What menstrual cycle has to do with effective leadership?
- Valentina Soulvitae
- May 17, 2022
- 4 min read
I bet you are wondering! To be honest I couldn’t have pictured myself reading about this a few years a go, let alone writing about the feminine cycle and leadership in the same paragraph. Things have changed…
Today, we are on a different page. Today, we now know the effect that our unconscious bias plays in all our relationships, and particularly the detrimental effect it has had on women when (not) being considered for executive positions. We are also now living in an era when corporations have realized the importance of supporting their employees’ well-being as it serves both the individual and the goals of the company in equal measure.
We, women, are now even pampered with unlimited corporate programs focused on developing women in leadership. However, what I have not seen referenced in any article or training materials are these two womanly words: “menstrual period”; nor their more elegant synonyms: “feminine cycle”. We, women, have an internal rhythm of four stages that takes us through a cyclical pattern of physical and emotional bundles. And if we learn to be attuned to them, I can vow it will bring a sense of balance and control that you may have been missing all this time!
Knowing others is intelligence;
knowing yourself is true wisdom.
Mastering others is strength;
mastering yourself is true power.”
― Lao Tzu, Tao Te ChingSo, I’ll like to invite professional, committed women to consider a new perspective on our feminine cycle, and perhaps embrace its natural cadence in our lives.
Once I read a great definition of leadership that stuck with me since it was humble as well as practical: Successful leadership is not about knowing everything and being ahead of the game, but very much about understanding our own weaknesses and surrounding ourselves with those who compliment us. Gaining better insight into our cycle, its attributes, and predominant emotions could become a powerful tool to identify our strengths and weaknesses. And even to plan ahead our month in both professional and social dimensions allowing the most optimal moments for planning, communication, reflection, creativity, analytical thinking, and even physical energy based on your own cycle.
The word “menstruation” is a combination of Latin and Greek words meaning “moon” and “month.” People have long believed that women’s fertility rhythms are related to the lunar cycle. However, some current research suggests that that is not the case1. Regardless, great parallelism between both cycles has been drawn since ancient times, and in some cases used to guide women in their menopause. So I’ll be referencing the moon cycles for women with no bleeding cycles.
The 4 stages of the menstruation cycle are well known and their physical changes well studied — which I would not cover here in this piece, but a great article can be found here. However, what modern women don’t seem to have fully embraced is the deeper understanding of the involved emotions in each phase- remember knowledge is wisdom!
The menstrual phases are represented by four archetypes, which reference the mythological lifecycle stages in womanhood: virgin, mother, enchantress, and crone.
Maybe, and very much like me not long ago, you are in the never-ending pursuit of proving your worth to the world (namely bosses, recruiters, senior managers, and most likely parents, partners, and friends) and doing your best to fit in in the male-dominant corporate world. Or perhaps, also just like me, you have never shared this perspective before, hence unconsciously neglecting what the feminine cycle has to offer as a natural compass.
Let’s explore each archetype -note that the date range is based on a 28-day cycle, but you will have to adjust it to your own cycle duration to understand when you are in each stage:
Maiden / Virgin Archetype
Days:1–6
Blood cycle: Pre-ovulation
Moon cycle (for women with no period): waxing moon
Feminine Energy: Mind and Physical Strength
Focus: Planning, Focus oriented tasks, Concentration, Physical Competitions and Tournaments
Focus this energy to help you explore and plan new ideas, to consider options and resolve complex problems, and enjoy your analytical mind and physical strength at their peak.
Mother Archetype
Days:7–13
Blood cycle: Ovulation
Moon cycle (for women with no period): full moon.
Feminine Energy: Empathy
Great for: Communication, Interviews, Conflict management, Difficult conversations, Socialisation, Workshop running.
Focus this energy on positively connecting with others, you might want to take advantage of this phase for running workshops or presenting your product to a potential client, having to provide constructive feedback, or even attending your next job interview.
Enchantress / Wild Woman Archetype
Days:14–20
Blood cycle: pre-menstrual
Moon cycle (for women with no period): waning moon
Feminine Energy: Self-nurturing and healing
Great for: Creativity, Intuition, Inspiration, Ideas exploration, Boundaries setting
Focus the healing energy by going within and listening to your body and emotions non-judgmentally. Ensure to create the right conditions and atmosphere to allow for that self-reflection space. Allow this time for career development evaluation, go through that never-ending to-do list and spend time on creative activities.
But what about PMS (pre-menstrual syndrome)? PMS is widely accepted as a ‘condition’ that many women suffer in this phase. But what if you take a step back and consider what this is really trying to tell you? What if the discomfort and the physical pain are actually your body highlighting an unresolved resistance to your femininity?
Crone/Wise Woman
Days:21–28
Blood cycle: menstrual
Moon cycle for women with no period: New Moon
Feminine Energy: Meditative
Great for: Reflection, Experience, Delegation, Recapitulate, Leave behind what does no longer serve us.
This archetype is probably the least valued of all by people in our modern culture. Focus this energy to evaluate what’s working or not, also a great leadership opportunity to delegate, to consider new ways based on your past experiences and wisdom.
If I have convinced you in evaluating your own cycle, I suggest the moon chart from Miranda Gray2. It’s a great tool to keep a record of your cycle and your emotions for self-reflection. I have also created my own chart with what are the strengths of each stage and check where I am regularly to validate feelings, emotions, and physical awareness.
Finally and as a next step, I invite you to reconsider the meaning of effective leadership for you, and to evaluate whether your checkpoints and periodic focus time could serve you better by realigning them to your natural cycle. Being in tune with your cycle is a way to approach the world including doing the work you would have to do anyway, but more gently and intentionally. Nothing to lose by trying it!
Inspirational Sources:
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