The best boss I ever had was a strong woman who was the executive director of an agency that provided job training and placement to people living with HIV and AIDS.

Barbara was confident and competent, but she displayed little to no traditional masculine energy.

She didn’t push and demand, she enabled and empowered.

She didn’t foster competition, she mentored effective teams.

Her mom vibe energized an agency providing critical services in stressful, even overwhelming circumstances.

We thrived under her leadership, and our clients, people who needed services desperately, reaped the benefits.

Thank God Barbara didn’t try to lean in and do all those other things effective women leaders are “supposed” to do.