From mama bears to mama birds, the instinctual ferocity of a mother to protect her young extends to every species. Mothers are hard-wired to protect and rescue their babies, fend off predators and provide a nurturing home environment. Fathers of course, have their own instinctual drives to provide and care for their families, and it is predominantly male attributes that have shaped the world’s businesses and governments. Throughout the women’s movements of the 1960s and 70s, women often took on ‘male traits’ to be successful in a ‘man’s world’. In today’s post-feminist world, however, we see women rising to the top on the merits of their own very female traits.
We’re talking about ‘mamisma’—female strength, resilience and grace under pressure. It’s kind of like machismo, only driven by a female instinct for getting things done in a collaborative, supportive, compassionate manner. Many politicians today bring their mamisma to the table. Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany, is one of the most respected leaders trying to calmly steer the Eurozone out of its debt troubles. Thailand, Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Costa Rica, Australia, India, Ireland, Croatia, Iceland and Finland are all countries that currently have female presidents or prime ministers who are leading with their mamisma.
Here in Canada, Dr. Samantha Nutt—co-founder and Executive Director of War Child Canada—exemplifies mamisma in action as one of the country’s most prominent anti-war activists. Dr. Nutt has worked in some of the world’s most violent war zones, providing hands-on help to women and children. She also works at Women’s College Hospital in Toronto and at the University of Toronto in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. Named by Time Magazine as one of Canada’s Five Leading Activists, by the World Economic Forum as one of 200 top young global leaders, and by The Globe and Mail as one of Canada’s Top 100 Most Powerful Women, the 41-year old Dr. Nutt was recently appointed to the Order of Canada.
So, how can we apply our own mamisma to our roles at work? What are the mamisma traits that make a female leader exceptional? Here are a few tips.
The world needs more mothers
Whether you have children or not, you are blessed with the inner female instincts that can equip you to become a powerful mama-bear, among your friends, colleagues and community. We are fortunate to live in a world today where people of all nations are celebrating the virtues of womanhood and using mamisma to make the world a better place. Now get out there and let’s hear you roar!
Insomnia is the worst. Why is it that everything seems way scarier and more stressful in the middle of the night? Trying to turn those thoughts off can be impossible when you’re tossing and turning, viciously aware of the dwindling hours between you and the sound of the morning alarm.
According to a survey by website Manilla.com, the number one answer among women of “what keeps you up at night?” is financial worries. That’s right—30 percent of women said money stress is keeping them up at night.
Next to money, work stress and ‘to-do lists’ are the second-most common reasons for insomnia among women; 18 percent of women blamed these for keeping them awake.
Nothing keeps men awake
Interestingly (or perhaps frighteningly), the number one factor keeping men up at night is ‘nothing’—as cited by 35 percent of men. We presume this means these men are enjoying peaceful and untroubled sleep. Or perhaps ‘nothing’ means: “As if I would tell a survey what keeps me awake at night! Nothing scares me, of course!”
Organizing makes us happy
According to the survey, disorganization and clutter are driving more women crazy than men (surprise, surprise—not). In fact, 73 percent of women claim they are frustrated by household disorganization, 38 percent of women complain about the waste of paper mail and 32 percent complain of the clutter. By comparison, fewer men (59 percent) complain that they are similarly frustrated.
Apparently, 50 percent of women and 41 percent of men feel relaxed when they are organized. Indeed, 41 percent and 37 percent feel downright happy as a result. (We concur!)
Gender parity
Whether you are extremely organized…or not, one survey finding is none too surprising: half of women and half of men surveyed say they forgot to pay at least one bill over the past year. Uh oh…
Tips to quell the chaos
Here are a few ways you can get your household finances more organized:
Yoda and sleep
As Yoda said, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” It’s usually an element of fear (and avoidance of fear) that leads you to toss unopened bills aside and not make them a priority. And then you get angry with yourself when you can’t find the bills, or forget to pay them and you end up paying more in late fees and credit card interest. Which in turn makes you hate the service provider. And you suffer by not sleeping at night, wondering which utility you forgot to pay. (It’s all so complicated!)
The solution: by keeping your finances organized and up to date, not only will you avoid the dark side (i.e. chaos and disorganization), you will have a much better chance of sleeping at night.
And with that—sleep tight!
