Alpha Females

Helping women make the most of their leadership qualities.

Gabriela Cora, MD, MBA is a corporate consultant at the Executive Health & Wealth Institute and a psychiatrist at the Florida Neuroscience Center. She is author of Leading under Pressure. See full bio

June 7, 2008, Gender

Farewell to the Ultimate Alpha Female...For Now

Farewell to the ultimate alpha female...for now.

Everyone wondered what Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton's farewell would sound like as she prepared to deliver her "exit" speech. Political commentators and democratic supporters of Senator Obama clearly labeled her an Alpha Fee Bee over not accepting her opponent's victory earlier in the week, as this would have meant her defeat. Expecting an "honorable" and traditionally "feminine" concession, most expected her to graciously accept her fate.

Instead, this Ultimate Alpha Fee planned an outstanding exit strategy, of which we can only see the tip of the iceberg and yet intuitively wonder about the iceberg beneath. A party of thousands at the National Building Museum in Washington DC (CNN News), her loyal followers continued to be inspired by the smart, thoughtful, and powerful grip of her situation. The first part of her speech conveyed the strong message that characterized her campaign. She was eloquent and passionate, strong and engaging.

She then conceded the race to Senator Obama. There was little passion in her endorsement, but a sense of duty and responsibility were obvious in her speech. Her voice became more monotonous, with fewer smiles and yet, her Alpha Fee nature prevailed as she endorsed her opponent and invited her supporters to endorse him too.

Although she urged her supporters to endorse Obama, make no mistake: this Ultimate Alpha Fee made it very clear that she is the leader of the eighteen million voters who have supported her and followed her over these months. She made it very clear that she will continue to embrace the values that guided her to lead as well as her desire to make sure these same values will survive beyond her personal losses or gains. One thing is granted, we can rest assured she won't cease to surprise us over the months to come.