How Women’s Stories are Changing our Ideas about Power with Annette Simmons

Have you defined power the way men define it? Do you feel like women don’t have the same power that men have in the workplace? Are you ready to find out how some women are now defining their own boss power and overcoming people’s expectations through their own narratives?

Power is never only limited to one definition and can vary from person to person. The world is slowly adapting and welcoming women into higher positions unlike before. To acknowledge one’s power is to use it for the greater and collective good. But what does it mean to have power as a woman and how can we, our own girl boss selves, turn our power into action that can greatly impact the world?

Annette Simmons is a keynote speaker, consultant, and author of four books, including The Story Factor, listed in The 100 Best Business Books of All Time. She got her business degree from Louisiana State University (1983), spent ten years in Australia in international business, got an M.Ed. from North Carolina State University (1994), and founded Group Process Consulting in 1996. Her new book is Drinking from a Different Well: How Women’s Stories Change What Power Means in Action.

In this episode, Annette talks about how the definition of power is evolving and isn’t only being limited to how men define it. She also shares how finding joy in our work is the hidden superpower that will bring out the best in us and our potential.

 

What you will learn from this episode:

Discover the differences in how men and women define power Learn more about why understanding first will help bring out our collective power and drive us to progress Understand how your own narrative can bring out your own unique power that the world needs

 

“Instead of viewing that conflict as an invitation to a battle, we view it as an invitation for curiosity.”

- Annette Simmons

 

Valuable Free Resource:

How to unleash your power and turn it into action through different narratives and perspectives: https://differentwell.com/

 

Topics Covered:

02:00 - To know a more diverse definition of power through women’s perspectives: the reason behind Annette’s research

04:20 - Narrative means different things and thus, contributes to how we evaluate our own power and selves

06:12 - Other characteristics of power that differ from men and women: Women manage multiple narratives and stories which makes them see the bigger picture

7:51 - The importance of viewing conflict in a different way– not as an invitation to battle but rather as an invitation to curiosity

10:15 - Moral values in narratives: How the stories that are most important to us probably have the morals that are most important to us

12:46 -  How women pay attention to internal cues rather than external cues in terms of avoiding unnecessary conflict

16:10 - The negative consequences women face when ignoring moral distress: Living miserably and being unable to find the fun in their work and potential

17:47- Annette’s message to potential readers of her book: It's a love letter from me to women

 

Key Takeaways:

“The stories that are most important to us probably have the morals that are most important to us.” - Annette Simmons

“In a competitive narrative, "harm" is simply the price you pay for winning. In a collaborative narrative, there's a difference between being "risk-averse", and being "harm averse".” - Annette Simmons

“We have a different narrative by which we identify what it is that we want to accomplish and how we want to go about it.” - Annette Simmons

“Women manage multiple stories all the time. And so competitive players can criticize us as being too emotional, or unfocused. But the truth is that managing multiple narratives so that more people, other than one little group, feel like their solution was fair. “ - Annette Simmons

“What you do is you take five different points of view, just like the five blind men describing the elephant, and have them share their stories in a way that expands a much bigger picture and completely transforms how we define a problem, and what we define as the problem.” - Annette Simmons

“I look at moral emotions, guilt, shame, altruism– instead of looking at them as a bad thing, this is the evolution's guidance system for how not to destroy each other.” - Annette Simmons

“The strategy that women use, instead of fighting over who's right and wrong, we tend to narrate a story.” - Annette Simmons

“All the time that you've been accused of being unfocused or too emotional or ambivalent, that's your superpower. And so it is what we bring to the table. And if we don't respect it first, we can't get other people to respect it.” - Annette Simmons

“I want you to know that the way that your reason is vitally important to our collective survival, and that our kids and grandkids are counting on us to do something different.” - Annette Simmons

 

Ways to Connect with Annette Simmons:

Website: https://annettesimmons.com/ Book: https://differentwell.com/

 

Ways to Connect with Sarah E. Brown:

Website: https://www.sarahebrown.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/knowguides LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sarahebrownphd/