Leadership Experience
Overview
I’ve held various leadership roles throughout my life. None as fulfilling as my time being on the Panhellenic Council at Birmingham Southern College and when I was running my own business.
BSC Panhellenic President
What is the Panhellenic Council?
Being Panhellenic President at Birmingham Southern College gave me my first exposure to the thrill of leadership. The Panhellenic Council is the governing body for all sororities on a college campus. They promote honesty and fairness in the recruitment process as well as ethical behaviors on campus. The council is also responsible for empowering women and the healthy advancement of sororities.
Challenge and Success
Leading a diverse group of sororities was challenging yet fulfilling. This role gave me the perspective to realize how important deep listening is for leaders, especially when disagreements arise. I also gained an appreciation for personality differences because each sorority definitely had their own! It was fascinating to me how accurately people would guess which sorority another person was in based on the way they looked, dressed or acted. Interestingly, people would have trouble guessing mine. I took this as a compliment. It confirmed to me that I was doing my job, being a member of a defined sorority, Pi Beta Phi, but also having the ability to show impartiality. I take pride in being in the liminal space – on the edge of the inside.
Entrepreneurial Leadership
Leadership and Mentoring
Leadership, mentoring and knowledge transfer go hand in hand. A leader must be a mentor and have a growth mindset to be effective. Kathy E. Kram from Boston University has focused her research on the phases of a mentoring relationship – a process of building trust to accomplish a goal. After studying Kram’s research and looking back at my leadership experience, I realized the relationship I had with my students followed closely with her research. I write about my entrepreneurial leadership experience from this perspective but if you would like to read my entire leadership philosophy, click here.
Most people I consider to be mentees are students. Within the setting of the fabric arts school I founded, I had close to 100 students enroll in classes each year. Most students took only one series of classes, but I also had a handful of students that were “bitten by the sewing bug” as I called it. These women wanted to learn as much as they could and continued their education for several years. The vision I had for my students was to give them the skills to create their own unique projects. A secondary goal I had was to encourage them to spread their knowledge and teach others how to sew.
Mentoring Leadership Phase: Introduction And Cultivation
Interestingly, the initiation phase began prior to students enrolling in class. I needed to grab my student’s attention – primarily through social media. It was my goal to inspire in them a vision that they can sew. They didn’t need to purchase those adorable (and pricey) custom made baby clothes, home decor, handbags, etc., I had to show my students it was possible that they too can make these items.
Once my students believed they could learn how to sew, I needed to inspire them to take lessons from me. With all the other online options out there, this was no easy task. They “vetted” me by reviewing my website and learning about my experience. They could see tutorials and customer reviews. Which allowed them to feel confident in my abilities to teach and create. Ultimately, I was able to show them a vision of themselves reaching a goal they had never imagined before, and I showed them the value of learning these skills in a traditional classroom setting.
The first class was a mixture of a deeper initiation phase as well as the start of the cultivation phase. This is where we determined if we were a good fit for each other, if we had a “connection” so to speak. If the student and I clicked, then they would enroll in another series of classes. And this stage could last up to a year or more. Eventually, the relationship shifted from being purely professional to becoming more personal in nature. We talked about our families, things we liked to do outside of the art studio, holiday plans, etc.
Mentoring Leadership Phase: Redefinition And Separation
Based on my experience, the redefinition phase was next. As my students became more skilled, they would want to try out new projects that they were interested in versus the ones I taught in class. It was at this point that I could see a shift in the relationship. They were trying to figure out what role I was to play in their continued education. It seemed as if neither one of us wanted the relationship to end, but a change was needed. So, I created a new type of space where the studio was open to them to create whatever they wanted, and I would be available if they had any questions. This was also a time when I would create my own projects. During this phase there was a shift away from the hierarchical transfer of knowledge towards a more level playing field where we were comrades sharing knowledge mutually. They felt comfortable bringing patterns to me that they thought I would enjoy sewing, and ultimately they taught me how to make them! In order for me to accomplish this feat, I needed to stay flexible to my student’s needs and grow with them.
The final stage, separation, occurred when I had to close my business and move back to Birmingham. It was a bittersweet separation for sure. I was so proud of my students / friends, but I was very sad that I would be losing the relationship we had built. This sadness seemed to be a mutual feeling. Even though I still consider these women friends, the physical distance and lack of a consistent fabric connection has only deepened the separation. Prior to reading about Kram’s stages of mentoring, I felt much grief regarding these events. However, this understanding helped me process this loss in a positive light and realize that separation is natural. After closing my company, some of my students went on to create their own craft related businesses. Several of whom I’ve mentored along the way. This is what leadership is all about, transferring knowledge so that people reach their fullest potential and spread their wings to teach others.