations has also said, “ensure that you have the right people on the right bus, and in the right seat,” and indeed it’s important.
5. Tap into the Power of Intuition in People Management
A helpful insight from my interview with Kiran was to think of the home as a smaller version of the organization. Whatever skills are honed at home, managing the children or managing the home environment, women leaders can apply in the workplace.
Kiran’s message to women leaders: don’t underestimate those experiences. Polish them, own them, and apply them with confidence.
Defining the Ideals of Female Leaders is an Ongoing Process
As a parting piece of advice, Kiran shared that professional development is paramount to leaders (both men and women) of organizations. COVID-19 was just one of the threats we faced, and other leadership challenges will come following it. Pointing to the many trials still facing leaders in this decade, Kiran highlights the 65% millennials in the workforce and the generation gap, the communication gap, the talent crunch, and the changes brought on by the digital transformation (Industry 4.0).
Leaders must learn to gain new competencies beyond the traditional understanding of leadership and engagement. This is not a list of soft skills; it is a strategic imperative. At every event, on every page of the leadership conversation, women around the world need more role models and mentors. Leadership archetypes still skew male, which means the best of women’s leadership and the full realization of their rights in the workplace is still ahead. Women need stronger career pathways, better access to speakers and role models, and the opportunity to step into leadership roles at the head of their fields.
The world is waiting for more women to step up to build their personal brand, grow their leadership style, and take their place in leadership circles.
Let that be you.
Frequently Asked Questions
What are the biggest barriers women face in male-dominated industries?
Limiting beliefs, both internal and societal, are among the most significant obstacles. Underrepresentation at senior levels also means fewer role models and mentors for women to look to, which compounds the challenge.
Why is feedback important for women leaders specifically?
Research shows women leaders are more likely to act on feedback than their male counterparts, making it a natural strength. Leveraging that strength helps women adapt faster, build trust with their teams, and stay ahead in changing environments.
What makes women effective leaders in times of organizational change?
Women tend to lead with empathy, facilitate well, and build strong team cohesion, all qualities that organizations need most during transformation, while creating supportive environments for members and teams. Their ability to balance vision with people-first thinking drives both stability and innovation.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
Chuen Chuen has supported leaders from nearly 40 countries across industries. These leaders face similar challenges to yours. If you’re looking for 1-to-1 coaching, team training, or a speaker, let’s talk about what your organization needs.