Most CEOs are taught to lead with decisiveness, strategy, and competition.
But what if the traits you’ve been taught to downplay—empathy, intuition, vulnerability—are the missing pieces to sustainable, conscious leadership?
In a recent episode of The Conscious Capitalists podcast, executive coach and author Elina Teboul joins Timothy Henry and Raj Sisodia to explore how integrating both feminine and masculine intelligence isn’t just good leadership—it’s essential leadership.
Here’s how today’s leaders can break their mental blocks and work towards getting in touch with their feminine leadership:
- Understand that feminine leadership is about traits, not gender
Many leaders, regardless of gender, have been conditioned to value traditionally masculine traits—decisiveness, competition, efficiency—while sidelining empathy, connection, and vulnerability.
But as Elina points out, over-indexing on one side leads to imbalance:
- Masculine in excess = domination, hyper-competition, aggression.
- Feminine in absence = lack of empathy, disconnection, short-termism.
She advocates for consciously integrating both. Leaders must let go of the misconception that feminine leadership is only for women. Every leader—regardless of gender—has access to both masculine and feminine qualities. The goal is to integrate, not suppress.
- Self-reflection is key
Masculine leadership calls for disconnecting yourself from your roots and moving forward with an aggressive, profit-based mindset. While that is instrumental in making tough decisions and ensuring financial stability, ALL leadership is autobiographical.
Leaders must acknowledge that their leadership style is shaped by their personal story— their upbringing, relationships, and past experiences.
So, to lead consciously, you need to reflect on how those experiences influence your decisions, relationships, and reactions.
- The Business Case for Integrated Leadership
In many organizations, employees are afraid to speak up. That fear—fear of losing a job, being judged, or not fitting in—kills innovation before it starts.
When leaders embrace both sides—the drive for results and the empathy for people—they create environments that are psychologically safe, moving their organizations into a new era of innovation and creativity.
- Take off the ‘professional mask’
All of us wear masks at work, but leadership even more so.
Elina urges leaders to stop equating professionalism with emotional distance. True leadership happens when you show up authentically—acknowledging vulnerabilities, leading with compassion, and encouraging others to do the same.
- Challenge the Over-Reliance on Masculine Traits
No matter how conscious your leadership approach is, there are times when your leadership defaults to control, competition, or overwork. Put in the work, be it through therapy, reflection, or peer conversations, to be self-aware enough to realize when you’re falling into this pattern and correct it if need be.
Leadership today requires comfort with ambiguity. Feminine leadership helps you slow down, pause between stimulus and response, and trust intuition while bringing balance through collaboration, nurturing, and long-term thinking.
Takeaway for Leaders
If you want to lead an organization that thrives amid uncertainty, fuels innovation, and attracts top talent, you should:
- Embrace integrated leadership. Balance decisiveness and strategy with empathy, connection, and intuition.
- Do the inner work. Understand how your personal experiences shape your leadership—and be willing to evolve.
- Foster psychological safety. Fear stifles creativity. Make room for open, honest dialogue.
Our conversation with Elina Teboul makes it clear that the path forward requires sharper strategies AND a deeper understanding on how to integrate who we are as people and how we show up as leaders.
Listen to the full episode of The Conscious Capitalists podcast here.