Fostering Growth Through Authentic Leadership and Mentoring

Dr. Amy Diaz and Dr. Lesley Frederick recently presented a session at the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) annual conference regarding “Inspiring Growth: The Intersection of Authentic Leadership and Mentoring.” The following conversation touches on some of the key points they shared.

Kelly Cherwin, HigherEdJobs: Dr. Diaz and Dr. Frederick, let’s start with the term ‘Authentic Leadership.’ Can you explain what you mean by this?

Frederick: For the purposes of our presentation, I used a definition of Authentic Leadership from Gavin: authentic leaders “have high standards of integrity, take responsibility for their actions, and make decisions based on principle rather than short-term success. They use their inner compasses to guide their daily actions, which enables them to earn the trust of their employees, peers, and shareholders”. That definition really resonates with me because I think authentic leaders are very self-aware, especially as it relates to their “inner compass,” and have a leadership style that is principle-centered. Those principles are strong drivers that guide daily work.

Diaz: During our discussions leading up to the presentation we talked about being authentic to oneself compared to trying to lead like someone else. This concept can be confusing to some who may have leadership characteristics that are unlike those defined by Gavin (2019) but are the authentic ways in which they lead. Refusal to change one’s leadership style that is not principle-centered is not what we endorsed through this presentation and discussion.

Cherwin: Why is it an important topic to discuss and how can academia build more authentic leaders?

Diaz: The premise of our presentation was that we are all facing a leadership challenge in higher education.

• “The American Council on Education, found that 54% of presidents or chancellors planned to leave their current positions within 5 years,” according to an AGB Search Blog.
• “The pandemic’s impact has not been equal. Those with caregiving duties are struggling without the support of day care, school, or senior centers for older relatives, and this tends to have disproportionately affected women,” according to an article in The Chronicle of Higher Education.
• “College leaders report staffing losses at all levels, including IT workers, student success professionals, dining hall workers and executive leaders…” reported an Inside Higher Ed article.
• “There are several reasons for the churn,” an article contends. “Retirement, death (while in office), resignation, terminations, stress because of the new student-centered funding formula, workload (specifically the inability to have work-life balance), and fraught state political dynamics were primary.”

Leadership positions at multiple levels and in all areas of the college are difficult to fill and the pipeline of ready professionals is limited. For those who may be ready and possess the skills and experiences needed for advanced leadership positions, some of them are opting to not apply.

So, our proposal is that we need to grow our own leaders through the intersection of authentic leadership and mentoring. We feel there are employees in our colleges who possess natural authentic leadership characteristics but may not have the requisite knowledge and skills that align with the leadership positions that we need to fill at the time.

Cherwin: During the presentation, you asked the audience to think of characteristics that are necessary for our next generation of leaders. Terms that came up included: flexible, understanding, dedicated to the mission, comfortable with ambiguity, and diverse, among others. What was your takeaway from these responses and did anything surprise you?

Frederick: One of the words that came up fairly frequently was “nimble”. That wasn’t surprising, but I think it was a really good word to encapsulate how audience members were feeling. COVID required rapid response and new thinking. Now in a post-COVID environment, there is so much immediacy to our work. For example, rules, regulations, and policies are getting changed at state and federal levels and these changes often require immediate action that deviates from long-standing practices and/or ways of thinking. Also, the economy is still changing in the post-COVID environment. I think we are all still trying to figure out how to best serve our students within this new economic environment. Lastly, technology seems to be changing at break-neck speed. The growing presence of AI in our lives has us all rethinking how we do our work in light of such a tool. All of these examples require us to be very nimble in our actions and in our thinking.

Diaz: The participatory audience seemed to be aligned in their thinking and experiences on this topic. The work is important yet challenging, very clear yet sometimes ambiguous, diverse and mission-driven. So finding people who are willing to work and lead in our current environments (which could also be driven by state laws and statutes that make the work even more challenging) is a challenge that we all are experiencing. None of the responses surprised me; however, I was surprised by the similarities that everyone was willing to share.

Cherwin: University leadership is at a tipping point, based on some of the statistics you shared at the conference. College leaders report staffing losses including IT workers, student success professionals, dining hall workers and executive leaders. How, if at all, can authentic leadership help turn this around?

Diaz: Leaders who demonstrate aspects of Gavin’s (2019) definition of authentic leadership (“have high standards of integrity, take responsibility for their actions, and make decisions based on principle rather than short-term success….which enables them to earn the trust of their employees, peers, and shareholders”) are leaders who people across the organization want to follow. They will stay in their roles at the college with opportunities for recognition and advancement if they work with leaders who are trustworthy and create working and learning environments that are conducive to helping them be successful.

Frederick: If we think about Gavin’s definition of authentic leadership that includes leadership characteristics such as taking responsibility for actions, making principle-based decisions, and operating with high standards of integrity, leaders with these characteristics meet the needs and expectations of team members.

Cherwin: As the title mentions, you believe that growth is inspired by connecting leadership and mentoring. However, growth isn’t always easy because it comes with ups and downs. Do you feel some leaders may forget that “growth” is an important part of their journey or role?

Diaz: You bring up a good point — we need to encourage and support leaders to become mentors for other aspiring leaders. Mentoring takes intentionality and time. When our leaders already feel as if they don’t have time to lead, convincing them to be a mentor to someone else may feel counterintuitive to them. However, our premise for this discussion is that carving out time for mentorship will result in finding leaders within the institution that help to ensure the mission-driving work continues with integrity and eases the leadership challenge.

Frederick: I think sometimes as we experience greater levels of professional responsibility, it feels more difficult to focus on personal growth. And, in some cases, some leaders may feel/believe they are fully evolved. Yet, without continued growth, leaders can quickly become disconnected with emerging technologies, issues, and opportunities. Also, as leaders take on advanced levels of responsibility that create numerous demands on time and added levels of accountability and responsibility, it can seem overwhelming to try to “fit in” time to help others grow. As Amy mentioned, our premise for our session topic is that we all have the responsibility to not only continue to grow as leaders, but to also ensure that we are growing leaders which should in turn mitigate some of the leadership challenges facing higher education.

Cherwin: What benefits have you seen from the intersection of mentorship and authentic leadership?

Diaz: When authentic leaders serve as mentors to others who aspire to become leaders, the intersection can be powerful and transformative for both parties. Although many mentorship models exist, the conditions for mentoring need to be defined so each participant has an understanding of the end goal. Mentors have the opportunity to provide feedback that is personalized to the mentee and the leadership goal they have identified for themselves. Mentors may also have observations that can challenge and support the mentee’s assessment of themselves.

Mentees have the unique opportunity to ask questions of their mentor – even those that may normally not have space and permission to evolve. They also can align their goals with the opportunities that exist or those that may become available in the future by intentionally seeking out experiences that fill in gaps in their knowledge or skills.

Cherwin: What’s the best approach for finding a mentor?

Frederick: I think the first step is self-awareness; ask yourself what specifically you think a mentor can provide in terms of support/guidance. Are there specific skills or attributes you have identified as areas of growth? Also, I think it is important to think about what sort of structure might serve your needs best — a formal or informal structure? Once those questions are answered, then it’s finding the experience and the right person. There are numerous options for formal programs. Many of those are affiliated with specific institutions or organizations (often local or state organizations). Finding an informal mentor is often a result of simply asking someone to be your mentor. This could be someone you have identified as having characteristics, experiences, abilities, perspectives, etc. that you believe could help you in your leadership journey. Sometimes, mentors find you. Often, mentors see new or less seasoned professionals and identify them as a high-potential leader. Those mentors will then reach out to the high-potential leaders to determine interest in engaging in a mentoring/developmental relationship.

Cherwin: You are both leaders at your institutions. How has mentorship helped guide you in your leadership path and role that you are in today?

Frederick: I have been incredibly lucky throughout my entire career in regard to mentorship. I have had some very special people throughout my life that have identified potential in me and provided informal mentoring. I have participated in formal mentoring opportunities. Also, throughout my career, I have identified individuals who exhibited qualities and characteristics I aspire to enhance. For those individuals, I have asked them to serve in a mentoring capacity. I have been lucky as they have all said yes! As a result of all of this, I have developed a vast professional network across the country. This network of mentors (now friends) have helped me navigate some of the most challenging aspects of my career. In fact, Amy and I have been colleagues and “grew up” in the profession at virtually the same time on very similar paths. She and I have served as the mentor and the mentee at various times throughout our careers depending on what either of us might have been experiencing at the time. I have my fair share of excellent mentors to help shape me and my career. I have also served as a mentor numerous times throughout my career. I recently served as a mentor for an individual participating in the NASPA Undergraduate Fellows Program (NUFP), which incorporates a formal mentoring experience. The Fellow I mentored has, in the span of just over two years, moved from an admission and registration representative role to an Associate Dean role. Participation in the NUFP program, which includes the formal mentoring component, provided him an opportunity to really explore his career, his skills/experiences, and develop a deeper understanding of his values. Like Amy, I believe I have a duty and a responsibility to “pay it forward” and have served formally and informally as a mentor throughout my career.

Diaz: I have been both a mentee and a mentor and have been involved in formal and informal mentorship programs in both roles. Without some key people who have served as informal and formal mentors, I would likely not be serving as a president today. One mentor encouraged me to enroll in a doctoral program. Another mentor helped me navigate an extremely difficult working environment. And, most recently, my mentors have supported me in taking on roles within national organizations. At the same time, I continue to mentor at least one female mentee within the Maricopa system through a formal program that was established over 25 years ago. This year I served as a mentor to my sixth mentee and have continued to mentor several of my former mentees. I see this as an opportunity to give back to the profession that has afforded me the privilege of serving students and communities. We need to develop our next generation of leaders, and this is one way to do it.