The framework for this op-ed is based on the Place-Based Structured Reflection Protocol to Develop Leader Self-awareness, which was developed by Newstead, Eva, and Day (2024). The process of higher-level reflective judgment emphasizes where leaders are coming from, why leaders are who they are, and why leaders lead how they lead.  

Where Leaders are Coming From

Where I am coming from is a place of reinvention, working in various fields, and turning challenges into opportunities. In the last semester of my undergraduate program in educational administration in Colombia, one of my mentors recommended that I continue my graduate studies in industrial relations as the textiles industry and automakers in my region in Colombia needed experts in this field. I had previously worked as a kindergarten teacher, but his recommendation opened my eyes to the possibilities beyond what I had imagined for myself. 

During this transition, strategic planning became the new love of my life. Over the next two decades, this career path led me to work at the executive level in the government, the healthcare industry, the agroindustry, and higher education. When I was a faculty member and the director of the graduate programs in business administration at the Universidad ICESI in Cali, Colombia, a multinational company invited me to submit a strategic planning proposal to work as a consultant for them. I was ecstatic when the proposal was accepted. But then I learned the strategic planning process had to be conducted in English, and I was not bilingual. 

Instead of being disappointed, I saw where I could turn this setback into an opportunity. So, at the age of 40, I left my family, my friends, and my native Colombia. I enrolled in the English Program for Internationals at the University of South Carolina. I fondly remember how the other students, who were much younger, enjoyed themselves until 3 am socializing with each other. I was up at those late hours, too, but I was revising and revising my English homework. Within a year, I was accepted into the Ph.D. program in international business with a concentration in management at the University of Texas-Pan American (renamed University of Texas-Rio Grande Valley) and received a scholarship. 

After I finished my Ph.D. in five and a half years, I decided to work for community colleges. I saw myself devoted to the academic, economic, and social mobility of students and their families. 

Why Leaders Are Who They Are

One day when I was in middle school, Sister Luisa came to our classroom and asked, “Some of your classmates do not have lunch to eat at their homes. Who can invite them for lunch at your home?” I stood up and said, “I can take them with me. My father and my mother always said that we have food for everybody because we can always put more water in our soup.” When my father came, he said, “Of course, we can share our lunch with them.” My parents instilled respect, collaboration, and inclusion in me. Throughout my career, I have had mentors who have seen a lot of potential in me and have furthered the lessons my parents taught me. 

These role models have shaped my leadership style. I am committed to respect, accountability, collaboration, empathy, humility, authenticity, and community building. 

Why Leaders Lead How They Lead

Time has allowed for trial and error to refine my leadership skills. Attaining results that align with my values cements my leadership style the most. Along with my other values, I am dedicated to student success, faculty development, operational efficiency, and community engagement. As a dean at SUNY Westchester Community College, these are some of the accomplishments that I am most proud of that align with my values. 

1.                 First, the School of Business and Professional Careers (SBPC) student graduation rate was advanced to 4.7% above the college graduation rate through research, faculty collaboration, issue resolution, holistic advisement, and course adjustments.

2.                 Second, SBPC’s enrollment improved after it decreased due to COVID-19. This has been the progression for the last three fall semesters: fall 2022: 2,680 students; fall 2023: 2,821 students; and fall 2024: 2,947 students. This growth is the result of the commitment and dedication of the SBPC team. Faculty and I collaborated, attended open houses and events in the community, and partnered with high schools and community organizations in Westchester County to raise awareness about the programs at the SBPC. 

3.                 Third, student employment options, academic knowledge, and community demand were boosted by understanding employers’ needs, implementing entrepreneurial leadership approaches, and modernizing spaces, such as the new educational laboratory for the early childhood program.

4.                 Fourth, active learning pedagogical methodologies were protected, by creating a new multi-purpose accounting and finance laboratory and converting traditional classrooms into contemporary classrooms with mobile tables and chairs without arms. These two projects were funded by the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF) grant with an investment of more than $400,000.

5.                 Fifth, in partnership with the SUNY Westchester Community College Foundation and teamwork with faculty and administrative staff, we secured $1,000,000 from a private donor to improve the teaching and learning process of the cybersecurity program. The new, cutting-edge center was inaugurated in the fall of 2023. In the fall of 2019, the National Security Agency and the Department of Homeland Security designated the cybersecurity program the National Center of Excellence in Cyber Defense. 

6.                 Sixth, resources from Perkins and Job Linkage grants were aligned to develop supplemental academic support modules for criminal justice, paralegal, and education programs and to support the navigators of the student success team of the School of Business and Professional Careers. 

Conclusion

For all leaders, a place-based approach to reflecting on leadership “helps deconstruct heroic notions of leadership by demonstrating that external factors influence self and leadership” (Newstead, Eva & Day, 2024). I encourage all leaders to excavate and interrogate pivotal moments in their lives to see what will serve them in their leadership journeys. 

Reference 

Newstead, T. P., Eva, N., & Day, D.V. 2024. Where are you coming from? A place-based approach to developing leader self-awareness. Academy of Management Learning & Education. 4: 554-577.