Discover how developing a flexible leadership mindset can transform your effectiveness as a woman executive. Our exclusive interview with Kevin Eikenberry, author of "Flexible Leadership," reveals powerful strategies for women leaders navigating today's complex business landscape.
Why Women Executives Need a Flexible Leadership Mindset
In today's rapidly evolving business environment, a flexible leadership mindset isn't just beneficial—it's essential for women executives who want to maximize their impact. According to McKinsey's 2024 Women in the Workplace report, women now hold 29% of C-suite positions, up from just 17% in 2015, yet the path to gender parity in senior leadership still extends decades into the future.
For women executives facing unique challenges, developing flexibility in leadership approach provides a powerful advantage. A flexible leadership mindset allows women leaders to navigate complex situations while staying authentic to their core values.
Defining the Flexible Leadership Mindset for Women Executives
What exactly constitutes a flexible leadership mindset? According to Kevin Eikenberry, it means maintaining consistency in your core values while adapting your approach based on circumstances:
"Flexible leadership means being consistent in our what and our why—our principles, values, and purpose—but flexible in our how," explains Eikenberry. "Like a mature tree that's firmly rooted yet bends with the wind, women executives with a flexible leadership mindset maintain their foundation while adapting their approach."
The hallmark of this mindset is recognizing when "it depends" is the appropriate answer—and then thoughtfully considering what factors it depends on before determining how to proceed.
About Kevin Eikenberry – Flexible Leadership Author
Kevin Eikenberry is the author of over 20 books, including his latest, 'Flexible Leadership: Navigating Uncertainty and Leading with Confidence.' As the founder of the Kevin Eikenberry Group, he's advised leaders at organizations worldwide and created transformative leadership programs like the Remarkable Masterclass.


The Business Cost of Inflexible Leadership for Women Executives
Women executives who lack a flexible leadership mindset often find themselves locked into rigid approaches with statements like "that's just how I lead" or "they'll have to get used to it." This inflexibility creates significant limitations:

Forces one approach onto diverse situations requiring different solutions
Creates an identity barrier that's difficult to overcome
Reduces opportunities for innovation and team development
Dramatically lowers the odds of success in complex environments
Reinforces potential gender stereotypes rather than transcending them

Research indicates that companies with women in leadership positions are 30% more likely to outperform others—suggesting that when women executives leverage flexible approaches, organizations benefit.
The Flexible Leadership Framework for Women Executives
To help women executives develop a flexible leadership mindset, Eikenberry introduces the Cynefin Framework (pronounced kuh-NEV-in) as a tool for making sense of different leadership situations:
1. Clear Contexts for Women Executives
Situations where cause and effect are obvious, best practices exist, and processes are established. Traditional leadership approaches often work well here.
2. Complicated Contexts for Women Executives
Scenarios requiring expertise but where systems remain fairly ordered. Women executives benefit from gathering diverse perspectives before making decisions.
3. Complex Contexts for Women Executives
The most common leadership environment today—where interconnected factors create unpredictability. Women executives thrive here by testing approaches, learning quickly, and adapting.
4. Chaotic Contexts for Women Executives
Rare crisis situations requiring immediate action. Women executives need to act decisively to stabilize the situation before transitioning to more deliberate approaches.
Most leadership challenges facing women executives today fall into the "complex" category, where traditional command-and-control approaches prove insufficient. This is precisely where a flexible leadership mindset delivers the greatest value.
Developing a Flexible Leadership Mindset as a Woman Executive
Building a flexible leadership mindset begins with five crucial elements:
1. Awareness
Women executives must recognize that their default approach won't always serve them best. This awareness opens the door to considering alternatives.
2. Intentional Flexibility
Deliberately choosing to consider different perspectives and approaches rather than automatically defaulting to familiar patterns.
3. "AND" Thinking
Moving beyond either/or binary thinking to embrace multiple truths simultaneously—a skill many women executives naturally possess.
4. Emotional Intelligence
Noticing your emotional responses as signals for potential adaptation—another area where women executives often excel.
5. Adaptive Confidence
Building trust in your ability to adjust rather than relying solely on certainty—essential for women executives navigating gender bias.

The Confidence-Competence Loop for Women Executives
Developing a flexible leadership mindset works through what Eikenberry calls the confidence- competence loop:

Begin with a base level of confidence in your ability to navigate uncertainty
Try new leadership approaches deliberately in various contexts
Learn from each experience to build competence in flexible leadership
Let growing competence fuel greater confidence as a woman executive
Repeat this cycle with increasingly challenging leadership situations

This approach is particularly valuable for women executives who may face added scrutiny. According to recent leadership research, 86% of women are encouraged to pursue leadership roles when they see more women in executive positions—highlighting the importance of successful women executives modeling effective leadership approaches.
Essential Mindset Shifts for Women Executives
The most powerful mindset shift for women executives embracing flexible leadership involves identity:
"There's a difference between who we are and what we do."
Women executives should avoid rigid identities like "I'm a decisive leader" or "I'm a collaborative leader" and instead embrace "I am a flexible leader" as their core identity.
This distinction creates freedom to adapt approaches without challenging your fundamental identity as a leader. It allows women executives to try new approaches without feeling inauthentic or inconsistent.
Key Takeaways on Flexible Leadership Mindset for Women Executives

Flexible leadership mindset is particularly valuable for women navigating
leadership expectations
Start by separating your leadership identity from your leadership behaviors
Practice intentionally pausing before defaulting to automatic responses
Consider context thoroughly before applying solutions
Improve your odds of success by matching your approach to the specific situation
Affirm to yourself daily: "I am a flexible leader with a growth mindset"

According to global leadership research, professional working women identify key skills needed for leadership development as leadership training (57%), confidence building (56%), and decision-making (48%)—all areas that benefit from cultivating a flexible leadership mindset.
Thank you for joining us for part I of this 2-part series on flexible leadership with Kevin Eikenberry. Connect with Kevin at kevineikenberry.com to access his newsletter and additional resources for implementing flexible leadership strategies.
Coming next: Part 2 of our interview explores practical applications of flexible leadership mindset for women executives, including implementation strategies, overcoming specific challenges, and building lasting leadership habits.
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