What is Amazon Power?

The Amazons were portrayed as beautiful, warrior women who could equal their male combatants in battle. They were honourable, courageous, brave and fearless who also had many womanly qualities. They raised children, would go to extraordinary lengths to bring an injured comrade to safety, risked their lives for helping others, they were passionate about what was important to them and found a distinctively feminine way to survive in a male world.

Professional women at the beginning of the 21st Century share much with the Amazon, they have fought many battles and excelled in fields that were once exclusively male and at the same time juggled career and family life, taken risks and gathered together in powerful networks to support one another.

In the last few years women have been pioneering new ways to empower themselves, specifically in the form of developing a distinctive feminine style of leadership. Thoroughly researched books like Helen Fisher’s The First Sex points to a future in which feminine skills and leadership are going to be increasingly needed to keep apace with the unprecedented change and radical shifts that business is likely to see in the coming decades. In which case women will be called upon to claim more of their Amazon nature as they lead the way forward, summoning all their feminine resources and wisdom, to become shining, inspiring examples of courageous, principle-centred leadership for the greater good of their organisations and humanity at large.

As it becomes apparent that the masculine structures are failing, control and command models of leadership becoming outmoded, there is need for another way – a feminine way and already there are promising signs that the world is waking up. Let’s not hold our breath, but whatever the future may hold as women integrate more of their authentic feminine power they will become better leaders, win competitive edge for their organisations, and as a collective have meaningful impact on the lives of thousands, even millions of people.

Who were the Amazons?

Stories about Amazons were popularised by the Ancient Greeks, and from there spread all over the world. There seems to be evidence there was some historical basis for their existence and they most likely to be tribal bands of women who defended their people against the invasions of the Indo Europeans. 

Much too my surprise the Amazon connection with South America is slim, the Ancient Greeks placed  their orgins in a region of Northern Turkey, although some stories name the steppes of Southern Russia or the kingdom of Thrace (Northern Albania). Indeed the South American connection comes as a result of Spanish adventurer in the 1600’s who is alleged to have named the Amazon river as the result of  an encounter with a band of warrior women along its banks  – which indicates the place that the Amazon held in popular culture.

Whether the Amazons were real or not, they captured the imagination of many cultures over thousands of years, which is how their stories come to be with us today. This makes them a powerful archetypal force, which still has relevance to us in out technological driven society. (An archetype explained in simplest terms is a character type or model that has recurred through history and often too across a broad range of cultures, and thus links us to our ancestors and eternal truths about the nature of humanity. In essence it is something that is bigger than ourselves and calls us therefore to live in a bigger way.)

The archetype of the Amazon means something  different to us today, than what it meant to the ancient Greeks. Each epoch will interpret the archetype in its own way which means that the archetype has a flexibility to flow with the themes and ideas of each generation and yet retain something of its essential nature. Certainly the Amazon inspired the early feminists in the sixties who initiated the huge shift that broke the structures that had kept women dis-empowered for millennia. But these early feminists focussed on the aspect of the Amazon as women who  successfully lived without men in a matriarchal society and excluded men in a very extreme way.  Grateful as we are for their struggles, the stereotype of these early feminists, is as angry, bra-burning, wounded man-haters who conducted themselves more like the gender they were endeavouring to transcend. The masculine way became once again the expression of power. 

For those who participated in the mini tele-summit, this issue was prominent. Kristin Engwig (Director of the WIN conference) spoke of the anger she has experienced from women who have won success and positions of power by following masculine models, only to discover now there are new rules. Refreshingly one woman on the call who had risen to a high position through playing by the old rules, was inspired by the discussion since that meant that she could operate in a more authentic and congruent way within her company, and was in a position now that she could influence others.

As someone who has used metaphors as a way of enabling experiential learning, the Amazon archetype is potent because she bridges two aspects of female power and its relevance to reality that women in business face – the polarities of masculine and feminine. My emphasis is on the feminine qualities of the Amazon alongside the recognition that the masculine has an important part to play.  It is about embracing both and forging a new way of being that is essentially feminine but with a masculine edge. In my experience when women are operating from this place they feel happier and are able to make use of  feminine attributes, that otherwise would stay hidden. As a result they are hugely more effective and are able to contribute more to their organisations, families and communities.

Dare to be Feminine

Both Kristin and Anne Stevens spoke of the courage it take to “dare to be feminine”. It takes great courage because it requires an exposure of vulnerability, and vulnerability like femininity has an association with weakness. But the willingness to take that risk often plays dividends as women are able to draw on a magical power that is innately theirs. It was this power that in earliest times caused women to be both revered and feared. It was feared because it was not understood and because women had access to knowledge that could not be ascertained by rational means. Now we live in happier times where we are relatively free of such persecution in which womens’ assets can contribute considerably to wealth and productivity, so along with Kristin and Anne I invite you to Dare To Be Feminine!

If you are drawn by this post you may want to consider taking part in my NEW YEAR offer of two Amazon Power tele sessions for the price of one.  Email me for details on claire@makingmoves.net