Lifting as We Climb
NetworkNews Spring 2018
This spring, the theme of the ACE Women’s Network State Chairs Leadership Conference was Lifting as We Climb. The articles in this issue of NetworkNews are written by the conference presenters. They focus on women leaders’ empowerment and professional development and on helping others as we move forward to reach our own goals. There is also an article in this issue by a state chair in a state network that is launching a mentoring program for statewide women leaders.
The issue of lifting as we climb is near to my own heart, as I have conducted research on mentoring relationships for over 20 years. I am also dedicated to helping others find mentors and sources of support, especially those from underserved populations. It can be argued that women college and university presidents and other women leaders in the college and university c-suite are members of underserved populations. There is a wealth of talented, capable, and credentialed women in higher education that can and should serve in university and college leadership.
How do we reach the goal of moving the needle and advancing women to the presidency? The authors of the articles in this issue provide their perspectives on how this can be accomplished.
It is my perspective that mentoring is one of the ways to advance by lifting others, as we lift ourselves. An excellent, high-quality mentoring relationship can provide significant tangible and intangible support to both the mentor and to the protégé. I originally published mentoring enactment theory in 2002 and have continued to test and update the theory over the years. The heart of the theory is that people can create, develop, maintain, and repair mentoring relationships through their communication with others. This theory places the focus for the development of these relationships on the communicators themselves. In other words, through thoughtful and focused communication you can build mentoring relationships with others, as a mentor or as a protégé.
We use our communication to form relationships all the time. We have friendships, love relationships, and collegial relationships that we have formed through our communication. Mentoring relationships are just that—relationships. Mindful communication with one another is a start to developing a relationship that can have a significant impact on yourself and others.
I hope you enjoy this issue of NetworkNews.
Pamela J. Kalbfleisch, Professor of Communication and Psychology, University of North Dakota