Author: Tasha Souza, PhD
I run a monthly seminar for new faculty and, during one meeting, I had a smaller group of only women. We had time for general questions and they wanted to know more about the best ways to set themselves up well for retirement. I thought this a strange request, given they were just starting, but it was timely given I was considering doing the faculty early retirement program. I told them about the many benefits–personally, professionally, and financially–of having administrative leadership positions on campus. They all grimaced at the idea of being a campus administrator in the future, even serving as a chair. At first, I was taken aback by their disdain for academic leadership roles but then I remembered that I, too, had that same orientation to such roles during my early years as faculty.
I could imagine all the women present at the seminar that day as transformative administrators in the future. All campuses need thoughtful, equity-minded, student-centered leaders. The psychology of what causes some faculty to change their mind and decide to step over to what is often referred to as the “dark side” is well beyond my area of expertise. However, I have learned some pearls of wisdom that may be useful in my over fifteen years as a faculty member dabbling in leadership roles and over ten years as an administrator. People often wonder when might it be appropriate to step into a leadership role. What should be some considerations? Why do it at all? How does one shift into academic leadership roles? Though I will go into more depth in answering these questions during an upcoming webinar, below are some initial considerations.
When: Regardless of aspirations, faculty should engage in service that they find fulfilling and that allows them to develop leadership skills. Examples might include chairing a search committee, serving on a senate committee or task force related to a topic you care about, or taking on a role for a campus unit (e.g., the Service Learning Center, Center for Teaching & Learning). Such experiences not only allow for leadership skill development, but they can provide insight on professional preferences and open doors to other opportunities. I never planned on being a campus administrator, but engaging in the aforementioned examples allowed me to see myself as a leader and open up to the possibility of being one in the future. There are many personal considerations related to timing, which I will encourage participants to reflect upon in the webinar.
Why: My decisions to move from Faculty to Coordinator to Director to Vice Provost were intentional at the time, but not part of a larger plan I had set out for myself. I found that once I was able to make positive change in a small way, I gained the confidence and the will and skill to do so in a larger way. We may have a loose roadmap for our future but the terrain is always changing. Therefore, it’s okay to have your leadership plan be more emergent, fueled by your passions and guided by the tides of change.
How: There are many ways to step into leadership and each of your journeys will be somewhat different. However, there are some shared strategies that are important for all emerging leaders. One is to be like water because change is constant (Maree Brown, 2017), especially with the ever-evolving landscape of higher education. Stepping into leadership roles with intentional adaptation allows us to engage in the “process of changing while staying in touch with our deeper purpose and longing” (Maree Brown, 2017, p. 70).
Reflecting on the young women in the seminar and my younger self as new faculty, I think it’s possible that our negative reactions to considering administrative leadership was likely due to the misguided, but understandable, belief that one has to lose oneself and compromise one’s own values as an academic leader. In my experience, I have found that it’s possible to hold onto one’s values and deeper purpose as an academic leader; in fact, transformative leadership requires it.
Maree Brown, A. Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds. AK Press, Chico, CA.