Growing into leadership

Abstract

Women comprise 35% of faculty positions within biological/agricultural/environmental life sciences and related fields at four-year institutions across the United States (National Science Foundation, 2008a). The percentage of women in science-based academia dramatically drops when looking at the positions of full professor, department head, dean and vice president. According to a list published by the Association of Public Land-Grant Universities (2013), there are 107 land-grant colleges each with administrative positions within a college or department of agriculture where women deans comprise 6% of the academic dean population. For the purposes of this qualitative study, a comprehensive sample of 14 women, vice presidents and deans of colleges of agriculture, were interviewed to learn what incidental/informal learning experiences occurred as a result of a critical incident(s) that informed their leadership views and practices. Utilizing critical incident technique, this study found themes for critical incidents among the administrators including: Managing the Arbitrary Workplace Phantom of Microaggression, Weathering Complex Workplace Relationships, Developing Leadership Through Sponsorship, and Evolving Amidst Adversity. The women mentioned that through these incidents they engaged in informal/incidental learning that had influenced their leadership practices. Themes in their learning were that the women strived to: Decode the Spoken/Unspoken Cultures of Academic Leadership, Maintain Authenticity and Apply Necessary Mirroring Behaviors, Purposefully Create an Inclusive and Civil Work Environment, Embrace their Personal Power as an Administrator, and Develop a Leadership Persona. Three conclusions were revealed as a result of this study. Women deans and vice presidents with agricultural governance responsibilities in higher education have: 1) traditionally lacked access to existing leadership networks and have learned how to lead as a student of their environment, employing informal and incidental learning strategies 2) resourcefully managed to endure difficult circumstances, withstanding very challenging situations and relationships, often turning them into opportunities for self-growth 3) successfully learned to navigate the patriarchal culture to transcend existing norms, making dynamic impacts in their workplace environments through transformational leadership practices. For future research, transfigurative leadership is a newly proposed model where the leader personifies situational relevance exhibiting the ability to shape-shift in order to reach individual or organizational goals based-on context.