An article discussion the intersectionality of feminism, traditional Indigenous models of leadership, and modern leadership studies

Arrows, Four

Witt, Judy

English

Fort Hays State University

Academic Leadership: The Online JournalVolume 3Issue 3 Fall 2005 Article 410-1-2005Collaborative Action Learning and Leadership: AFeminist/Indigenous Model for Higher EducationJudy WittFour ArrowsFollow this and additional works at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/aljPart of the Educational Leadership Commons, Higher Education Commons, and the TeacherEducation and Professional Development CommonsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by FHSU Scholars Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Academic Leadership: TheOnline Journal by an authorized editor of FHSU Scholars Repository.Recommended CitationWitt, Judy and Arrows, Four (2005) "Collaborative Action Learning and Leadership: A Feminist/Indigenous Model for HigherEducation," Academic Leadership: The Online Journal: Vol. 3 : Iss. 3 , Article 4.Available at: https://scholars.fhsu.edu/alj/vol3/iss3/4academicleadership.org http://www.academicleadership.org/107/collaborative_action_learning_and_leadership/Academic Leadership JournalA new book, Enlightened Power: How Women Are Transforming the Practice of Leadership(Coughlin, Wingard and Hollihan, Eds., 2005) “reveals how women leaders are redefining power andtraditional leadership practices to achieve extraordinary business results and positive social change,”according to a press release from Linkage, Inc. (2005). Armstrong refers to a “feminist principle ofleadership” that is:…essential to our vision of healthy equality-seeking organizations…sharing power, authority anddecision-making in our common pursuit of social, legal, political, economic and cultural equality…(where) leaders work from a vision of shared power, providing opportunities for all members to developand use their leadership skills (2005).Such collaborative action leadership and learning (CALL) is also inherent in traditional Indigenousmodels of leadership. In 1757, the great Cherokee speaker and chief Atagulkalu, was to meet in SouthCarolina on important business, but he hesitated to proceed when he came upon the all-maleEuropean council. When the Europeans insisted on his getting on with things, he turned impatiently toGovernor William Henry Lyttelton and demanded, “But where are your women?”(Mann 1970, 69)Reference to Indigenous principles has relevance to CALL and to this essay regarding FieldingGraduate University. In 2001-2002, Fielding Graduate University ranked number one in the nation forthe number of doctoral degrees conferred to American Indians. Making reference to Indigenous factorsin CALL may stimulate readers to look to Indigenous studies when seeking further information.Traditional Indigenous cultures deeply understand the power of the feminine principle in organizing ahealthy society in ways similar to how ELC approaches issues and transforming communities(Johansen 2005). On the other hand, Western cultures tend not to understand, even when women riseto positions of leadership (Wajcman and Martin 2002, 985-1002).There are exceptions. One is an Australian education organization called Akademos (seehttp://www.akademos.or.au/home), an organization that captures the essence of its approach toeducational leadership in its Preamble:Collaboration between individuals, institutions and communities: integration of individuals with society,environment and knowledge; autonomy in economic, scholarly and institutional affairs: these are thepreconditions for creation. They stand or fall together. Without collaboration, problems of competitionarise. Without integration, problems with society, environment and knowledge arise. Without autonomy,problems of authoritarianism arise. Creation for one another, for ourselves, and for the future dependson these inter-implicating values. In the end, educational justice does so too: access to a vocation, toreflective knowledge and the freedom to apply it… To be realised, every one of these principlesrequires sustained ingenuity and creativity. Creation, however, includes not only products and ideas,but cultures, communities, and selves: it is the development to and from autonomous human expression(Akademos 2005).We have selected the four concepts contained in this Preamble and the principles by which Akademosoperates (collaboration, integration, autonomy and creation) as way to describe how Fielding’s ELChas actually managed to be successful with its CALL. The rest of this paper will discuss ELC’sleadership and governance approach and challenges in light of the Adademos vision that prioritizescollaboration, integration, autonomy and creativity.ELC’s CALL ModelFielding Graduate University, founded in 1974, offers distributed graduate education and researchprograms in three social science areas: psychology, human and organizational development andeducational leadership (see http://www.fielding.edu). All three Schools with the University affirm acommitment to social change and social justice. The School of ELC’s initial program, an Ed.D., wasdeveloped in 1996 by Willie DeMarcell Smith, Ph.D. Smith had a vision for making doctoral educationaccessible to working adults, especially those typically underrepresented in higher education whosegoals are to make a difference in urban and underserved rural settings. As a result of this focus, theprogram quickly embraced a “participatory action research” approach (Park 1992) in all aspects of itswork. Thus leadership, teaching and research was not just about preparing for action. Rather, action,change and social justice were actually engaged within these three processes.Early on the ELC doctoral program faltered. During the ensuing leadership transition, two womenemerged to form a co-dean leadership team. Susan Taira, Ph.D. and Judy Witt, Ed.D. led the faculty toassure that the Ed.D. program would not die. This transition included the adoption TotalTransformational Management Process as the conceptual framework for ELC’s governance structureand change model. TTMP is an integrated model for change that emphasizes the entire, larger system,“paying special attention to the human side” (Mink et al 1993, 11). TTMP was instrumental indeveloping ELC’s way of simultaneously working with individual, group and organizational levels,viewing participatory action research as “transformation concomitant with intense learning” (11).Considering the complexity of Fielding’s dispersed learning environment, such a transformationalpriority in leadership, communication and decision-making became a critical priority for both Fieldingand ELC. Using CALL to help implement this priority, ELC has created an environment that, inretrospect, prioritizes the four principles of Akademos: collaboration, integration, autonomy and theresulting creativity.CollaborationCollaboration is the primary vehicle that ELC’s administration, faculty, alums and students to implementthe college’s distinctive role in higher education. Each group seems to understand that “collaboration isthe leadership of ideas, not ideology, of collective goals, not personal vision alone” (Akademos, 2005).Nonetheless, the focus remains consistent with DeMarcell’s original vision for work together that willultimately make a difference in that world. Everyone is involved and everyone shares the responsibilityfor helping to shape the vision. This includes annual face-to-face meetings of all faculty, staff andadministration, as well as student and alum leaders, and opportunities to call the Dean duringteleconference “office hours.”Authentic, passionate dialogue and cooperative argumentation replace conflict in successfulcollaborative leadership. Opportunities exist at ELC through a variety of group activities, with follow-upcontinuing via conference calls, email and forums. They result in a deliberative community that enactsthe vision “through cooperative inquiry, decision making and relational accountability” and thatencourages argumentation and critical thinking designed to help individuals and groups make the bestdecision in any given situation” (Makan and Marty 2001, xii).In conceiving a collaborative governance structure using TTMP and the participatory action researchmodel, equity in representation and clear and consistent communication lines are crucial if CALL is towork. At ELC, faculty, students, alumni and staff all serve on Governance Teams, including an “EquityCouncil” that helps assure college wide adherence to ELC’s principles of social justice and diversity.Each team keeps agendas and minutes that are posted online giving information access and feedbackopportunities to the entire community of faculty and students alike (See Supplement for Diagram oftheELC Governance Structure in Word Doc elcgovstructure.doc)To be successful in such a distributed and networked organizational structure, CALL needs a spiritualfaith in the team’s ability to accomplish any goal if one keeps the good of the whole in mind. This ismessy and often painstaking work, requiring careful attention to some basic ideas common tofeminine/Indigenous principles. CALL requires:· Respect for other· The ability to withhold judgment· Authentic transparency· Patience· Treating mistakes as learning opportunities· Honoring diversity for its value to the wholeIntegrationSpirituality in Indigenous cultures generally means recognizing and embracing the idea that everythingis related; that each part is significant; and that all have responsibility to the whole (Jacobs 2002). Tohelp accomplish integration, ELC has employed Stagich’s Synergy Principles (Stagich 2003) to buildthe environment needed for persons to truly see the integration. These principles which focus on valuingdifferences so they can be transcended, were crucial when in 2002 the ELC faculty became dividedand in conflict. Using CALL, the Dean launched an intervention based on the principles of developingsynergy in an effort to bring people back into a healthy, collaborative team. To regain synergy and trust,she used the winter all-faculty retreat to identify publicly a major strength she saw in each faculty,attaching a descriptive word to the person that accurately reflected his or her contribution to the team.This set the tone for the rest of the retreat, and set the stage for a transformation that continues to thisday. Eventually, a renewed understanding emerged about everyone’s interconnectedness and itsrelationship to bringing out the best in individuals without sacrificing autonomy or shared values.AutonomyInterestingly, strong sense of autonomy in ELC faculty may have seeded the conflict within the group.What was needed to restore harmony was to balance the autonomy with an equally strong sense ofbelonging. When people were encouraged people to remember what Karl Menninger (1963) oncecalled “the vital balance” between self and other, faculty autonomy became an asset not a hindrance.From an Indigenous perspective, harmony can only be “created or reclaimed in environments whichembody the core values represented by the circle of courage” which include a balancing ofindependence, belonging, mastery and generosity (Brendtro, Brokenleg, Van Bockern 1990, 51). Thisis not an easy process. It takes strong administrative commitment, will, and modeling as well aspatience.Note that a major factor in CALL is the concept of authenticity. “Leaders who are authentic – consistentin words and actions, committed to a moral cause, and willing to take a stand…are transformative,working for change wherever they find inequity. They are cross-cultural, working with people form manydifferent cultural groups in order to enhance leadership skills, both by doing the right thing and figuringout how to do things right” (Shields 2003, 28-29). Furthermore, this authentic commitment to the ELCvalues must be reflected in all aspects of the organization. For example, it must be obvious inmarketing and recruitment, where concern for the candidate’s potential to be successful in a self-directed program is more important than the candidate’s tuition.Ultimately, integration can only work when values provide the glue.CreationThe fourth and last Akademos principle for CALL reveals itself in ELC by coming full circle back to itsvision for social justice and diversity. In his highly praised book on creativity, Csikszentmihalyi ultimatelyconcludes that creativity, which he says is about capturing those moments that make life worth living, isnecessary for the future health of the world (1997). When mastery, generosity, independence andbelonging are nurtured and balanced in a system where collaborative and loving leadership emergesfrom all participants, creation cannot help but to manifest in the work involved in making life worth livingfor all creatures. Fullen echoes this logic as well. “Sustainability is the capacity of a system to engage inthe complexities of continuous improvement consistent with deep values of human purpose” (Fullen,2005, ix). The innovative structures and processes at ELC in tandem with the innovations in facultymentoring and student dissertations are thus born from the interrelationships that have been describedin this article.In an article published in Educational Management Administration & Leadership, the author state thatin the leadership world, making sense of things may be more important than seeking what works andthat what works may be difficult to identify let alone replicate (Simkins 2005, 9-26). ELC’s CALL maybe more or less dependent upon the unique attributes of its various constituents. For example, who cansay how vital a factor is the Dean’s background that emphasized improving communities over financialreward and her persistent faith in positive outcomes?Peter Block (1993) argues that leaders need to replace the concept of leadership with that morealigned with the idea of stewardship. Indeed, choosing partners, choosing empowerment and choosingservice is what ELC “leadership” has done. Its “CALL” will hopefully bring forth a new way of doingleadership that is feminine, synergistic and sustainable in ways that bring to mind the ancient wisdomof our Indigenous ancestors whose ideas about leadership may be essential for future health andsurvival (Four Arrows forthcoming).ReferencesAkademos. Website of the Australian Tertiary Education Cooperative.http://www.akademos.org.au/newaims.htm (accessed on February 22, 2005).Armstrong, D. The Feminist Principle of Leadership. Dawn Ontario Disabled Women’s Network.http://dawn.thot.net/feminism11.html (accessed on February 22, 2005).Brendtro, L.K., M. Brokenleg, and S.Van Bockern. 1990. Reclaiming youth at risk. Bloomington, IN:National Education Service.Block, P. 1993. Stewardship: Choosing service over self-interest. San Francisco: Berrett-KoehlerPublishers.Csikszentmihalyi, M. 1997. Creativity: Flow and the Psychology of Discovery and Invention Perennial.Adult Education 48(2): 121-142.Coughlin, L., E. Wingard, and K. Hollihan. 2005. Enlightened power: How women are transforming thepractice of leadership. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.Four Arrows, ED. Forthcoming. Unlearning the Language of Conquest. Austin: University of TexasPress.Fullan, M. 2005. Leadership and sustainability: System thinkers in action. Thousand Oaks, CA:Corwin Press.Jacobs, D. T. 2002. Spirituality in Education: A matter of significance for American Indian cultures.Paths of Learning 12:16-19.Johansen, Bruce. Native Peoples of North America. A History. Portsmouth, N.H.:GreenwoodPublishers, 2005Linkage, Inc. Website of Linkage Incorporated.http://www.linkageinc.com/research_products/book_enlightened.aspx (accessed on February 22,2005).Makan, J. M. and D. L. Marty. 2001. Cooperative Argumentation: A Model for DeliberativeCommunity. Prospect Heights, IL: Waveland Press.Mann, B.A. Where Are Your Women? Missing in Action. In Four Arrows, aka Jacobs, D.T., Ed. 2005.Unlearning the language of conquest: Scholars expose anti-Indianism in America. Austin, Texas:University of Texas Press.Menninger, K. 1963. The vital balance. NY; VikingMink, O. G., P. W. Esterhuysen, B. P. Mink, and K. Q. Owen. 1993. Change at work: A comprehensivemanagement process for transforming organizations. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers.Park, P. 1992. The discovery of participatory research as a new scientific paradigm; Personal andintellectual accounts. The American Sociologist 23(4): 29-45.Shields, C. M. 2003. Good intentions are not enough. Lantham, MD: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.Simkins, T. 2005. Educational leadership: Making sense or what works: in Educational ManagementAdministration and Leadership, 33(1): 9-26.Stagich, T. ( 2003). Transformative leadership and high synergy motivation: Transformingindividuals through group synergy. Chula Vista, CA: Aventine Press.Wajcman, J. and B. Martin. 2002. Narratives o Identity in Modern Management: The Corrosion ofGender Difference? Sociology. 36(4): 985-1002About the Authors:Judy Witt, PhD, serves as dean of the School of Educational Leadership and Change at FieldingGraduate University http://www.fielding.edu/. Witt earned her bachelor’s degree in Psychology atLinfield College, her master’s degree in Special Education at Portland State University, and a secondmaster’s in Organizational Development and doctorate in Human and Organizational Systems atFielding Graduate University. The thread of Witt’s career has been to develop new programs andcreate collaborative teams to transform visions into realities. After teaching in the K-12 system for 10years, she moved into higher education where she has served several colleges and universities infaculty and administrative roles. In addition, she has worked extensively as program/organizationaldevelopment consultant with her own practice focusing on assisting colleges and universities in bothstrategic planning and new program development. jwitt@fielding.eduFour Arrows, formerly the Dean of Education at Oglala Lakota College, is currently a professor inFielding’s School of Educational Leadership and Change. He is the author of numerous chapters,articles and books on subjects relating to motivational psychology, Indigenous worldview, charactereducation, and educational foundations. His work may be viewed at http://www.teachingvirtues.net/.VN:R_U [1.9.11_1134]

Collaborative Action Learning and Leadership: A Feminist/Indigenous Model for Higher Education

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Collaborative Action Learning and Leadership: A Feminist/Indigenous Model for Higher Education

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