Insights from the Wattle Leadership Program

A week ago I had the absolute pleasure of joining twenty-three women from universities across Australia as part of the WATTLE Leadership Program (Women ATTaining LEadership) . This immersive program brings together women across the sector to provide an intensive leadership and networking program designed and run by female academic and professional staff.

The days were long and jam-packed, providing incredibly valuable opportunities for discussion, creativity, collaboration, and learning, with many wonderful and incredibly knowledgeable speakers sharing their insights and lessons learned over the course of successful and diverse careers within higher education and beyond.

Each day of the program I shared some of the key take-aways via LinkedIn, but I felt it was of value to reflect and revisit these by the five core themes, leadership development, overcoming adversity, supporting and developing others, career progression, and authenticity, that emerged as part of the program from my perspective.

Leadership Development

• Sometimes we find leadership, sometimes it finds us.
• Sometimes we learn more from observing bad practices, knowing that’s not what we want to emulate.
• If we obsess about our inadequacies, we will only be average. Instead, we should focus on our natural strengths and determine how we can apply these as often as we can with skill.
• Managing organisational politics will always be tricky, but we can have an impact by building rapport with individuals and meeting with influencers to test theories, seeking their support and advice. We can demonstrate our value by being responsive and unapologetically bringing our expertise to the table.
• Being heard is not always about 'turning up the volume.'?If finding your voice in the room is challenging (at a meeting or otherwise), find other ways. Consider using digital tools (the chat function) or sharing your expertise and opinions through online forums.

Overcoming Adversity

• Challenges will always be there, but we can - and should - use difficult or trying experiences to find the opportunities.
• No matter how someone treats us or interacts with us, we can choose how we respond or react.
• Reserve saying ‘sorry’ for actual errors, and not for requiring extended deadlines. (Consider alternative phrases like “thanks for checking in” or “thanks for your patience).
• Relationships are key to resilience. In every job you are likely to face tough times, difficult situations and challenging people. Ensure you have trustworthy and compassionate colleagues who will look out for you, who have your back and who you can go to in times of need. (Resilience can also involve knowing when to walk away rather than tolerating a situation which is intolerable).
• Changing the system can feel overwhelming. As leaders we have the opportunity (and obligation) to say something and to do something to help change the system.
• Women have brought something powerful to the pandemic not seen before in terms of innovation, leadership, resilience and strategy. How do we learn from this?

Supporting and Developing Others

• Always seek to offer growth and development opportunities but provide the support and psychological safety to ensure people feel safe to make mistakes.?
• Developing others should not be viewed as an 'add-on' - see it as your most important task as a leader.
• Don’t underestimate the power of authorship and co-authorship in developing the skills of people to lead and to grow and in fostering a sense of collective belonging and purpose.
• We’re not required to have all the answers as leaders, but we can ask the questions and ‘make the space’ or ‘create the pause’ to illuminate them for others.
• Our role as leaders is to then make sure people can be “deeply and perfectly themselves,” resisting models of leadership which require conformity, and still lead, manage, work, study, love and live life.
• In times of disruption and change, the best question in your toolkit will always be, ‘how can I support you through this?’
• We can (and should) play an active and conscious role in supporting and sponsoring other women, choosing not to ‘pull the ladder up behind us.’

Self-Promotion and Career Progression

• Research shows women avoid talking about our success and downplay our merits. We need to get better at saying ‘I’ more (instead of ‘we’) owning the projects and work we have produced or led others to do.
• We can be ready for opportunities (and expand those available to us) by nurturing, growing and expanding our networks and alliances, by knowing our ‘brand’ and identifying our ‘superpower.’ (If we don’t know what these ‘superpower’ are, we should be asking three trusted friends or colleagues to help us).
• We have an important role to play in our own development by bravely ‘making space’ – carving out times for reflection and looking for stretch opportunities (Look for new or additional projects, leadership programs, or seize the opportunity to volunteer to sit on committees/task forces to add to your institutional knowledge and sphere of influence).
• Don’t underestimate the opportunities provided via the questions we are asked on a daily basis to thoughtfully respond, communicate expertise and to influence. (When you’re next asked about how a project or piece of work is coming along, resist the temptation to simply response with a flippant response and instead provide a few select details, noting any opportunities or challenges and how it relates to the person asking)
• As we consider our career trajectory we need to move beyond questioning whether it’s just the right position by asking "what can I learn from the person I'm going to work for, and how will they support my development?"

Self-Awareness and Authenticity

• Embracing our authentic self and what we have to offer requires far less energy than trying to be someone we’re not.
• We should work to ‘be interested’ by listening and asking the second questions and to ‘be more interesting’ by giving a little more of us as leaders and being more vulnerable than we otherwise would.
• Being mindful of intersectionality, walking in the shoes of others and acknowledging others lived experiences as we undertake any form of leadership is essential. We don’t have to have had the experience to advocate, to value, support and be an ally for those who have.
• Authenticity and being able to deliver consistently (not just when on a stage) is critical to effective communication. Don't worry about the perfect words or phrasing, find your own voice and style because people will respect and follow those who are sincere.
• Leadership is an opportunity to ask ourselves ‘what would it look like if you were leading with nothing to hide, nothing to prove (in regard to our legitimate right to be at the table) and nothing to lose?
• Authentic leadership is closing the gap of ‘who I think I’m supposed to be’ and ‘who I am,’ knowing and owning ‘who I am’ was right in the first place.
• We must recognise imposter syndrome as the very legitimate feelings that we have when we don’t fit with the conventional system - and not an indication of failure.
• It can be hard to be vulnerable, to own, acknowledge and reflect upon our mistakes, but in the right situations, it's a super-power.
• Prioritisation is critical and you must be ruthless about where you spend and invest your time. Be clear and selective about where your experience and expertise will add the most value.
• ‘Ju Ju’ or gut feel can be just as important as rational, logistical decision making.
• Finally, an important reminder that sometimes the biggest obstacle in our way is ourselves. We need to continue to stop and ask ourselves, ‘how do I get out of my own way?’

As I noted at the weeks’ end I remain incredibly grateful to?Deakin University ?for the opportunity to attend, to the amazing women responsible for coordinating the program, and to the incredible 'superwomen' from universities across Australia who shared and celebrated their lived experiences and stories of leadership, resilience and success!

As part of our final farewell, we were provided with an explanation of the WATTLE program logo and I felt it was such a lovely reflection of the time we have spent together, the networks we have formed and the plans in place to remained connected into the future.

"The logo itself resembles a blossoming wattle flower, strength and perseverance shown through rising leaves, and the leaves are connected to represent support and community. The colour used references Australian culture as well as the women themselves. Purple symbolises previous women leaders who have paved the way with the yellow representing the women of the present, standing on their shoulders to reach new heights."

Which of the above themes, or insights most resonated with you? Or to my fellow attendees (affectionately now known as ‘Wattlers’) what other insights would you add to the above?