Time and again, we hear leaders say that they were inspired throughout their professional journeys by seeing and hearing others telling their stories and encouraging them to achieve goals beyond anything they had ever imagined.
Eleanor Roosevelt is just such an example. Eleanor was gangly and not a typical social teenager when she entered boarding school as a shy young woman. She claimed that during her boarding school years she lost her shyness and acquired the self-confidence that would carry her throughout life. Maria Souvestre, the headmistress of the school, mentored Eleanor throughout her academic years and co-curricular activities. Eleanor attributed this mentoring to becoming an independent woman, a confident leader, and a visionary with her eyes set on lofty goals.
Being exposed to female trailblazers who set the stage for future leaders may be considered essential for aspiring women.
Identifying the pivotal moments that fueled successful female leaders grounds the work of ACE Women’s President Mentoring – Voices from the Field 2023: Experiences of Women Presidents in Higher Education.
In this body of work, participants emphasized the importance of relationships that support women to aspire, achieve, and persist in a college or university presidency. Challenges that may seem insurmountable can make the presidential position unattractive and unsustainable, highlighting the necessity of mentorship and support networks for both aspiring and current female presidents. This ACE research suggests that women often do not recognize their own strengths and talents until a mentor, a champion, or a person in a position of power points these out to them and encourages them to embrace the challenge of professional advancement (ACE Women’s Network, 2023, HERS).
As we know from ACE’s American College President Study, female representation in university presidencies continues to rise, slowly. When first released in 2017, the number of female presidents increased by 2.7 percent. However, the 2023 literature update asserted that female presidents are approximately 30% of the US presidents. And, the percentage gap continues to widen with race and ethnicity (Eddy, 2023).
The Power of Personal Stories and Mentoring
We know that effective mentoring coupled with learning about leaders’ personal stories are powerful tools that inspire women as they embark on the courageous path to a presidency. It is this authentic sharing of personal stories, challenges, successes, dreams, and concerns that opens up pathways and roadmaps for others who might consider seeking a presidency. Three important consequences emerge for those who are recipients of hearing these powerful personal stories.
- Breaking Barriers: Sharing stories allows women to dismantle stereotypes and inspire others to pursue leadership roles. When we share the challenges we face and the strategies we employ to overcome, counteract, or dismantle the stereotypes, we provide opportunities for others to have the appropriate tools to do the same.
- Building Connection: Personal stories create a sense of relatability and authenticity, fostering trust with students, faculty, staff, alumni, community leaders, and institutional donors. We know from the research that authentic and successful leadership includes, but is not limited to the following attributes: humility, honesty, transparency, vulnerability, vision, and ethical behavior.
- Shaping Narratives: By telling their own stories, female presidents can redefine leadership for future generations. These stories are important for female leaders and those who aspire to be leaders. It is these authentic stories and narratives that encourage others to embrace their own strengths and weaknesses and to identify ways to continue on their aspirational leadership journey.
Spotlighting Female Leadership: Strategies, Stories, Perspectives
The International Association of University Presidents recently published a book that highlights the narratives/stories/journeys of ten international female institutional presidents represented across several countries and continents.
These 10 female presidents/rectors/chancellors each responded independently to a set of prompts and thoughtfully shared how they overcame personal challenges on their leadership path, how they navigated their ascendancy through a male-dominated higher education field, and, they offered their unique perspectives on their own professional trajectory and career choices.
Interestingly, the themes that emerged across these 10 presidential reflections included, but were not limited to:
- First Female Institutional Leader: The authors reflected upon their feelings being the first female president/rector/chancellor of their respective institutions.
- A Higher Purpose: The authors described their dedication to something much greater than themselves. Their commitment was to their institution, their students, the future of higher education, and their country.
- Mentor/Coach: The authors addressed the importance of having a mentor or coach that would serve as a sounding board, a support, or a confidential guide.
- Listening Carefully: The authors highlighted the importance of “listening” to their cabinet members and their constituents, not believing that they were the smartest person in the room, and that they could always listen and learn from others.
- Proving Oneself: Most of the authors asserted that gender plays/played a role in their leadership position and success. They posited that as women they had to consistently prove themselves in their leadership positions.
- External Perceptions: The authors raised the concept that gender is just one of the factors that impacted how they were perceived by others. Several asserted that other demographics were also part of the perception equation: e.g., their country of origin, their religion, and their age.
- Essential Attributes: Every author mentioned the importance of consistently exhibiting some, if not all, of the following attributes: authenticity, humility, being laser-focused on the institutional mission, resilience, communication, and empathy.
- Am I Good Enough: Several authors referred to “the imposter syndrome” and how easy it is to feel that they did not deserve to be the institutional leader. These leaders talked about how important it is not to listen to that inner voice that says, “am I good enough?” and, rather, to know that they are good enough and that is why they had been selected for their leadership position.
We invite you to download the digital book, read the themes, stories/reflections and consider how your own stories reflect (or not) similar themes. We, as leaders in this industry, each have a responsibility to embrace our own journeys knowing that others are always watching as they seek their own professional ascendancy. When we share our stories through mentorship, allyship, collegiality, and friendship, we are empowering other women to dream big while also fostering an inclusive and supportive professional environment. Doing this thoughtfully, strategically, and for the greater good will lead to more women in the presidential pipeline, a more diverse presidential workforce, and more successful presidential tenures.
How Can We Each Share Our Stories to Benefit Others
First, we should encourage each president to recognize that they have a responsibility to share their stories through various platforms, whether sharing occurs one on one, through writing, through podcasts, through workshops, through national meetings, or other available venues.
Second, we should support professional development opportunities for women who aspire to the presidency to develop the skills for professional growth in higher education by participating in quality webinars, workshops, conferences, and mentoring.
Third, remember that courageous and authentic storytelling will have a ripple effect. You are now in a position to be an influencer, a supporter, and a role model for women who may never have imagined all that they can achieve.
Finally, we are fortunate that the American Council on Education is hosting podcasts this fall that feature several of the international female presidents who are spotlighted in this book. Please join us for these podcasts to hear their courageous stories.
Download “Spotlighting Female Leadership: Strategies, Stories, Perspectives” by our own Devorah Leiberman below.