2005 Saint Mary’s College Alumnae Leadership Conference

Recognizing Your Leadership Potential

Bonnie Bazata, Shobhana Chakrabarti,

Erin Crawford Cressy, Joy Evans, Lety Verduzco

Participatory Leadership

An Emerging Model of Women’s Intercultural Leadership

for the 21st Century

Center for Women’s InterCultural Leadership

In 2001 Saint Mary’s began CWIL with a generous grant from the Lilly Endowment, Inc.

CWIL’s mission: to “foster the intercultural knowledge and competence critical to educating the next generation of women leaders”

CWIL has 3 components

1. Scholarship and Research

2. International and Intercultural Learning

3. Community Connections– The CWIL Leadership Team is a collaborative

model with a participatory structure

Community Connections programs

Wellsprings of Wisdom conferenceThe Catalyst Project

Women in Leadership in Community Organizations (WiLCO) project

Summer programs for high school girls

–supports the community efforts of diverse women leaders

–builds bridges between Saint Mary’s College and the community

CWIL’s mission statement:

• CWIL promotes intercultural engagement across the Saint Mary’s campus, connecting with communities at the local, state, national and global levels

• Everything we do or support must… promote… transformative intercultural engagement…

• We challenge and support individuals and groups to take the next steps toward

deeper intercultural experience– more sophisticated grappling with issues

of difference such as power and privilege

– greater awareness of their

own potential as change agents

What makes an effective leader for the 21st century?

Communities across America, including South Bend, are asking how to create more inclusion across diverse populations.

Effective 21st century leaders will have to address this concern.– As Frances Hesselbein said, “old answers are not

working for new realities”

Participatory Leadership addresses how women can develop their own

potential as change agents through deeper intercultural experience

…in order to make a difference in the world

In 40 minutes (!)

Briefly describe the history Review five of the eight elements Reflection activities Time for questions & action plan

– Note: If needed, insert “people” where we have women to apply to your context

Participatory learning is key to the model

Need more time to build participation

Symbol cards as an example

Reflection activities will give a flavor, like the next activity…

Think of yourself as a leader…

1. Take the yellow post-it note. On a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) rate yourself as a leader.

1. Someone will come around and pick up the yellow post in note.

2. Write the number on the blue post it note and KEEP IT!

# keep

Now write down 2 or 3 (or more) contexts where you are a leader on your index card.

Keep adding as you think of more during the presentation.

How this model began…

Women reported: empowerment and self-

awareness leadership potential in

themselves new opportunities deeply valuing the diversity

and relationship building

Creating the Participatory Leadership

model in 2004 16 diverse students, faculty, staff

and community women Presented at a women’s conference

in Milwaukee in 2004 Launched evaluations and on-going

research Summer 2004, Shobhana

Chakrabarti, a researcher and director of a women’s center in Perth, Australia interviewed us and model included in upcoming book

Eight elements of Participatory Leadership

1. Recognize the Leader Within2. Include diverse Women as Planners and Participants3. Dialogue on Power and Privilege4. Build Community5. Women’s Sacred Space6. Use Participatory Techniques to Create Equity & Voice7. Keep our Eyes on the Prize8. Never the Same Way Twice

#1 Recognize the Leader Within Leadership is inherent in every woman

– Practiced daily, often unacknowledged

– Not necessarily located with title or position

Simply stated, if you are willing to work with others to improve the community, if you are willing to make a commitment and keep it, then you are a leader – with or without title.

Southern Policies Growth Board

Acknowledge your own leadership

Many women have a difficult time acknowledging their own leadership

– It soon became apparent that, even though many of the women were in high-visibility positions of leadership, they did not see themselves as leaders in the traditional sense. In fact, in several cases, they had a hard time understanding why people thought of them as leaders at all…

Shambala Institute for Authentic Leadership, Canada

Using historical profiles

Historical profiles are one way we share stories

Examples around the room

Create your own (see your kit)

A woman from Palestine begins her story with a tank. It immediately told us that she has survived something few of us know anything about.

Though there were language, religious and cultural barriers, – We immediately listened

differently.– Language barriers lessened.– We saw new strengths in her. – We felt compassion.

How do you acknowledge and develop leadership in yourself and others?

1. Take Your Space2. Pass the Stick

Take your space

Take the risk of acknowledging your own leadership

Model accepting your place as a leader Work from your strength Find and incorporate multiple ways for you and

others to share your strengths and experiences

Pass the stick Shift the leadership role Share decisions when possible Collaborate Find and incorporate other’s

strengths– How does an introvert participate? – An artist? Who can sing, pray, create a

database, translate, teach Tai Chi, encourage others?

– Allow for women’s cultural styles to be present

Acknowledge each person’s contribution

As catalysts, we encourage, instruct and empower women to take ownership of their lives, world and affairs; we are the vehicles for change in our world.

Andrea Johnson

Reflective Questions for Element #1

How do you acknowledge and value your own leadership? Other women’s leadership?

How do you create multiple ways for people to be involved in your work?

#2 Include Diverse Women as Planners and Participants

•Diversity is strength

•Involve diverse women from the beginning -- from planning to final completion

•The process is stronger and outcome more successful

Move to inclusion…

Work to move beyond token representation

Each community has multiple leaders

Allow space for women to self-express and bring cultural practices to the process

Reflective Questions for Element #2

How are people from diverse backgrounds involved in planning your programs and activities?

Are people comfortable enough to bring their cultural styles with them?

Where could you find resources to help you build in more diversity?

#3 Dialogue on Power and Privilege

Being an intercultural leader means grappling with issues of difference

Communication is more effective when we acknowledge and discuss the differences in power and status

Institutional barriers to leadership

Frances Hesselbein lists among the institutional barriers to leadership:

Racism and sexism unacknowledged and unaddressed...

And it takes real leadership to bulldoze the barriers -- frequently time-honored, tradition-bound, deeply ingrained practices.

What is privilege? Society gives privilege to

groups by assigning unearned overadvantage to some groups and unearned underadvantage to others– It gives status and power to

members of the groups with privilege

– It has nothing to do with merit or ability.

– It is systemic.

Some examples of white privilege from Peggy McIntosh, White Privilege: Unpacking the Invisible Knapsack

I can go shopping alone most of the time, pretty well assured that I will not be followed or harassed.

I can, if I wish, arrange to be in the company of people of my race most of the time.

When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my color made it what it is.

We need both perspectives

It takes participants from both perspectives to understand the larger picture

Having privilege is often unexamined

It is important to explore how some privileges are weightier than others, like race

How can you address privilege as a leader? Do not assume that all differences are the same

– Racism is different than sexism Acknowledge and validate everyone’s experience Avoid assumptions

– Not everyone who is African American or everyone who is a woman has the same experience or perspective

Listen with compassion Create safety and room for everyone Speak from your experience, not generalities

Expect to be outside your comfort zone Taking responsible action is mobilizing;

guilt and shame are immobilizing Trust that our commonalities will emerge

Reflective Questions for Element #3

How can you raise your awareness about the dynamics of power and privilege?

How can you create more open communication on this issue?

#4 Build Community

When we build community across diversity, we find that there is more that binds us than separates us.

Three powerful approaches to building community

create ritualshare stories

create informal connections

We all have a story… Stories build knowledge and

trust Create new stories --

– new constructions of “we”

Historical Profiles are one way to share stories

Create ritual

Ritual is a key part of your shared identity, based on practice and relationships

Ritual creates inclusion

We play together –share poetry, singing, dancing, eating and talking– We feel we are

connected

– We now have shared memories

Create informal connections

How does this connect to the other 3 elements?

In community you can: Recognize and express your leadership

more powerfully Gain more meaningful intercultural

awareness Grapple with difficult issues of difference

with more safely

Reflective Questions for Element #4

How do you create community in your groups?

How can you use storytelling, ritual, and informal sharing?

#5 Keep Our Eyes on the Prize

In every community, there is work to be done.In every nation, there are wounds to heal.In every heart, there is the power to do it.

Marianne Williamson

Leadership is like electricity; we only know it is there when it is used to make something happen

What happens when our focus is on something we care about?

When we are about something bigger than ourselves we can forget the small things

Each person brings her best to the process We are empowered and empower others

Reflective Questions for Element #7

How are you developing a sense of a larger mission in your work?

How do you encourage each person to make a contribution to the larger whole?

Being a 21st Century leader…

Acknowledge the leader within ourselves and others Bring diverse women together Address issues of power and privilege Build community

… in order to make a difference in the world

…acting as leaders in a complex and interrelated community that is strengthened by the differences of each individual and leads to empowerment for positive social change

We must be the change we want to see…