by Gill Corkindale | 1:40 PM November 9, 2007
A couple of weeks ago I wrote a post on alpha males. Since then I’ve been wondering about their female counterparts. The received wisdom seems to be that alpha females are pretty much an extension of the alpha male profile, but I’m not so sure. In fact, I have been wondering, is female of the species deadlier than the male?
Just for a moment I want to put aside all the usual debates about women at work — the glass ceiling, the difficulties of combining a career with a family, the prejudices, age, appearance, and the different standards of behaviour for men and women. Instead, I want to look at alpha females as a unique phenomenon, something that transcends the usual commentary about women in the workplace.
The first thing I’ve noticed is that alpha females are usually one-off characters, women who defy categorisation. Unlike alpha males, who like to be part of a pack, it’s difficult to put them in a group as they seem to rise above any stereotyping. The second thing is that they are instantly recognisable. You immediately know when an alpha female walks into the room. The third point is that they can be surprising and full of contradictions.
In London there are a number of alpha females who are worth studying. Here are three who have stood out in recent years for being truly impressive and groundbreaking in their respective fields and I am sure there are many more who will come to light in the coming years.
The first is Nicola Horlick, a 46-year-old billion dollar fund manager who was dubbed ‘Superwoman’ in the 1990s for combined an adrenalin-charged career with bringing up seven children (one of whom died of leukemia. Last year, she fought off an armed robber who tried to mug her outside her home. Even though she had a handgun pushed into her stomach and was pistol-whipped across the back of her head, she fought off the attackers and was back at work the next day, sporting a large bruise from the attack. Ms Horlick ascribed her success to her support systems, her mother, nanny, and husband. “It is women that do not have or cannot afford this type of support that are the real superwomen,” she has said.
Next is Karren Brady, the 38-year-old managing director of Birmingham City Football Club, the first woman to hold such a post in English league soccer. Appointed in 1992, when she was only 23, she was responsible for its flotation in 1997 and became the youngest Managing Director of a UK plc in the process. She has written four books: two novels, a factual account of her first season at the club, and Playing to Win, about successful women in business. Shas two childrean and had brain surgery last year, aged 36. Ms Brady says 10 principles kept her going through the good and bad times: ambition, determination, courage, charm, hard work, attitude, humour, confidence, focus and communication.
Finally, Dame Stella Rimington, former head of MI5, Britain’s home intelligence service, burst on to the landscape over a decade ago when the service decided to increase public transparency and reveal details of its activities. Under intense public scrutiny and pressure, MI5’s real-life ‘M’ guided the service into a new era of modernity and, upon retirement, wrote her memoir and several novels. “My whole life has been a surprise to me because I never expected a career at all and I certainly would not have expected to be director general of MI5,” she said.
These women are all very different in personality and approach, but a common thread is that their lives and career paths have not always run smoothly. Each has shown, courage, determination and dogged belief in themselves, their people and their organisations during hard times. It is this, together with their intellect, style that marks them out as true alpha females.
Interestingly, Britain has always had a strong alpha female in public life right down the ages, from Boudicca, the Celtic queen who led an uprising against the Romans, to Elizabeth I, Margaret Thatcher and the current Queen. A clue to why this is so can be found in the work of Geert Hofstede, the Dutch expert on culture. He believes that societies place different values on traditionally male or female values, with Japan being the most ‘masculine’ culture and Sweden the most ‘feminine’. Britain is unusual in that its culture is balanced between the two, with females often displaying male values and males female values — which might make the Britain the best place to be if you are an alpha female.
Are you an alpha female or do you work with one? What are their characteristics? What do you think distinguishes them from alpha males?
Read all of Gill Corkindale’s Letter from London posts
MORE ON ALPHA LEADERS:
The Alpha Male (and Female) Complex: Curb the Belligerence, Channel the Brilliance, (CD-ROM)
Coaching the Alpha Male (HBR Article)
Alpha Male Syndrome: Curb the Belligerence, Channel the Brilliance (Hardcover)
Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders (Hardcover)
The Alpha Male (and Female) Complex: Curb the Belligerence, Channel the Brilliance, (CD-ROM)
Coaching the Alpha Male (HBR Article)
Alpha Male Syndrome: Curb the Belligerence, Channel the Brilliance (Hardcover)
Through the Labyrinth: The Truth About How Women Become Leaders (Hardcover)
GILL CORKINDALE
Gill Corkindale is an executive coach and writer based in London, focusing on global management and leadership. She was formerly management editor of the Financial Times.
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