Why Leadership Doesn’t Have to Look One Way

When you hear the word leader, what comes to mind? Maybe you picture someone standing on a stage, commanding a room with a booming voice, giving speeches, or making big, dramatic moves in front of everyone. Maybe you think of someone who always has the answers, who is loud, outgoing, and taking charge.

For a long time, this was the story most people believed about leadership: that it was about being in control, taking up space, and always being the center of attention.

But that story is too small.
That story leaves people out.
That story isn’t the whole truth.

Leadership doesn’t have to look one way.
In fact, leadership has never looked just one way.

It’s not about being the loudest voice in the room.
It’s not about always having the final say.
It’s not about fitting into an old mold someone else built.

Leadership can be quiet.
It can be creative.
It can be rooted in empathy, listening, and showing up for others in ways that are thoughtful.

It can look like building community.
It can look like standing beside others, not just standing in front.
It can look like using your talents, your heart, and your perspective to make space for people who aren’t always heard.

At the end of the day, leadership is about impact, not attention.

The Quiet Power of Listening

Some of the most powerful leaders aren’t the ones talking all the time — they’re the ones listening carefully.

Listening is an underrated skill.
It’s the kind of leadership that builds trust. When someone feels seen, heard, and respected, they become more willing to bring their best ideas forward. And that’s what real leaders do: they create conditions where people can thrive.

Leadership through listening might mean:

• Asking thoughtful questions instead of giving quick answers.

• Being present in conversations, without always needing to direct them.

• Paying attention to what people aren’t saying, and holding space for those stories too.

When you lead by listening, you build connection instead of control. You remind people that their voices matter.

Leadership Can Be Creative

Leadership also shows up in the ways we create — through the arts, through innovation, through solving problems in new ways.

A creative leader doesn’t have to stand on a stage or run a company.
A creative leader might:

• Paint murals that tell untold stories.

• Design community projects that bring people together.

• Build apps that solve real-world challenges.

• Write music that moves people to action.

• Develop new systems that make spaces more inclusive.

When you use creativity as leadership, you open doors that didn’t exist before. You show others that imagination is powerful, and that leadership isn’t just about managing people — it’s about shaping possibilities.

Empathy Is Leadership

Empathy is often seen as a soft skill, but it’s actually one of the strongest forms of leadership.

Leading with empathy means:

• Making decisions that consider the well-being of others.

• Recognizing emotions, perspectives, and experiences different from your own.

• Valuing kindness, patience, and collaboration.

Empathetic leaders don’t just aim for results — they aim for relationships. They know that people aren’t machines, and success isn’t just about numbers. It’s about how people feel, how they grow, and whether they can be their full selves.

This kind of leadership builds change and creates communities where people want to stay and contribute.

Leadership Can Be Personal

One of the biggest myths is that leaders always have to lead large groups.

Sometimes leadership is personal and close.
It can look like:

• Mentoring a younger student.

• Being the friend who stands up when something’s wrong.

• Encouraging someone else to believe in themselves.

• Starting a small project that brings light to someone’s day.

Leadership can happen in your family, in your group of friends, in your classroom, in the way you carry yourself.

You don’t have to wait for permission.
You don’t have to hold a title.
You don’t have to be perfect.

You can lead right now — by choosing to show up, by choosing to care, by choosing to be brave in your own way.

Rethinking Leadership Roles

It’s important to ask: Who are we calling leaders?
Are we always lifting up the same kinds of people, with the same kinds of personalities?
Do we believe leadership only happens if it’s loud, fast, and bold?

When we rethink leadership, we start to notice that people who lead with steady patience, with careful thought, or with quiet creativity are just as essential.

We also start to make space for girls and young women who might have felt invisible under old leadership models.
The girls who lead through writing instead of speaking.
The girls who lead through building instead of managing.
The girls who lead by modeling kindness, rather than chasing power.

There’s no one way to lead.
There’s no one right way to make a difference.

Traditional Leadership Stereotypes

When leadership is only seen as one thing we lose so many voices.

That narrow stereotype can:

• Silence introverted girls who lead best in smaller spaces.

• Discourage girls who prefer thoughtful collaboration over quick decisions.

• Push away girls who lead through empathy instead of authority.

The truth is:
The world doesn’t need more of the same.
The world needs you — with your unique leadership style, your unique strengths, your unique way of moving through the world.

It’s not about fitting in. It’s about showing up as you are.

Building a New Leadership Story

So how do we start writing a new story of leadership?
One that includes many voices, many styles, many kinds of power?

We can:

• Celebrate diverse leadership models. Highlight people who lead in different ways — quietly, creatively, collaboratively.

• Invite more questions, fewer assumptions. Instead of assuming what a leader “should” look like, ask: What does leadership mean to you?

• Create spaces where all leadership styles are valued. Let girls experiment with different ways of leading — through projects, through storytelling, through art, through listening.

Leadership isn’t about becoming someone else.
It’s about becoming more of yourself.

It’s about realizing that your natural way of caring, creating, and connecting is already powerful.

stepping into your form of Leadership

Some days leadership looks like speaking up.
Some days it looks like stepping back.
Some days it’s about building, listening, asking, dreaming.

It’s not a one-time moment. It’s a way of moving through life.

You don’t have to be the loudest.
You don’t have to have all the answers.
You don’t have to lead like anyone else.

You can lead like you.

So here’s something to remember:
You don’t have to wait to lead.
You don’t have to change yourself to lead.

You already have what you need to be the kind of leader the world actually needs.

And maybe, the most powerful thing you can do — starting today — is to lead in your own way, on your own terms.

Love always,
The Girl Lab Team