Hello readers (or lack therof) at the moment. It's cool to talk to yourself. I just got the "Strengths Based Leadership" book in the mail. As you can probably tell I am pretty excited about the Strengths Quest (SQ) philosophy. One of the best things I ever did for myself was learn about my strengths via this inventory. It's great for leaders because it is broken down in a way that is easy to understand and apply. If you don't like something you see, rewrite it. But above all it is a great way to discover what your natural talents are. This book is about how to lead with your strengths. So of course the first thing I do after reading the introduction is look up "WOO" my first strength. What I discovered that I don't think I knew is that as a WOO I can provide stability. I realized that building strong networks and good relationships with people is important to leading, but now I see how I can provide stability. (1) Through my contacts I can stay current in terms of information (not gossip folks, that is volatile) also (2) I can reach out and gain a lot of support for an organization thereby providing stability, continuity and expansion. Pretty neat. I would encourage those of you who havn't picked up this book to try it out. You get the Strengths Finder code to take the quiz and it is chalked full of information about how to lead from your strengths and how to lead others with certain strengths. I find that to be especially helpful, especially in supervising and advising. Here is the link if you are interested. Strengths Based Leadership by Tom Rath and Barry Conchie. Pick up a new version to make sure you get the code.
In other news I am writing about student activist leaders right now. I am knee deep in my thesis, writing chapter 4 right now and making sure that I fully express the wonderful and interesting things that I discovered about these students. These students are activists in organizations that are leading the way for social change. I am so energized by my thesis right now, I am even excited to stop writing this blog so that I can get back to work. Almost there! Stay tuned as I will probably post the findings on the blog in a week or two. Very cool!
Women and Leadership: A reflection
"Well behaved women seldom make history"
This is the quote that sits nicely at the bottom of my signature on all of my emails. I really like this quote because it exemplifies what it means to be a feminist, a progressive and above all, what it means to be a woman in leadership. Women fight to become good leaders in a world that is not conditioned for them to be leaders. Throughout the Women in leadership class we have heard from ground breaking women leaders who push the envelop.
For Juana Bordas it was her experience helping to advance Latina women, she fought to find a space to do the work that she saw necessary to the prepare women for leadership roles. She wrote this great book that we read that basically provided a forum for my in depth discovery of leadership as a cultural practice. Juana taught me that not only can women and persons of color can be great leaders, but we can learn and apply different culture's community values in our leadership practices that are really wonderful. One of them being "Sankofa", the idea that we need to look to the past and understand it so that we can move forward without forgetting where we came from. For the dominant culture this is important, especially for leaders because we need everyone to move forward and become a more just society, and if we don't know and understand the multiple histories, we can't move forward together in a multicultural society. Thanks to Juana for bringing a little Salsa, Soul and Spirit to our lives!
Another important thing to know about Women and Leadership is that women don't always do the best job of selling themselves and their accomplishments to employers. Luane Lawrence, VP for University Advancement at OSU spoke with us about our "Brand". Her day in class was one of my favorites because she made us really think critically about who we were as leaders, employees and as authentic people. She reminded us that how we represent ourselves on various arenas is our guarantee so it needs to be consistent and authentic. I think as a feminist and woman leader we really need to work hard to make sure that we are being our authentic self and not attempting to conform to what we think that people want us to be. We need to know what our values and talents are and find a place where we can be our best selves. I think Luanne Lawrence taught us to be proud of who we are, not to hide it or try to be something that we aren't. How comforting is that? She helps women on campus to push their personal envelopes by helping them to seek their authentic selves. Thanks Luanne!
Luanne also talked to us about having mentors, I think this is one of the most important things that I learned throughout this year and in this course. One of my recent mentors is Mamta Accapadi, our new Dean of Students. Mamta came in to talk to us and what really resonated for me was her boldness when it comes to work life balance. As women we always worry about whether or not we can do it all. I think that I learned from Mamta that if you are going to maintain balance, you can't always behave, you have to push the envelope. I'm so glad that she does, she is a great role model for women who want to be professionals and mothers. Simply put she says, If I can bring my laptop home, I can bring my daughter to work. She is also very honest about her own growth and development making her really approachable and easy to talk to. Mamta is also very humble, a trait that I think is wonderful. Another great lesson that Mamta taught us is that sometimes we need to make tough decisions in leadership. She talked about her hair, in order to progress in administration and be an Asian woman, she was told to cut her hair. At first I throught this move was bad, I asked why she would compromise who she was if an organization wasn't going to accept her. I think that I learned that she did it so that she could make progress for women in leaders. Now she is a public figure that can serve as a great role-model for other women leaders, especially Asian Women leaders. She is probably one of the bravest women that I have ever met and I am glad we have the opportunity to hear her speak.
There were several amazing women leaders (and Tim) that came to speak with us, I think that I really loved these three the most because they taught me something about myself. That I can be bold, authentic, brave and nurturing. I am a Woman Leader. I can help people to learn about themselves and how they can push the envelop, how to make change and how to set the stage for women leaders of the future. I am privileged to be in the position that I can educate myself, and become a role model for other women. I think what I learned from this class most of all is that I am proud to be a woman leader.
So if you are reading this right now, know that you are important to others, you are a leader, you can be brave, authentic, bold and nurturing. And contrary to belief, you do not always need to behave.
This is the quote that sits nicely at the bottom of my signature on all of my emails. I really like this quote because it exemplifies what it means to be a feminist, a progressive and above all, what it means to be a woman in leadership. Women fight to become good leaders in a world that is not conditioned for them to be leaders. Throughout the Women in leadership class we have heard from ground breaking women leaders who push the envelop.
For Juana Bordas it was her experience helping to advance Latina women, she fought to find a space to do the work that she saw necessary to the prepare women for leadership roles. She wrote this great book that we read that basically provided a forum for my in depth discovery of leadership as a cultural practice. Juana taught me that not only can women and persons of color can be great leaders, but we can learn and apply different culture's community values in our leadership practices that are really wonderful. One of them being "Sankofa", the idea that we need to look to the past and understand it so that we can move forward without forgetting where we came from. For the dominant culture this is important, especially for leaders because we need everyone to move forward and become a more just society, and if we don't know and understand the multiple histories, we can't move forward together in a multicultural society. Thanks to Juana for bringing a little Salsa, Soul and Spirit to our lives!
Another important thing to know about Women and Leadership is that women don't always do the best job of selling themselves and their accomplishments to employers. Luane Lawrence, VP for University Advancement at OSU spoke with us about our "Brand". Her day in class was one of my favorites because she made us really think critically about who we were as leaders, employees and as authentic people. She reminded us that how we represent ourselves on various arenas is our guarantee so it needs to be consistent and authentic. I think as a feminist and woman leader we really need to work hard to make sure that we are being our authentic self and not attempting to conform to what we think that people want us to be. We need to know what our values and talents are and find a place where we can be our best selves. I think Luanne Lawrence taught us to be proud of who we are, not to hide it or try to be something that we aren't. How comforting is that? She helps women on campus to push their personal envelopes by helping them to seek their authentic selves. Thanks Luanne!
Luanne also talked to us about having mentors, I think this is one of the most important things that I learned throughout this year and in this course. One of my recent mentors is Mamta Accapadi, our new Dean of Students. Mamta came in to talk to us and what really resonated for me was her boldness when it comes to work life balance. As women we always worry about whether or not we can do it all. I think that I learned from Mamta that if you are going to maintain balance, you can't always behave, you have to push the envelope. I'm so glad that she does, she is a great role model for women who want to be professionals and mothers. Simply put she says, If I can bring my laptop home, I can bring my daughter to work. She is also very honest about her own growth and development making her really approachable and easy to talk to. Mamta is also very humble, a trait that I think is wonderful. Another great lesson that Mamta taught us is that sometimes we need to make tough decisions in leadership. She talked about her hair, in order to progress in administration and be an Asian woman, she was told to cut her hair. At first I throught this move was bad, I asked why she would compromise who she was if an organization wasn't going to accept her. I think that I learned that she did it so that she could make progress for women in leaders. Now she is a public figure that can serve as a great role-model for other women leaders, especially Asian Women leaders. She is probably one of the bravest women that I have ever met and I am glad we have the opportunity to hear her speak.
There were several amazing women leaders (and Tim) that came to speak with us, I think that I really loved these three the most because they taught me something about myself. That I can be bold, authentic, brave and nurturing. I am a Woman Leader. I can help people to learn about themselves and how they can push the envelop, how to make change and how to set the stage for women leaders of the future. I am privileged to be in the position that I can educate myself, and become a role model for other women. I think what I learned from this class most of all is that I am proud to be a woman leader.
So if you are reading this right now, know that you are important to others, you are a leader, you can be brave, authentic, bold and nurturing. And contrary to belief, you do not always need to behave.
Leadership and Cooking
Since one of my goals is to do things that I love more, here is a fun little blog post I put together that connects Cooking and Leadership, two of my favorite things. Both I consider an art (as well as a science of course).
I have heard many talk about the art of leadership and the art of cooking, let's talk about both! I love leadership and cooking because it allows me to take different things, put them together and make them beautiful. Cooking and Leadership are similar in many ways. Here are five ways in which they are connected!
Cooking and Leadership.....
1. They are both seen as processes: In Wikipedia Leadership has been described as the “process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task”. Although I do not agree with the "one person" part of the sentence, the point is made that it is the process of working together for a common goal. In cooking, there is the process of shopping, using a cookbook for guidance maybe, broiling, baking and sauteeing. All things that contribute to making something wonderful.
2. Leadership and Cooking both incorporate a number of ingredients that enhance. In cooking, people use citrus to bring out flavor in dishes. Everything is better with a little lemon. In leadership, we use training, self exploration and collaboration to bring out the best in leaders. The more that you add, the better everything will be! (Caution: maybe not the lemon in this case)
3. Leadership and Cooking engage participants in a collaborative learning. Think about the last time that you made something at home, who helped you? Did you go shopping with a loved one to find the ingredients? Were you taught by a loved one as a child to prepare the dish? Did you teach a friend in college to make it? I would guess that your answer is probably yes. Cooking is a fun thing to do that is both tasty and educational. Leadership, especially Feminist leadership is all about collaboration, we learn from one another through experiences. When we work together to make change or bring people together (not mutually exclusive) we learn from one another, and we learn about ourselves in relationship with others. What a great experience participating in leadership can be!
4. Leadership and Cooking allow us to serve others. When cooking, we are often making something for our friends and family. We share ourselves with others and help to fill their stomachs and their souls with love that comes straight from our hands and hearts. Maybe you remember a time when you made dinner for your family to thank them for their support, or baked a cake for a friend on their birthday. Or even spent some time preparing food, for those who are food insufficient. In any situation you are nurturing them, utilizing your skills and resources to make their lives a little easier and a little more enjoyable. Now for leadership, I believe that leadership is all about serving the community. Recently I attended a conference in which the keynote speaker, President Ed Ray said, "Successful leadership is not about you". This exemplifies the idea that leadership is about service, it is about lifting up others in the process and as a result of the process. Good leaders find out what the world needs, and what they are good at and engaged in the intersection. In short, service is a main ingredient to leadership.
One more, if you can think of anything else, please feel free to add on:
5. Leadership and Cooking feed your soul. Well atleast they feed mine, which is probably another reason why I chose this theme. Leadership has always been a passion of mine since I was a leader on the playground in elementary school as a peer conflict manager. It makes me so happy to engage with other people in various situations. I especially love advising new leaders, students who maybe do not yet identify as being a leader, just involved. I love to figure out what makes them tick, help them to know their own strengths and utilize them, and how to communicate and work with others. Cooking also feeds my soul, I love to engage in the process in which beautiful things become something even more beautiful because they are together. I can say this also for groups of women leaders.
Introduction of the Blog: Women and Leadership
Welcome to my blog, this is my first post!
Women and Leadership and me!
My goal as a woman leader is to help support and empower all of the students that I work with. I find it especially important because women are not traditionally viewed as good leaders. We are viewed systematically as the weaker sex without what it takes to be a leader. In the dominant paradigm leadership is something that is a personality trait. Leaders are young, charismatic, outspoken and respected by others simply for their position and generally male. If you ask someone to identify a woman leader, they will generally become stumped or identify only a few very famous women. Generally good leaders are thought of as male.
Women have a different set of skills, talents and traits; all women do. However, generally we are seen to be relationship focused, collaborative and consensus driven. I share this value, and truly believe that all people can be leaders. Since I began advising student organizations my junior year of college I started to see how much traditional leadership alienated people simply because they did not fit the mold. I quickly began to feel for the students that ran for positions and were not elected, they just didn't have the A-type personality to win the election. Often times, students felt burned and undervalued. In my line of work, we hold fast to the idea that in order for students to be successful they need to find a place to fit. As a leader in various roles I identify strengths in people and help them to cultivate those strengths in order to find a place to fit on a collaborative team. These collaborative teams become "leaderful" organizations in which students are mutually learning and growing because they are doing something that they love, something that motivates them and something that fits all of their strengths. I find that this is especially helpful for women, as we value this collective culture of leadership, we grow to be leaders in our own way.
I hold onto this mission because I have seen the impact that it has on the growth of the students that I work with. And besides, who doesn't want to feel good about leadership?
Together, women leaders are strong and invincible. We start movements, we shake things up, we love deeply and we empower and nurture others and most importantly, we do it together.
I hope you have enjoyed my first post, I am looking forward to any comments and looking forward to posting more!
Lots of Love,
Heather Nicole
Women and Leadership and me!
My goal as a woman leader is to help support and empower all of the students that I work with. I find it especially important because women are not traditionally viewed as good leaders. We are viewed systematically as the weaker sex without what it takes to be a leader. In the dominant paradigm leadership is something that is a personality trait. Leaders are young, charismatic, outspoken and respected by others simply for their position and generally male. If you ask someone to identify a woman leader, they will generally become stumped or identify only a few very famous women. Generally good leaders are thought of as male.
Women have a different set of skills, talents and traits; all women do. However, generally we are seen to be relationship focused, collaborative and consensus driven. I share this value, and truly believe that all people can be leaders. Since I began advising student organizations my junior year of college I started to see how much traditional leadership alienated people simply because they did not fit the mold. I quickly began to feel for the students that ran for positions and were not elected, they just didn't have the A-type personality to win the election. Often times, students felt burned and undervalued. In my line of work, we hold fast to the idea that in order for students to be successful they need to find a place to fit. As a leader in various roles I identify strengths in people and help them to cultivate those strengths in order to find a place to fit on a collaborative team. These collaborative teams become "leaderful" organizations in which students are mutually learning and growing because they are doing something that they love, something that motivates them and something that fits all of their strengths. I find that this is especially helpful for women, as we value this collective culture of leadership, we grow to be leaders in our own way.
I hold onto this mission because I have seen the impact that it has on the growth of the students that I work with. And besides, who doesn't want to feel good about leadership?
Together, women leaders are strong and invincible. We start movements, we shake things up, we love deeply and we empower and nurture others and most importantly, we do it together.
I hope you have enjoyed my first post, I am looking forward to any comments and looking forward to posting more!
Lots of Love,
Heather Nicole
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