Matriarchal Leadership Series-4-How Patriarchy Hijacked Leadership

Core Pillars of Matriarchal Leadership

In our last discussion, we explored the core tenets of matriarchal leadership—reciprocity, interconnectedness, wisdom, and nurturance.

These principles existed for generations in pre-colonial societies, in Indigenous governance, and within communities where leadership was about caretaking, not control.

So how did we lose these models? How did leadership become about dominance rather than stewardship?

The answer is simple but deeply entrenched: patriarchy hijacked leadership and turned it into a system of extraction.

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This series is part of Leadership Revealed, my paid offering where I bring you the depth, emotional labor, and spiritual insight that my clients hire me to deliver to their teams.

The first post in each series is my gift to you. Did you miss part 1 or 2 or 3?

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What to Expect in This Series

This is a 7 part series for Leaders + Learners where you and I take an honest look at “Matriarchal Leadership” series.

Here is a succinct outline of what you can expect in this first of seven posts in this series here on Verbal Vortexes.

Thank you for joining me and my mind-heart-gut approach to where we can do the work both internally (with our inner game) and externally (our expression the outer game)

Series Outline:

1. Reclaiming Matriarchal Leadership: What It Really Means «(Click to read)

2. Matriarchal Leadership Across Cultures and Time: Where Matriarchal Structures Thrive «(Click to read)

3. The Core Pillars of Matriarchal Leadership—Returning the Power of Collective Women

4. How Patriarchy Hijacked Leadership and How We Take It Back

5. Matriarchal Leadership in Practice: How We Lead Differently

6. Personalizing Matriarchal Leadership: What This Means for You

7. Matriarchal Leadership for the Future

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How Patriarchy Warped Leadership into Power & Control

Instead of leadership being rooted in responsibility to the collective, patriarchy reshaped it into a pyramid of dominance:

• Hierarchy over community – Leadership became about ruling over rather than guiding with.

• Extraction over reciprocity – A system where power hoards resources rather than redistributes them.

• Force over wisdom – Decisions made based on who can assert control rather than who holds deep knowledge.

• Competition over collaboration – Turning leadership into a game of winners and losers rather than a collective effort.

We were taught that "strong leadership" meant being decisive, dominant, and detached.

Empathy was seen as weak. Cooperation was labeled inefficient. (READ THAT AGAIN)

And matriarchal wisdom was erased or reframed as "irrational" or "emotional."

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Why People Resist Matriarchal Leadership

Many people—especially those raised under patriarchal conditioning—resist the idea of matriarchal leadership, not because it doesn’t work, but because they cannot imagine a leadership model that doesn’t rely on power over others.

• They assume leadership without domination means chaos.

• They believe hierarchy is necessary for order.

• They fear that leadership built on care will mean they "lose" power.

But this fear is a symptom of patriarchal conditioning.

Because the truth is, when leadership is built on collaboration, wisdom, and shared responsibility, the entire system thrives—not just those at the top.