Inviting the Feminist Vision of Mining: Where Intuition Meets Innovation
Mining leadership is experiencing a profound transformation. As we witnessed this week at AME Round Up 2025, the industry's most effective leaders blend traditional expertise with new problem-solving and team-building approaches.
The New Mining Leader
Today's mining leaders face unprecedented challenges: navigating the energy transition, managing ESG expectations, and building diverse, high-performing teams. Success requires more than technical knowledge—it demands emotional intelligence, adaptive thinking, and inclusive leadership. These areas are the basis of the Feminist Vision of Mining. When all talent can build these skills, people are brought in, not excluded.
Three Key Shifts in Mining Leadership:
From Command to Collaboration: Traditional hierarchical structures, built on patriarchal ideals, give way to collaborative environments where diverse perspectives are welcomed and actively sought. Leaders who create psychological safety and encourage open dialogue see higher team performance and innovation.
Intuitive Decision-Making: While data remains crucial, leaders can recognize that intuitive leadership—informed by experience and emotional intelligence—often leads to better outcomes. This is particularly evident in community relations, team development, and strategic planning. Responsible mining can be built on quantitative and qualitative data, increasing the participation of all those impacted.
Inclusive Excellence: The most successful mining operations are led by those who understand that excellence comes in many forms. Companies that embrace different leadership styles and perspectives are building more resilient, adaptable organizations. Diversity builds excellence and resilience, another primary ethos of the Feminist Vision of Mining.
The Path Forward
The future of mining leadership lies in the balance—between technical expertise and emotional intelligence, data and intuition, tradition and innovation, men and women, and gender-diverse people. We must recognize that the best decisions come from combining solid data with strong intuition and diverse input.
This evolution presents both a challenge and an opportunity for the next generation of mining leaders. Those who can adapt their leadership style while staying authentic will be best positioned to lead the industry forward.
What's your experience with this evolution in mining leadership? How are you balancing traditional approaches with new ways of leading?
