Foresight: The Superpower of Perspective
How women use their innate intuition to shape leadership and impact
You know that whisper, or sometimes a gut feeling...most write it off as anxious energy. Women, on the other hand, know it as their inner discernment, affectionately referred to as "women's intuition." Me? I call it foreshadowing & perspective. Two character skills that have served me well throughout my career in the nonprofit sector.
It took me many years before I understood how these two skills helped shape my thoughts and ability to build instrumental impact for children and families. With almost a decade and a half devoted to the nonprofit sector, I have learned how to recognize the signs of both skills and effectively use them in scenarios shaping our industry. I also recognized that many women leaders before me were and are doing just the same. Taking a look back at the COVID-19 Pandemic, Melinda French Gates knew early on that the pandemic would be a setback for women everywhere. The Gates Foundation invested $2.1B over the years to advance women's economic empowerment, strengthen women and girls' health & family planning, and support women's leadership.
However, in order to understand women's intuition, I had to look back...waaaay back. Ancient philosophers like Aristotle & Plato viewed "women's intuition" as the opposite of male reasoning. As you may have guessed, women were deemed to have less rational intelligence and more intuition. In the voice of our favorite 90's Goddesses, Cher & Dionne, "AS IF"!?
Thankfully, in the 1980s, we were finally introduced to someone with actual sense: sociology guru and powerhouse Professor Arlie Russell Hochschild, who turned this demeaning view of women's intuition on its head. She allowed us to reevaluate the previous thoughts and instead, offer a new view of this intuition as heightened social awareness. Finally, a frame of thinking we can all get behind! So much so that today, nonprofit innovators like Melody Proebstel, senior director of community engagement at United Way of Northern California, explained for the Stanford Social Innovation Review: “At times, it feels like we are walking around in futures that other people created for us. Foresight is a tool for nonprofits like mine to imagine the future for ourselves. It should not just be a practice for the so-called elite. We deserve the power to shape our own future."
In today's world and the evolution of AI, this foresight matters more now than ever before. Women like Timnit Gebru (Founder & Executive Director at The Distributed AI Research Institute) and Joy Buolamwini (AI researcher and founder of Algorithmic Justice League) have been instrumental in exposing bias within AI facial recognition technologies. Meanwhile, figures like Francesca Rossi, leading Global AI Ethics at IBM, are cementing the concept of leading responsible AI innovation centered on ethics and transparency. These women did not just react to problems; they anticipated them. Ensuring the backbone of our world is supported and confident, so we can show up and continue to do what we do best...thrive, even through adversity.
Throughout time, women have historically shown the positive impact and undeniable mark we make in our respective fields. The power of foresight, perspective, and intuition is truly innate within us. Showcasing in pride as we move forward in our fields, the value that women will continue to play in the next 100 years is undeniable. No longer is the question whether we have foresight; history has proven that we do. The question should be, are we claiming space to use it? The next time that whisper resurfaces, don't dismiss it! Document it, share it. Build on it. Use it in boardrooms, budget meetings, and strategic planning sessions alike. Because it is not just intuition...it's leadership.
